Walter Jacobson's Perspective

The heat on Mayor Brandon Johnson is more heat than any heat on any Chicago mayor in the past nearly 80 years. Two Mayor Daleys, one Mayor Bilandic, one Mayor Byrne, one Sawyer, one Emanuel, one Lightfoot. Those mayors were, as Mayor Johnson now is, off and on, in some kind of trouble. For some […]

Last week, one day after the Super Bowl, during a public celebration in Kansas City, MO, a mother of two was shot dead, 22 other people wounded, in yet another mass shooting. While on that same day, the Illinois Rifle Association asked the US Supreme Court to abolish our gun control law that prohibits advertising […]

Did I see the Sunday Super Bowl. Of course I did. I was glued to it, all of it, before, during and after the game. Did I look for Taylor Swift? Of course I did that too, because Taylor Swift is being described by mass media as the most famous person in the world. Taylor […]

There is a new headache bugging Chicago’s headstrong Mayor Brandon Johnson, caused by newspaper headlines about a public opinion poll on how Mayor Johnson’s doing in his new job. According to the poll, not very well. Only 21% of 500 registered voters in Chicago approve of how Johnson’s doing. Nearly 70% disapprove and are rating […]

I am lonesome, so lonesome. I miss my corner grocery store, and my neighbors miss it too. Our store. It’s been gone now for three months, wiped off the corner by one of those real estate money wars being waged on the Near North Side of Chicago. Many of my neighbors and I are senior […]

The migrant problem in Chicago is bad, bad, bad. And the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is making it worse, worse. Day-by-day, by bus and airplane, Governor Abbott has been sending migrants from the Mexico-Texas border to Chicago, and he’s promising to continue sending them until, he says, President Biden secures that border. Chicago is […]

It’s not easy for me to think of something positive to say about Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, because he’s been indicted by a federal grand jury on criminal charges involving tax evasion. It’s also not easy because Hunter Biden is defying a Congressional subpoena to testify during an impeachment proceeding against his father, the […]

The Great Wardrobe Debate in the United States Senate has ended, or at least for now it’s ended. But it will be back because it is an endless debate what a Senator should wear while on the floor of the Senate. If you missed the most recent wardrobe debate, you may not know that it […]

Have you been reading the news about Dorothy Jean Tillman? If not, you’re missing a story not to be missed. A really wonderful story. Dorothy Jean Tillman is a granddaughter of a former Chicago alderwoman. Dorothy Jean is 17-years-old, of the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. I’ve been reading about her graduating from Arizona […]

He’s getting what he deserves, that once-upon-a-time good guy who is now a bad guy. Rudy Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York ordered by a federal court to pay $148 million to two women, a mother and daughter, election workers in the 2020 Trump vs. Biden race in Georgia. Rudy was […]

In the courtroom trials of former President Donald Trump, those two very well-known words “gag” and “order” are being heard and read as one word: “gag-order.”  Trump is accused by federal prosecutors of election interference and accused by judges of trying to sway jurors. While in Chicago, there’s the trial of former Alderman Ed Burke, […]

In sports news this week, the big news is about baseball. A $700 million contract for a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. His name is Shohei Ohtani. He’s 29 years old, pitching fastballs at 99 miles an hour, and when not pitching, he’s batting at a nearly 300 average. It is in no way illegal or […]

For many, many years, I’ve considered Joe Biden to be a thoughtful, knowledgeable, skillful politician. And I believe he’s been qualified for all the offices to which he’s been elected. He’s an honest and decent person. But in my opinion, it’s time for him to end his campaign to be re-elected. And, I believe I’m […]

The City Council is in the process of passing another law to target hot rodders.

All of a sudden, the most interesting player in presidential politics is not Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley or Joe Biden. They’re not saying anything new. Let’s have a look at Joe Manchin. Senator Joe Manchin is aching to be the presidential candidate of a third party running for the Oval Office. […]

The criminal racketeering, bribery and extortion trial of Ed Burke has barely begun. But in City Hall and on the streets and the neighborhoods the whispering already is that the jury will find Burke guilty of most everything charged. Not because he is guilty, which we have not yet determined. But because members of the […]

It is hard right now to find good news in the news. But here is some very good news. The Attorney General of the State of Illinois is joining a team of Attorneys General that is filing lawsuits against Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms accusing them of feeding children false information, enticing teenagers […]

Walter offers his perspective on the weatherman's upcoming retirement.

The news reports about suffering and death in Israel and Gaza are so painful to watch that it is hard for me to turn on the TV. But it would be harder for me not to turn it on because of how important it is to keep up with the news. So I am turning […]

Chicago’s yearly, lovable Columbus Day Parade walked off on schedule three days ago. There were more than a thousand people in the parade or watching and cheering, many of them hoping that someday soon City Hall will return their statue of Christopher Columbus to Arrigo Park in the Little Italy neighborhood on the near Southwest […]

I am not a gambler. I’ve never been or even wanted to go to Las Vegas. But, I’ve been dying to go to the big casino that’s just opened here in Chicago to see what it’s like. So last Saturday I went to the casino, got in for free – there’s no charge, and felt […]

So, what are you thinking now about the Chicago Bears? For me, I’m thinking that the Bears are in deep, deep bleep. The Bears are a bad football team that’s lost 13 games in a row and not once in 13 years has made it to the NFL playoffs. What’s unclear is whether there is […]

I thought I could never think like John Catanzara, the politically extreme, often foul-mouthed President of the Chicago Police Union. But I’m thinking like him now as he criticizes City Hall’s decision to place homeless migrants in police stations. To help migrants, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is welcoming them to our Sanctuary City. OK, says […]

What, oh what, is going on in the Department of Chicago Police? Here’s what. The temporary Chief of Police is on his way out, soon to be replaced, and is stepping, oh you might say stumbling, into trouble. His name is Fred Waller. His trouble is that in his hurry before being replaced he has […]

Tony La Russa, once loved now lamented, has come back to the Chicago White Sox as a personal consultant to owner Jerry Reinsdorf because Reinsdorf believes Tony La Russa knows all that there is to know about Major League Baseball and because Jerry and Tony are dear friends. Some prominent and popular Chicago media sports […]