EXTRA: Clark, the cubbie bear -- something about ’14 Cubs will be cute

CLARK: Where's Addison?

The Chicago Cubs let it be known they're going to join the ranks of professional ball clubs that feel the need for a gigantic fuzzy creature roaming the stands to entertain the fans at those moments when the on-field game is just too dreadful to watch.

He’s going to be known as “Clark,” and it appears he will be a teddy bear-like concoction meant to generate an “aw, how cute?” reaction from mothers, who will take their kids over to check him out while at the ballpark.

Should 'Bull' and 'Pudge" have been mascots?

I CAN’T HELP but think, though, that if the mascot is going to be named “Clark,” he ought to be a part of a pair – with the other named “Addison.” It’s the logical play off the name of the location of Wrigley Field.
 

It’s not like it’s even unheard of for a ball club in our city to have dual mascots – remember “Ribbie” and “Roobarb,” who annoyed an entire generation of Chicago White Sox fans back in the 1980s.

It might be worth the time for whoever gets the job of being “Clark” to meet with the one-time “Ribbie” and “Roobarb” to learn about the natural attraction of people to want to take a punch at whatever big, fuzzy thing is blocking their view of the ballgame.

From Sesame, to 35th, streets?

There used to be Sox fans who thought it was cute to do such a thing. Of course, it didn’t help matters any that nobody could figure out what Ribbie and Roobarb were supposed to be, or that Ribbie (I think, I could never tell them apart) looked like a rip-off of Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street.

ALTHOUGH I’M SURE Cubs fans will think they’re too refined to beat him up. They’ll probably take to pouring their warm, stale beers on the baby bear. That costume is going to be downright rank by season's end.

All I can think is that it will be a downright miserable job to have to portray “Clark” for 81 games at Wrigley Field – along with whatever other promotional stunts the Cubs schedule. The mascot may well be the highlight of the 2014 season.

Is Southpaw throwing w/ right arm?

One final note – a message for “Clark.” Turn your cap around and wear it like a ballplayer!!!!!

For that reason alone, “Southpaw” (the current incarnation of a mascot for the White Sox) wins points over you. Although Ribbie and Roobarb top you both for their ability to cope with the Comiskey crowd of old.

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D.C. building for Eliot Ness?

Let me state up front that I’m not fond of naming buildings or streets for people. There’s always the stink over whether someone’s achievements are really worth it.

And what happens decades from now when a future generation decides they’d rather honor someone else with a structure whose sole purpose is to provide work space for public officials and civil service workers?

WOULD WE BE better off if we thought of the Daley Center as merely the county courthouse? Probably. Erect a statue to Richard J. somewhere if you want to pay tribute.

Which might be the best way to honor the memory of Eliot Ness, who about 90 years ago was one of the Prohibition agents based in Chicago who was supposed to enforce the laws against alcohol that were put in place in this nation back in the 1920s.

Instead, they spurred the creation of Italian gangs into an organized crime entity that exists to this day.

We’re talking about the days of Al Capone, who of course we like to joke never got caught selling liquor or engaging in any violent crimes to enforce his liquor empire. He got caught by not reporting all the money he made on his income tax returns.

WHICH MEANS THE Internal Revenue Service busted him, then gave him over to the Justice Department for prosecution. Not the “mighty” Prohibition agents – whose men have morphed throughout the decades into the modern-day Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms unit (with most of their emphasis placed on the latter part of the title).

So why is it that there are government officials who want to name the building that houses the ATF division in Washington, D.C., as the “Eliot Ness ATF Building.” The Chicago Sun-Times reported that both of our senators – Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk – are eagerly trying to attach their names to the effort so they can get credit for it!

The REAL reason we remember Eliot Ness

One could make the argument that you’d be honoring a federal agent who couldn’t catch Capone in the commission of crimes that were done pretty much in the open in 1920s-era Chicago.

Although anyone who has ever read the Oscar Fraley (a United Press reporter-of-old in Chicago) book “The Untouchables” gets the impression that Ness viewed his job more or less as harassing the Capone organization until other federal agents could build up the criminal case that resulted in that 11-year federal prison sentence.

Should we remember Dan Aykroyd's Ness portrayal?

OF COURSE, I realize Ness gets some serious publicity points because – after all – he was portrayed in a 1950’s-era television program AND in a 1980s film. Who else can claim to have had both Robert Stack and Kevin Costner portray him?

Even if those portrayals are so far from the actual man that they can be called complete fiction.

You’d be better off hanging photographs of Stack and Costner inside the building, instead of one of the actual man (whom nobody these days would recognize).

There’s another point to argue. If you really were going to honor the memory of Ness, why do it in D.C.? I suspect the agents in the capital city back when Ness was active thought of him, if at all, as someone too incompetent to bring a conviction.

PERHAPS THEY COULD name the Chicago ATF office, in a suite at 525 W. Van Buren St., for the man whose book would have you think of him as an incredibly honest man who couldn’t be corrupted.

Although I’m not interested in getting into a debate over the “real” Ness – who I know had his own struggles during life and was far from heroic in any sense.

More dangerous than the Outfit?

Personally, the part of the Ness story that most amuses me is that after Prohibition, he eventually got transferred out of Chicago, and wound up being one of the “revenuers” in the mountains of Kentucky busting illegal stills – claiming that those ‘hillbillies’ with shotguns were just as dangerous as any of Capone’s men.

Does this mean that every one whose family contains a “colorful character” engaging in the production of “moonshine” will now crawl out of the woodworks to oppose this move?

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Dan Aykroyd's portrayal of Eliot Ness in a Saturday Night Live sketch is less memorable than that of Desi Arnaz' portrayal of master criminal Frank Nitti -- whose plot to sell amphetamines to local teenagers is thwarted when wife "Lucy" brings him a "Tommy Gun" loaded with blanks!!!

Will the names Sanchez and Hardiman become more memorable in defeat?

Anybody who thinks that “The Law” is absolute, crystal clear and well-thought out in its intent need only look at some of the ballot challenges now taking place to realize the error of their ways.

SANCHEZ: Is he free yet?

In all honesty, I don’t know how the Cook County Elections Board will rule with regard to the challenge to the county board candidacy of Al Sanchez.

JUST AS I’M really curious to see if Gov. Pat Quinn becomes the luckiest politician on Planet Earth. After losing all of his potentially-serious challengers for the primary, he may also have his token Democrat challenger removed as well.

But none of it is so clear-cut that people can say it is a done deal that these people don’t have any business on the ballot for the March 18 primary elections.

Anybody who tries to claim that these candidates didn’t follow the rules, thereby bringing their fate upon themselves, is being disingenuous. They’re just lucky that the county and Illinois State Board of Elections both had officials whose interpretation of the law matchup up perfectly with their own partisan political leanings.

If anything, I’m inclined to think that Sanchez – the one-time city Streets & Sanitation commissioner who got into legal trouble for the way in which he tried to make himself a Latino political powerbroker – is doomed. Although his attorneys would argue otherwise about his campaign against incumbent Commissioner Stanley Moore, D-Chicago.

SANCHEZ DID JUST over two years in federal prison facilities for the way in which he used his part of the city payroll to reward his political workers. People like Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, also have their allied political workers in government jobs, but they are subtle than was Sanchez.

He’s now free, but he remains on probation.

Which is what has the people who don’t want Sanchez on the ballot arguing that he hasn’t completed the sentence for his felony conviction. As though they’d think any higher of him once his probation is complete.

HARDIMAN: No running mate?

Not likely!

IT ALWAYS WAS my understanding that a sentence includes the probationary period – because in theory he could be found in violation and returned to prison.

But it’s going to be up to the county Elections Board to figure this one out, because there isn’t much in the way of precedent in terms of a political candidate having to figure out when his prison time is complete.

Wouldn’t it be a hoot if the name “Al Sanchez” wound up going into the political history books more for determining when felons could resume trying to have a political life – rather than for his stint as head of the now-defunct Hispanic Democratic Organization.

The campaign of Tio Hardiman – who’s putting up the token Democratic primary bid against Quinn – is more bizarre. His lieutenant governor running mate is Brunell Donald, an attorney in Chicago.

IT SEEMS SHE’S not registered to vote at her current address (she recently moved). Which means the address she gave for herself on her nominating petitions does not match up to where she really lives.

Does this make her vulnerable to attack? Can she be booted from the ballot? Or is this excessive nitpicking?

It may be. But the real question is what this does to Hardiman, since the elections process was changed beginning this election cycle to require gubernatorial candidates to name a running mate to run with them in the primary portion of the election cycle.

There is NO precedent for what happens if a candidate for governor does not have a running mate in place on the ballot. The courts are definitely going to wind up having to resolve this case.

WHICH WILL BE rather ironic, since the name “Tio Hardiman” was supposed to be ultimately forgettable and irrelevant to this election cycle.

Instead, his case could wind up will definitely become a first, even bigger than that of Sanchez. They could matter more in defeat than if they had actually been capable of getting themselves elected to office.

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EXTRA: Jones off the ballot, Medrano off to prison. Both off to nowhereland

For those of you who didn’t notice my mention of Republican gubernatorial hopeful Peter Edward Jones in a recent commentary, never mind. You can formally forget all about him – at least until he tries to run another token campaign for office.

MEDRANO: Down for the count, again!

The State Board of Elections officially kicked him off the ballot – meaning that the Republican field of candidates who want to challenge Gov. Pat Quinn in the Nov. 4 general election is now down to the four blowhards you actually have heard of.

ALSO REMOVED WERE Armen Alvarez and William Lee, who both wanted to run as Republicans against Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. That field of people likely to get beaten up electorally by Durbin is down to state Sen. James Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, and Doug Truax, who owns a risk consulting firm and likes to make mention of the fact he attended West Point!

But they are not the only ones who will no longer be part of the political scenery.

Take Ambrosio Medrano, the one-time City Council member who got put away years ago on a political corruption rap and served a prison sentence.

Medrano on Friday in U.S. District Court received a 10-1/2 year prison sentence for what prosecutors convinced a jury was illegal activity he engaged in while serving as a political consultant who worked with Cook County government officials (prosecutors say he was getting financial kickbacks on the bandages being sold for use at Stroger Hospital).

MOST POLITICAL PEOPLE who wind up doing a prison sentence get out and maintain a low profile.

They certainly don’t get back in the political game and engage in activity that puts them right back into prison! But that is what happened to Medrano – whose place in the Chicago political history books is literally now one of being a political corruption repeat offender.

Considering that he’ll be nearly 70 by the time he is released, I don’t know whether to think it is feasible that he could become a “three time loser” in the acts of legally inappropriate government behavior.

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Will Mr. Burns “release the hounds” on Pat Quinn? Minimum wage lingers on

My first thought to learning that Gov. Pat Quinn tried bashing all four of the major Republican candidates who want to take his post from him was to wonder if a rush of Dobermans would now come charging at him and tear his body to shreds.

BURNS: Should he be Ill. gov?

After all, Quinn issued a statement (on his campaign letterhead, not his official gubernatorial stationery) saying that the GOP candidates for governor, “have all the compassion of C. Montgomery Burns.”

I CAN’T ENVISION the “Mr. Burns” character from “The Simpsons” (a television program that has been around for nearly half my life, even though I can’t remember the last time I watched a new episode) putting up with any guff from a mere peon like Pat Quinn.

“Release the hounds!!!!!!!” Let them deal with the impudent excuse for a governor that we have.

Now I realize that Burns and his nuclear power plant that probably violates every single environmental law in existence (how else to explain the three-eyed fish of old) is a fictional character.

Although somehow, I suspect the gubernatorial candidates are going to wish they could use such a tactic against Quinn – who’s trying to make sure that the whole fiasco related to the minimum wage lingers around for awhile.

IF IT FADES away, Quinn loses what could be his weapon that could inspire voters to think that they approve less of the Republican challengers than they do him.

For the record, Quinn wants an increase in the minimum wage for Illinois to $10 – which probably would be phased in over a few years.

Candidate Bruce Rauner created a whirlwind when he suggested that the minimum wage could actually be decreased – for the benefit of businesses in Illinois. The stink he stirred up was so intense that he’s now backtracking (and also trying to claim his thoughts were distorted).

QUINN: Devoured by the hounds, or the voters?

Other candidates aren’t ridiculous enough to say something so blunt – although they’re not about to back Quinn’s suggestion that low-level labor ought to get more money. They’re more interested in the corporate vote, which sees this as an attack on their financial bottom line.

WHICH IS USUALLY key to determining what kind of financial bonus they get for their work. Non-profitable companies don’t pay out such perks.

It’s also interesting to see the “debate,” of sorts, that has arisen, as Rauner wrote a commentary on the minimum wage issue that hints at letting such salaries increase – under certain circumstances.

“By far, the best ways to raise wages are to have a booming economy with companies competing to hire workers, and have great schools and vocational training that provide skills people need to move up the economic ladder,” Rauner wrote.

While Quinn, after making his “Simpsons” allusion, said he thinks the increase is the way to start toward a booming economy, saying, “Everyday people don’t admire the extra money they earn in the bank; they spend it in the local community, creating more jobs.”

IT’S ALL TRULY a matter of just which set of voters do the candidates want to appeal to.

Rauner wants to get the votes of the bosses who run companies, while Quinn wants their employees. Although Rauner seems to think that maybe if those employees are suffering a bit, they’ll blame Quinn and vote for him instead.

SMITHERS: Would he be Lt. Gov?

In all, it’s a rhetorical exchange notable only because we don’t get all that many “Simpsons” references in an election cycle. Although I wonder if the most-offended person in all of this is Peter Jones.

He’s the Franklin Park resident who also is seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination who wasn’t even included in Quinn’s attack. Does that make him the equivalent of Burns’ sycophant “Smithers?”

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How minimal is minimum (when it comes to wages across the state of Ill.)?

It has been awhile since I have had to work a job that paid minimum wage – so long that I recall being paid $3.25 an hour.

RAUNER: $7.25?

In fact, I suspect most people don’t give much thought to the issue; unless they happen to be in circumstances under which that is all anyone wants to pay them – and those employers go out of their way to complain that even that amount of money is too much.

SO I’M GUESSING it’s going to be a bit of a shock to many people as this election cycle we’re now in will force them to give a thought to just how little someone can be paid for their work.

Currently, employers in Illinois are required to pay their hourly workers no less than $8.25 per hour (which I would have thought of as a fortune back when I was 16 and didn’t know any better).

Gov. Pat Quinn is on the record as supporting an increase of the state minimum wage to $10 per hour. While voters in Chicago will be asked to vote on a referendum question as to whether the minimum wage ought to be boosted to $15 per hour.

Which is the rate that many of those organized labor protests outside of fast food franchise restaurants are demanding. I can recall when I was in junior high school, one of my fellow students felt the need to boast that her father had a $15 hourly salary – which was meant to sound impressive.

THEN AGAIN, $15 an hour doesn’t buy as much as it did a third of a century ago.

On the Republican side of the electoral equation, most of the candidates for governor are trying to avoid saying anything about the issue. Why tick off poor people who can vote (even though I suspect some GOP types wish that somehow the vote could be taken from them)?

QUINN: $10?

Except for Bruce Rauner, the wealthy venture capitalist and friend of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He used a candidate forum in the Quad Cities to say he wants to drop the state’s minimum wage, although in recent days he's tried to back track by saying he merely wants to study the issue.

A reduction is possible because the U.S. government has a $7.25 per hour minimum wage that applies across the nation, unless individual states wish to go higher. Illinois does. Indiana – for example – does not, which translates even at higher pay scales into the idea among Indiana residents that they have to come work in Illinois to make real money.

RAUNER SPEWS RHETORIC about wanting Illinois to be “competitive” with other states, implying that companies will want to locate elsewhere because they can save a buck (literally) on labor costs.

CHICAGO VOTERS: $15???

Actually, it just shows him taking sides, and it certainly isn’t with organized labor. This will be yet another reason why some of the unions in this state will decide to put their campaign cash into supporting anybody BUT Bruce.

Of course, some of the national organizations are choosing to give their cash to Quinn instead of a Republican primary campaign that they probably wouldn’t support in the November general election.

There are going to be a lot of choices for people who wouldn’t otherwise bother to even think about the issue. It will be curious to see who winds up prevailing, and how much of a statement it winds up making about the value of labor in Illinois.

AS FOR RAUNER, his attitude on this issue and other related questions winds up coming across as someone who doesn’t value the labor that does the work that enables companies to succeed.

It makes him seem like someone who wants to blame his employees for the fact that his profit margin isn’t higher. He’d better not be surprised when such an attitude winds up costing him votes come the March 18 primary.

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EXTRA: “Big Hurt” in, Slammin’ Sammy lives to be voted on another day

Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, while Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs winds up getting another chance (or maybe up to 13 more) to be considered for baseball’s version of immortality.

Craig Biggio's near miss for Hall of Fame ...

The results of the Hall of Fame election for were announced, with ballplayers needing to take 75 percent of the 571 ballots that were cast by sportswriters this year. Thomas took 83.7 percent of the vote.

ONE OF THE rules is that a ballplayer needs to get at least 5 percent of the vote in order to remain on the ballot for future years. Sosa, whom some fans are determined to think of as a steroid-loaded freak, got 7.2 percent of the vote.

The man whose name will forevermore be linked to him because of the 1998 home run race, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, got 11 percent.

So Sammy’s home runs (more than 600, with three seasons with more than 60) will continue to be debated.

As will the career of Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros – whose vote tally came to 74.8 percent. Real people would round it off to 75 percent, and he’d be a part of the induction ceremonies to be held July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

BUT BASEBALL PEOPLE live in their own world. And Chicago White Sox fans remember how famed second baseman Nellie Fox got rejected when he received 74.7 percent of the vote in 1985.

He eventually got into the Hall of Fame due to the special committees that give older ballplayers and baseball executive-types some consideration. I’m sure Biggio won’t have to wait anywhere near as long.

... brings back 29-year-old memories of Nellie Fox

Just a couple of other thoughts about the Hall of Fame voting process.

Thomas got in because the first half of his career was so overwhelming that it overcame the average play of the second half. Something similar could be said about Don Mattingly – the New York Yankees star of the 1980s, who barely got enough votes to remain on the ballot for one last try in 2014.

FOR THOSE WHO are viewing Wednesday’s results as some sort of Chicago-based story, keep in mind that Thomas himself told MLB-TV that he likes the idea of being a Georgia native who will be inducted on the same day as Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.

Or Maddux – who could have been a Chicago Cubs immortal if not for the ineptitude of then-Tribune Co. management of the ballclub – pointing out that both he and Thomas these days live in Las Vegas.

Withering away from Hall consideration?

Among those ballplayers who didn’t get enough votes to be considered again was Rafael Palmeiro – whose 500-plus home runs and 3,000-plus base hits are considered tainted by many because of steroid speculation.

His departure from the ballot is bound to spark up the snickers from amongst Chicago Cubs fans who will tell the tales of why they believe he really was traded away to the Texas Rangers following the 1988 season.

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