A DAY IN THE LIFE (of Chicago): McDonalds move? A big yawn

Much adieu is being given to the fact that McDonald’s is moving its corporate headquarters out of the DuPage County campus it had developed over the past four decades and is returning to Chicago.

 

Chicago will soon have another image besides the rock 'n' roll McDonald's to claim its own

Literally to the office complex that Oprah Winfrey had once developed to house her television production company. Harpo Studios, which itself left Chicago many years ago, will be replaced by the clown who is the face of McDonald’s hamburgers.

THE COMPANY IS making a big deal out of the move, saying they expect to be able to attract and keep quality executives by being based within the city – rather than out in the far western suburbs.

Which might as well be a completely different metropolitan area altogether if one happens to have their lives based in the southern or northern suburbs of Chicago, let alone the city proper.

It’s an intriguing move on some levels, and I have to admit some interest to the idea of a visible company deciding to return to Chicago proper. But I wonder if I am the exception?

Think about it. How many people will really care where the corporate offices are?

MY GUESS IS that when most people think of McDonald’s, they think solely in terms of their local franchise. Or perhaps they think of the golden arches logo in general – without regards to a sense of place.

The only time they may even think of that particular franchise is if they are in circumstances when they need something, anything, to eat. For the modern-day McDonald’s isn’t exactly a place one goes to when they want quality. It’s about being able to find identical product for sale regardless of place.

Unless moving to Chicago proper means they can attract a higher quality of corporate executive who can come up with ways to revamp the stagnant franchise, it probably doesn’t make any difference where those people work.

What else is notable these days on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan?

 

McCARTHY: Life's unfair!

FIRING UNFAIR? McCARTHY THOUGHT SO:  Former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who was dismissed from his post following the outcry over the shooting of a teenager by a Chicago police officer, thought his firing was “unfair.”

Others viewed him as the “sacrificial lamb” as Mayor Rahm Emanuel tried to minimize the outcry over the way police treated the public, particularly those who were black.

The Chicago Tribune has been fighting in court to get copies of all of McCarthy’s e-mail traffic during his final month as police superintendent – hoping to gain insight into what was going through his mind.

Some of those e-mails have been turned over (the fight continues to get the rest). But so far, it shows that McCarthy had his supporters – particularly within the department. People ought to realize the eventual court case against the officer facing charges in Laquan McDonald’s death isn’t the open-and-shut case they want to claim it is.

CLINTON WINS!!! (IN ILLINOIS, AT LEAST):  The Capitol Fax newsletter came up with its own poll for the upcoming November elections – one showing that Hillary Clinton will easily take the state’s Electoral College votes.

 

Chicago will lead Hillary to Illinois victory

With a 50 percent lead in Chicago and 12 percent lead in the inner suburbs of Cook County, which accounts for nearly half of Illinois’ population, Clinton takes some 47 percent of the poll support statewide, with 35 percent for Republican Donald Trump. While another 7 percent will go for Libertarian Gary Johnson.

It also seems the bulk of Johnson’s support comes from people who voted “Republican” in the past three election cycles.

Illinois, which during the 20^th Century was the ultimate bellwether state (it backed the winners in every single presidential election except 1916 and 1976), has become the ultimate partisan place. Meaning it’s unlikely we’ll see much of Trump here during the general election cycle, and certainly won’t get a repeat of that University of Illinois-Chicago primary appearance that never was on his behalf.

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