Five Things To Know: Chicago holding cards back in casino debate
Mayor Richard Daley's administration laid out a couple of cards last week as state lawmakers studied legislation that would allow the city to own a land-based casino. But Chicago kept most cards close to the vest.
City finance guru Paul Volpe told lawmakers that Chicago is balking at the idea of plunking down $800 million for a state casino license because the debt costs would be too big. He conceded the local government could probably pay something. Meanwhile, the guarded official said the Daley administration envisions a "centrally located" casino near existing hotels and restaurants. Under the right conditions, a "first-class" gaming palace could rake in $1 billion in annual revenues, Volpe said.
Frango tango. Macy's -- the retail giant that took over Marshall Field's and renamed the elegant State Street store to a chorus of boos - may have softened some critics. The company confirmed it is bringing some production of Frango mints back to Chicago. Field's outsourced the house-brand candy some years back.
Fed to be wed. Sorry, girls. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald -- a bachelor who once made the People magazine's list of sexiest men alive -- is taken. The 46-year-old prosecutor is engaged to a 34-year-old teacher named Jennifer Letzkus. During his six-year tenure in Chicago, Fitzgerald's office has prosecuted and convicted the likes of white supremacist Matt Hale, former Gov. George Ryan and, more recently, a slew of Chicago mobsters.
Another notch for U of C. University of Chicago professor Roger B. Myerson is sharing the 2007 Nobel Prize for economics. To date, the university in Hyde Park has been affiliated with 80 Nobel Laureates in five categories, according to the institution. The U of C is believed to have had more winners than any other American university.
Honest, Abe will bust a move. When you think of Abraham Lincoln, you think of dance, right? Well, maybe not. But choreographer Bill T. Jones does. He has been commissioned by the Ravinia Festival to conceive a dance performance based on the life of Lincoln. It will be unveiled in 2009 to coincide with the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. Ravinia is located in the North Shore suburb of Highland Park.
Mike Ramsey is Chicago reporter for GateHouse News Service. He can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net <mailto:ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net> .