— INC. hears that the feds are hot hot hot to get a well-known Chicago alderman to make a personal connection between FBI mole Michael Raymond and Mayor Harold Washington! City Hall insiders feel it`s hard to believe that Raymond would send a $1,500 check to Washington for his campaign chest last August rather than personally hand it to him in a ceremonious way at City Hall with a middleman/alderman making the introduction. That would disprove hizzoner`s contention that he never met the mole, n`est-ce pas? Stay tuned.
— Mum`s the word, but INC. hears rumbles that former mayoral aide Clarence McClain, a prime focus in the FBI mole probe, just got a mucho huge settlement from a malpractice suit filed against a local hospital! Maybe now he`ll be able to pay his water bills.
— Ooooh-la-la: INC. hears that some hot hot hot videos in the hands of the feds show two well-known pols having the sexual time of their lives. No, not with each other–for heaven`s sake!
— Pssst! The case of patronage personified: Is it true that a collection agency hired nearly 20 campaign workers the mayor was legally unable to hire and put them to work in a city department? The agency paid their salaries; a mayoral aide was their boss. Ah, the old patronage game.
— Hmmmmm. Does a certain mayoral bigwig drive a leased Cadillac paid for by a controversial company doing business with the city?
— INC.`s source in the bowels of the Chicago City Council Finance Committee claims that the feds` recent subpoena of contracts from the Jane Byrne era, part of the probe of corrupt City Hall contract practices, is not as ”pervasive” as reported in the press.
THE COFFEY CAN . . .
Now that mayoral aide Tom Coffey has left City Hall, here`s the real story: Coffey was canned. ”He was called in last Tuesday and asked to resign,” a City Hall source said. ”He had his enemies and they convinced the mayor to get rid of him. But he didn`t move fast enough, so they let the rumor mill spread like wildfire and Tom finally resigned Friday.” Coffey`s fans, who consider him one of the few shining stars on hizzoner`s staff, felt he was a voice of reason that went unheeded. ”Tom had a hard time fitting into an administration of handholding and consensus,” the source said. ”He was an
— kicker and they didn`t like it!” And contrary to mayoral press paranoia, Coffey was never never an INC. source. Believe it.
THE POLICE BLOTTER . . .
Is it true that a lawsuit was filed claiming a bigwig in the police department is a pornographer? . . . INC. hears that three police officers, recently sued for big bucks for working second jobs while on department medical leave, have been ”terminated.” . . . INC. is told that the principal of a Far South Side school was barred from telling the police info he had gleaned from student witnesses to the murder of an alleged drug dealer several weeks ago. ”The school district refused to let the principal talk, so we had to get a grand jury subpoena to let him do so,” a police source said. ”And we thought the school district would have done everything they could to clean up a drug problem.”
REEL NEWS . . .
Now that ”Beverly Hills Cop” and ”Down and Out in You Know What” have made the city (or is it a kingdom?) such a popular movie location, more producers are anxious to film there, even though it`s very difficult to get clearance and it`ll cost you a mint once you do. Be that as it may, filming is taking place this month on ”Adventures of the Rich and Famous,” an NBC-TV movie of the week starring Faye Dunaway. But INC. hears that`s the title they came up with to get permits because the city might not have cleared a movie called ”Beverly Hills Madam.” . . . Universal Pictures begged, borrowed and rented more than $10 million in original art–you know, Calders and Picassos and stuff–to decorate a gallery set for ”Legal Eagles,” starring Debra Winger, Robert Redford and Darryl Hannah.
STAR TRACKS . . .
The break-up of Bruce and Linda Jenner`s marriage will have no effect on a print campaign for a line of London Fog outerwear in which they appear, according to a spokesman for the ad agency that developed the campaign. He told INC. the ads are scheduled to run in magazines through the end of the spring, and there should be no problem since she isn`t referred to as ”Mrs. Jenner.” That`s true, but she is referred to as ”his wife,” which seems pretty close. . . . Mary Crosby will star in a CBS-TV remake of
”Stagecoach.” No. She did not snag the part her Dad had. . . . INC. hears that Elizabeth Taylor scheduled her back surgery for March 17 so that she can participate in the Beverly Hills St. Patrick`s Day parade on March 16. . . . Well, isn`t Rio the popular spot this month? The ”Today” show will broadcast from there Monday and Tuesday, and Merv Griffin just finished. Griffin`s talk show, which once was carried in 100 markets, now is seen only in 26, and reportedly will be dropped in Los Angeles and New York on March 1. ON STAGE . . .
Anybody who hasn`t been able to sweet talk their way into the Limelight`s VIP room (and there must be at least six or seven of you) should appreciate Sunday`s ”Murder at the Castle,” a production of The Commons Theater, during which VIP room host B.J. will be ”murdered.” . . . Suzanne Samorez of
”Cats” and Vince Viverito of ”Lady Blue” are getting married Monday. . . . Del Close says that a little rewriting may be necessary for the Civic Center-Wisdom Bridge encore production of ”Hamlet,” considering the CTA board`s tough new stance on graffiti perpetrators. In the scene where Hamlet spray paints ”To be or not to be” on a wall, Close says the new version may have the character being attacked by vicious killer dogs.
DANCE FEVER . . .
The Chicago dance crowd did the Super Ballet Shuffle Friday at the American Ballet Theatre`s premiere of Sir Kenneth MacMillan`s ”Requiem”
ballet. At the gala following the premiere, Geraldine Freund wore a black floor-length dress and a Chicago Bears hat. ABT artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov, accepting the keys to the city from Mayor Washington, addressed him as ”your majesty.” Among the clout crowd at Washington`s table: Norman Ross, Andre and Linda Johnson Rice, Freund, Terry Savage and, of course, Mary Ella Smith.
INC.LINGS . . .
INC. hears that the Small Business Administration has decided that Channel 2`s Savage will be named one of its Media Advocates of the Year, but it doesn`t want to make the announcement right away–just in case the agency loses the Battle of the Budget and ceases to exist. . . . Sunday birthdays:
Mia Farrow, 41; Carole King, 44; restaurateur Doug Roth, 31; Burr Ridge School Supt. Drew Starsiak, 40. . . . Since Bill Veeck`s death, his widow Mary Frances Veeck has received more than three mailbags of condolences, including dozens of letters from outside the United States. . . . Anybody have an autographed Chicago Bears football to add to a raffle to help pay for the open-heart surgery for 2-month-old Leo Stanley Fron? A breakfast benefit is being held Sunday at St. Denis Catholic Church, 8301 S. St. Louis St. . . . There may be a citywide paper-towel crisis; the cops at the Town Hall district haven`t seen a sheet in a week and were told that there isn`t any to be found anywhere. And it`s so icky to dry your hands with toilet paper.
