— Hello-o-o Adlai! Gov. James Thompson`s most recent survey suggests that if former Sen. Adlai Stevenson were to mount a primary challenge to Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1986, it would be a close contest. Adlai has been virtually invisible since his 1982 defeat at Thompson`s hands. Hmmmmm.
— City Hall wags are calling Mayor Harold Washington`s removal of three top aides, predicted months ago in INC., the ”elevator shaft.” Why? Because unlike former Mayor Jane Byrne, who canned aides intermittently in her
”revolving door” policy, the mayor ”lined up all three former Byrne aides and fired them at once.” Kudos to former Public Works Commissioner Jerome Butler, who managed to survive the spring cleaning. As the new aviation commissioner, Butler disproves the axiom: ”Nice guys finish last.”
— Watch for some city council fireworks Wednesday when the majority bloc denounces Mayor Washington`s continued support of Uptown activist Slim Coleman. INC. hears that one of the main reasons the mayor`s opponents want to control who gets city contracts is because they don`t want the funds getting into Coleman`s hands. They are infuriated with reports that Slim held a wake at his Uptown Community People`s Service Center headquarters for a youth who had been associated with the American Nazi Party. (The youth`s parents claim their son had decided to leave the Nazi group a week before his death.) The wake was held at the center, which has been awarded two city contracts in recent weeks.
All about Claus . . .
Claus von Bulow certainly has a problem with women. First there was
”Sunny,” his wife who is in a coma. Then there was Alexandra Isles, who gave him the old put-up or shut-up. And now he`s got himself involved with Andrea Reynolds, who sat on ”CBS Morning News” Tuesday and announced that while everyone was looking for Isles so she could testify in Von Bulow`s trial, Isles was holed up on a fat farm in England, trying to lose weight for her big day in court. Reynolds, who doesn`t think much of Claus` former girlfriend, did admit that Isles is ”pret-ty,” then compared her with Alexis Carrington on ”Dynasty.” Meeooww. As to why she even bothered to do the interviews, Reynolds told Jane Pauley on ”Today,” ”You can`t let the media down.” . . . Say what you will, Von Bulow is a man of his word. He promised Barbara Walters he`d give her his first major interview after the trial, and he`ll deliver the goods on ”20/20” Thursday night on ABC-TV.
INC. hears . . .
News magnate Rupert Murdoch`s wife, Anna, has penned a novel on love and lust in the Australian Outback, . . . and guess who owns a big chunk of the company publishing the torrid tome? El Hubbo, of course. . . . Ald. Jerome Orbach (46th) threw a fundraiser Monday and hired female impersonators for entertainment. Naughty. Naughty. Not only were Aldermen Bobby Rush (2d), Marian ”Fumes” Humes (8th) and former Mayor Byrne there, but when State Sen. Bill Marovitz (D., Chicago) was asked to give a speech, he was rendered almost speechless: ”No way can I follow this act.” Atta boy, Billy. . . . Circuit Judge Richard LeFevour, who once headed Traffic Court and who is on a leave of absence pending the outcome of his trial in the Greylord investigation, visited Traffic Court last week ”and looked like a gray ghost walking through the corridors,” an INC. spotter said.
Small-screen trade . . .
Oprah Winfrey returns Wednesday night from La-La Land, where she`s been filming ”The Color Purple.” She`ll be back at ”A.M. Chicago” Thursday, and she`ll stay put until July 5. Winfrey has been trying valiantly to keep herself amused while away from home, having lunch with Clint Eastwood, attending a barbecue with Michael Jackson. That kind of stuff. . . . Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are dancing up the movie house aisles. ”At the Movies” tied the usually invincible ”Wheel of Fortune” in the ratings last Saturday in their first head-to-head competition.
INC.lings . . .
Hotshot dealer Richard Norton exhibited a solution to the city`s problems at the Lake Forest Antiques Exposition: a two-desks-in-one desk that belonged to the mayor of Abbeville, France–”Perfect for Mayor Washington and Ed Vrdolyak to settle their disputes.” . . . Gov. Thompson delivers the
”rationale” behind the building of the new State of Illinois Center at the Neocon Convention of the World Congress of Environmental Planning and Design execs at the Merchandise Mart on Thursday. ”It`s the top Neocon tourist attraction,” said Jim Bidwell, Mart spokesman. . . . Wednesday birthdays: Uta Hagen, 66; Vic Damone, 57; Jim Nabors, 52; and George Bush, 61. . . . Commissioner John Stroger will be saluted for his 15-year tenure on the Cook County Board on Wednesday at the Bismarck Hotel. . . . A South Side blood drive for the four Corrigan brothers, all of whom suffer from hemophilia, will be held Saturday at Reilly`s Daughter Pub, 111th Street and Pulaski Road. Give a pint; get a pint of ale free.
Reel stuff . . .
Has Steven Spielberg lost his magic touch? Despite good reviews, ”The Goonies” was a major disappointment nationally in its first weekend release. The Powers that Pick Up the Pieces over at Warner Brothers are blaming the movie`s title for its poor box office, theorizing that it is a turn-off to anyone over 17. . . . Goldie Hawn and her strong, silent boyfriend, Kurt Russell, who recently claimed he`d like to be a writer although he`s probably never read a book from cover to cover, asked for a quiet table at Carlucci over the weekend–and got it. Only one autograph hunter disturbed them and their three guests as they huddled over their pasta. . . . Chicago has gotten lucky because of the New York hotel strike. Columbia Pictures has moved the press tour for the cast of ”St. Elmo`s Fire,” known as ”The Little Chill” because of its ensemble, to Chicago. That`s why you may have seen Brat Packers, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez and Rob Lowe around town.
