Oh, Malort!

In this episode I am joined by legal expert Morgan Stinger and John Zinn to discuss the Ed Burke sentencing. 

Image from Hare Brained

Show Notes:

Chicago Sun-Times: How much jail time should Ed Burke get? Depends on which City Council member you ask.

Chicago Magazine: Paul Vallas Really Loves His Broom

Chicago Sun-Times: Let's all play 'Sit in Judgment of Ed Burke'

Chicago Sun-Times: Ed Burke's lawyers say he deserves acquittal or a new trial

Chicago Sun-Times: Ex-Ald. Ed Burke keeps law license after most Illinois Supreme Court justices recuse themselves

Chicago Sun-Times: Ex-Ald. Ed Burke retires as a lawyer after the state’s highest court failed to pull his law license

Chicago Sun-Times: Rod Blagojevich is disbarred

Chicago Tribune: Ex-Ald. Edward Burke resigns from Union League Club, scene of key meeting in corruption case

Chicago Sun-Times: Former mayoral candidate Paul Vallas urges leniency for Ed Burke, ‘whom I always felt met my standards for ethics’

Chicago Sun-Times: Ed Burke is asking for a new trial — with sentencing less than 3 weeks away

Chicago Sun-Times: Ed Burke deserves 10 years in prison for corruption, feds say: 'He abused and exploited his office'

Neil Steinberg: To love and not to count the cost

WBEZ: Chicago’s once-powerful Ed Burke faces sentencing Monday, ‘very humbling’ days could be ahead

WTTW: U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Bribery Statute at Heart of Michael Madigan Trial

Politico: Supreme Court overturns Bob McDonnell’s corruption convictions

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In this episode Alyssa is joined by Risen Lady Heathen to talk about the rise and fall of the KKK in Chicago.

Show Notes:

Chicago Tribune: When Chicago welcomed KKK

NPR Illinois: History: The 1920's Saw The KKK's Rise In Illinois

Chicago Magazine: The Ku Klux Klan Was Successful in 1920s Chicago (But Mostly as a Con)

Chicago Reader: Boys in the Hoods

Smithsonian: HISTORY “Murder Wasn’t Very Pretty”: The Rise and Fall of D.C. Stephenson

Encyclopedia of Chicago

DOJ: KU KLUX KLAN - REPORT TO THE ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Hatred and Profits: Under the Hood of the Ku Klux Klan

New York Times: CHICAGO OPENS WAR ON KU KLUX KLAN; Bankers and Business Men Known to Be Members Are Being Boycotted. BARRED AS JURORS BY JUDGE American Unity League Leads Fight Against Klansmen and Makes Names Public.

Alyssa's Bartman Tweet

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In this episode, Alyssa is joined by Hugh Yeman to discuss "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault" an event that catapulted Geraldo into a new direction and impacted the media market to this day.

Show Notes:

AV Club: When Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone’s vault, he turned nothing into ratings

Mental Flow: Oral History: When Geraldo Rivera Opened Al Capone's Vault

Washington Post: GERALDO'S MAKEOVER

The Video

Chicago Tribune: Vintage Chicago Tribune: Watch and revisit ‘The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults’ hosted by Geraldo Rivera

AV Club: Read This: 30 years ago, Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone’s sadly empty vault

The Vintage News: 30 million people watched as Al Capone’s secret treasure vault was opened…and it was empty

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In this episode Alyssa is joined by David Baxter to discuss the history of Pride in Chicago.  

Show Notes:

Chicago Magazine: A Brief History of Chicago’s Pride Parade

WTTW: How Chicago’s Pride Parade Grew from a Small March to a Big Event

Out & Proud in Chicago

Windy City Times: From a March to a Parade: Chicago's Pride History

NPR: Gloria Gaynor: 'I Will Survive' Is 'The Core Of My Purpose'

Pink Triangles Rising

10 Historic LGBTQ Moments in Chicago

Curbed: 10 Historic LGBTQ Sites to Vistit

National Park Service: Chicago: Queer Histories at the Crossroads of America

Business Insider: I toured LGBTQ-friendly neighborhoods in 3 cities during Pride Month and found they all honor LGBTQ people in unique ways

NBC Chicago: 9 Things to Know About Pride Parade

NBC Chicago: New route, timing and more: What to know about the 2024 Chicago Pride Parade

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Alyssa is joined by Pat Westmacott of The Grinning Barretts to talk about Chicago's Punk Icon, Wesley Willis with a few fun digressions.

Show Notes:

Washington Post: Songs in His Head

Steve Albini

Chicago Reader: The Wesley Willis Fiasco Wesley Willis: Too Much Too Soon?

All Music: Feel the Power Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Wesley Willis Bio

Vice: Remembering Wesley Willis, Ten Years Later

Thrillist: He Wupped Batman's Ass: The Complex Simplicity of Chicago Legend Wesley Willis

New York Times: Wesley Willis, 40, Underground Musician

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Alyssa takes a break from crime and corruption to tell Vanessa from Reel Relationships about a living local hero and one of the reasons Chicago is the greatest American city.

Show Notes:

WTTW: Chicago Portrait: Tamale Guy

DNA Info: Is Running Into The Tamale Guy a Religious Experience? Yes, Yelpers Say

Thrillist: An Interview With Chicago's Dive Bar Hero, the Tamale Man

Chicago Tribune: 'Tamale Guy' an icon at bars where kitchens close early

Chicago Sun-Times: Tamale Guy returns: Claudio Velez feeling ‘completamente great’ as he relaunches bar route, sets up shop at Lone Wolf

Chicago Tribune: ‘Tamale Guy’ Claudio Velez sues restaurant partners, alleging they froze him out while profiting off his likeness and recipes

The Infatuation: Court Battles, COVID, And Collateral Damage: A Year Of Drama For Chicago’s Tamale Guy

Gapers Block: In Search of the Tamale Guy

Eater: The Saga of Chicago ‘Tamale Guy’ Claudio Velez

Eater: Tamale Guy Visits 20 Bars and Makes 1,500 Tamales on First Day Back

Eater: Tamale Guy Moves Operations to Wicker Park

Eater: Tamale Guy Gears Up For Thursday Debut on Randolph Street

Eater: The Secret Origin of Chicago’s Tamale Guy

Mashed: The Truth About Chicago's Famous Tamale Guy

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With Ed Burke Day mere days away, Alyssa invited Morgan Stringer from Hot Dockets to the Dirksenverse to explore Operation GAMBAT which involved putting away bad people who fixed murders and other stuff. 

In addition the FBI Op we talk about the following:

Ed Burke’s racism

Costume critique

Return of the FBI Theatre Troop and some bad casting

Dersh

Alex Jones

It should cost more to be corruptible

Current state of the Board of Ethics

Show Notes:

Foreign Policy: Judges on the Take

Chicago Tribune: OPERATION GREYLORD WINDS DOWN

Daily Journal Remember Graylord, Gambit Cases

Chicago Tribune: `SORRY, ASHAMED’ ROTI GETS 4-YEAR TERM

LA Times: ‘Thousand Points of Corruption’ : A travel guide practically guarantees tourists that a Chicago official will be indicted during their stay. The fabled machine may be gone, but dirty politics is alive and well.

Chicago Magazine: Devils’ Advocate

Chicago Sun-Times: GAMBAT CHARGES

Chicago Sun-Times: 'My only goal was to clean up the court system'

Chicago Sun-Times: COP-BEATING VERDICT PROBED

Chicago Sun-Times: 2 FBI agents posed as lawsuit feuders

Chicago Sun-Times: Lawyer's cop roots put to use in undercover job

Chicago Sun-Times:Lawyer Cooley describes a life of crime

WTTW: Ald. Jim Gardiner Fined $20K For Violating Ethics Ordinance by Slapping Critic with Unfounded Tickets

Burke Picture

CNN: Blagojevich's lead defense lawyer to resign

When Corruption Was King: How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, Then Brought the Outfit Down

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In this episode Alyssa is joined by Steven Ray Morris of See Jurassic Right and formerly My Favorite Murder to discuss the 1950's murder of the Grimes Sisters.  

Show Notes:

Chicago Reader: Death and the Maidens

Chicago Now: Unsolved Chicago Grimes Sisters’ Murder is 59 Years Old

Newcity: A Killer and A Movie: When Two Brutal Murders Brought Fear to Chicago

WGN: Grimes Sisters' killings blamed for Chicago's loss of innocence

The Two Lost Girls: The Mystery of the Grimes Sisters (Dead Men Do Tell Tales)

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Alyssa is joined by Ben Mandelker of Watch What Crappens to discuss the life and times of Chef Charlie Trotter. Some of you might be asking, "Who?" Well, take a listen because aside from being Gordon Ramsay before Gordon Ramsay he profoundly impacted Chicago's dining culture with some influence on Top Chef.

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Show Notes:

Book: Charlie Trotter: How One Superstar Chef and His Iconic Chicago Restaurant Helped Revolutionize American Cuisine

IMDB: Love Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Charlie Trotter

New York Times: Charlie Trotter, a Leader Left Behind

New York Times: Charlie Trotter Dies at 54; Chef Made Chicago a Must

Chicago Magazine: Charlie Trotter Is Alive And Well

Chicago Sun-Times: Charlie Trotter exhibit a glimpse of the man behind the legend

People: Chef Graham Elliot Remembers Charlie Trotter

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The Chicago Bears and the City of Chicago held a press conference so stunning Alyssa had to sit down for and tell Scoot and Pat all about it to get their reactions.

She also had to explain the parking deal.

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