EXTRA: Gov. Gridlock? It doesn’t have the same panache as “Gov. No.”

To listen to the communications director for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Bruce Rauner is now “Gov. Gridlock.”
 

Rauner as 'Gov. Gridlock'...

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday how Adam Collins has coined the new nickname for the governor, in response to Rauner saying he will veto a measure the Illinois Legislature approved to try to salvage two city worker pension programs.

NOT THAT RAUNER’S reaction ought to be surprising. He’s willing to play politics with the measure desired by many city officials who see the need for state assistance with regards to the pension issue.

 

... falls behind Jim Edgar's 'Gov. No'

Then again, coming up with that kind of nickname surely shows the willingness of Chicago Dems to take on some partisanship of their own.

It reminds me of the days of old some two decades ago, back when the idea of city and state officials feuding meant Richard M. Daley taking on Jim Edgar – who got the nickname “Gov. No.” In response to the notion that Edgar’s automatic reaction to anything desired by the city was “No.”

Although it also brought up the James Bond-ian image of Dr. No – the evil villain who plotted to undermine the Project Mercury program into space, only to be saved by British agent 007 himself.

NOT THAT I ever thought of Edgar as being reminiscent of the evil villain portrayed by actor Joseph Wiseman. Or Daley as anyway like a British intelligence agent – unless you mean like in an Austin Powers-type world of ridiculous parody.

But it did have a punchiness to the nickname; a certain ring to it.

Rauner's nickname doesn't bring to mind cinematic images

To where I must confess that my first reaction to learning that Rauner now had a nickname was to compare it to that of Edgar – whom I suspect would resent being compared to Rauner on every level.

Because Edgar was a lifelong state government person to whom getting a chance to put together the state budget was the whole point of the job – and not just an excuse to play political games.

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EXTRA: What should we think of 'Chuy' and Twitter site that mocks it?

I’m sure there are some people who are pondering the upcoming mayoral elections and are trying to figure out, “What’s up with the name ‘Chuy’?”

As in former alderman and state senator, and current county Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who is hoping that a dominant share of the Latino ethnic vote, combined with some support from the rest of Chicago, will be enough to make him Mayor come next May.

THOSE PEOPLE WHO are addicted to Twitter and reading all the 140-character phrases they can find now have a new site that plays along with their confusion. (This sentence, for example, is about 156 characters long).

It’s “Chewies for Chuy,” which I have to admit to never having heard of until I read a story about it Tuesday on the DNAInfo.com website. It seems like the perfect site for those individuals who don’t realize “The Daily Show” is (in the words of host Jon Stewart), a “fake news show.”

Meaning it goes for laughs as it purports to give us the thoughts of the Star Wars character Chewbacca (you know, the big fuzzy thing that looks like a walking shag carpet) with regards to the Chicago mayoral race.

Humor, not information, is its purpose. For example, the most recent post as I write this commentary suggests that, “@garcia4chicago should also be @ChicagoBears new quarterback.”

FOR THOSE PEOPLE who don’t have a clue, Chuy Garcia (which is how people who know him personally refer to him) isn’t some sort of freak who named himself for the “Star Wars” films.

Nor does it make him a big fan of the “Chuy’s” restaurant chain across various parts of the United States that provides Mexican-style food for people who think the real thing has too much flavor.

It’s actually a common nickname in Spanish for people named “Jesus.” Similar to how we can think of mayoral hopeful Robert Fioretti as “Bob.” It’s no more complex than that. Or did you believe there are a mass of people walking around Spanish-speaking neighborhoods demanding to be referred to by the full name of the "son of God?"

Although I’m sure it will create more opportunities for silly jokes, such as whenever people named “Ignacio” (common nickname “Nacho”) have to hear lame gags about tortilla chips from clueless Anglos.

  -30-

Somebody’s a film buff in FBI

I couldn’t help but be amused when I learned of the latest attempt at a cutesy nickname given to a criminal suspect, or in this case, suspects, by federal agents.

For we now have the “Nuns on the Run” robbers – two men who apparently wore masks and nun’s habits to try to disguise their identities when they robbed banks, including one in suburban Palos Heights.

NOT THAT IT did them much good. Two men are now in custody. One was arrested last year, and in theory is scheduled to go on trial next month.

But the other man, a resident of south suburban Markham, was not arrested until this week. He had his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Wednesday for the charges of bank robbery, and conspiracy to commit bank robbery that both men face.

Federal officials say that both suspects had previously worked for banks, and the man who was arrested last year had also been accused of embezzlement at his previous place of employment – a bank in suburban Country Club Hills.

For the record, federal officials dubbed them “Nuns on the Run” because they thought the masks used by the robbers looked just like costumes used in the 2010 film “The Town.”

NOT THAT I recall this particular film, which was directed by Ben Affleck and is adapted from the novel “Prince of Thieves.” Actor Jeremy Renner was actually nominated for an academy award (“best supporting actor”) for his performance.

Yes, I had to look those details up.

I’m sure someone out there will think I’ve been living in a cave for not knowing this right off the top of my head. But I wonder about the agent who made the connection between the bank surveillance camera footage of the robberies and this film?

Although I have to admit that my initial reaction was to think that some agent somewhere was really digging into obscure films to come up with a nickname.

BECAUSE MY FIRST thought would have been to think that somebody was remembering the 1990 film “Nuns on the Run.” That starred British actors Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane as a pair of low-level gangsters who have millions of pounds of another gangster’s money and are trying to rip him off.

To cover themselves up and escape an attempt on their lives, they take cover in the first building they see – which turns out to be a convent.

Hence, we get the sight of Idle and Coltrane in nuns’ habits throughout much of the film (along with a final shot of them in flight attendant uniforms). Much of the “humor” of this film is based on how absurd the characters act and look while trying to pretend to be women – particularly Coltrane, who makes actors like John Belushi or Jack Black look like fine specimens of physical fitness.

Then again, I suppose expecting someone to remember back two decades for an obscure reference would be a bit much to ask – particularly since I’m starting to wonder about myself for being able to remember this particular film.

PERHAPS MY OWN brain would be better off if it weren’t clogged with so much trivial detail? Sometimes, I wonder if these nicknames they come up with are so obscure that real people aren’t meant to “get” them. They’re just supposed to sound off-the-wall, while making the suspects sound more bizarre than they truly are.

Because this particular bank robbery wasn’t all that eventful – insofar as armed robberies are concerned. As a reporter-type person, I have written about stranger stuff on many occasions.

And as for the men who now face federal charges? They’ll have quite a bit of time on their hands awaiting trial. Perhaps they ought to try watching Idle and Coltrane’s performance as criminals-turned-nuns.

They managed to escape, albeit without the money – which church officials found and decided to use to put toward charitable works.

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