Forget grapefruit. Forget exercise. To lose weight fast, sit in a sauna for eight hours a day–or work at the State of Illinois Center, which is pretty much the same thing. Tuesday`s temperature inside the Glass Inferno reached the high 80s. Ditto Wednesday. Flashbacks to the Summer of 1985 abound. Buy fans. Dress light. Watch this space for a daily weather report.
THE CHA STORY . . .
Is CHA executive director Zirl Smith suffering from a terminal case of Last Straw-itis? Will he pull up stakes–and drive them through the heart of his nemesis, CHA board chairman Renault Robinson? Didn`t Smith fire two deputy directors Monday, only to have them return to their jobs that afternoon after Robinson countermanded Smith`s action? Does Mayor Harold Washington really approve of Robinson`s strong-arm tactics with the CHA board? Why did the CHA bring in Smith, a housing pro, in the first place? Remember when Robinson was removed from Smith`s spot because he was a bumbler and couldn`t get the elevators fixed?
JUST ASKING . . .
— What ever happened to Ald. Ed Vrdolyak`s ”Majority Report”
newspaper? According to former publisher Joe Novak, ”It died from a lack of advertising revenue.”
— What ever happened to Vrdolyak`s majority?
INC. HEARS . . .
— The Southwest Side rapid-transit project will become reality next month. The project will mean $400 million and create 2,000 to 3,000 jobs in Chicago. The project has been made a reality because of the strong support and leadership of U.S. Rep. Bill Lipinski, through whose district it will run.
— A former Chicago police sergeant who was once assigned to Narcotics Court has been brought back to Chicago by the feds to testify before the grand jury in the Greylord investigation. The sarge reportedly has been granted immunity.
FOOD FIGHT! . . .
Things are heating up in the divorce battle between restaurateurs Jackie and Pierre Etcheber. Each owns a North Lincoln Avenue restaurant. His is D`Artagnan at 2242; hers is Jackie`s at 2476–on the ground floor of a building that`s in his name. INC. hears she stopped paying rent after Pierre filed for divorce in January. Watch for things to reach a boiling point soon. STAR TRACKS . . .
A spokeswoman for Morgan Fairchild says ”Saturday Night Live” suffered from a case of Premature Press Release when it was announced last week that Fairchild would host this Saturday`s show. She isn`t, because she`s in Israel filming ”Sleeping Beauty,” but she`d love to host some other time. Catherine (”Dynasty”) Oxenberg isn`t in Israel filming ”Sleeping Beauty”; so she`ll host this weekend`s show. Unless, of course–oh, never mind. . . . Susan St. James, who suffered a miscarriage last fall, is expecting again. She and her husband, Dick Ebersole, have three kids–two of hers, one of theirs. . . . Heather Locklear and Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee will say ”I do” this weekend at the Santa Barbara Hotel, and several cast members of both of her shows, ”Dynasty” and ”T.J. Hooker,” are expected to turn up among the 500 invited guests. . . . ”Jane Fonda`s Workout” is still No. 1 in home video sales. But the numbers aren`t so good for the Jane Fonda Workout exercise studio in Encino, Calif. It`s closing. . . . It has been a great week for Chicago actor John Mahoney. Less than a day after he was nominated for a Tony Award, he received New York`s prestigious Clarence Derwent Award for most promising new actor.
REEL NEWS . . .
”Date Night” was the original title of a movie shot here last summer. Then it was changed to ”One More Saturday Night.” But it may not make a whole lot of difference what it`s called, because INC. hears the movie`s release date has been ”postponed” from early June–and no new release date has been set. A spokesman for Columbia Pictures denied a report that the movie was being ”shelved” and would not be released at all. . . . If you think you oughta be in movies, send your picture and vital statistics to Holzer-Roche Casting, 700 S. DesPlaines, Chicago, Ill. 60607. The new company is working on several movie and television projects that`ll be filmed here this year.
INC.LINGS . . .
Betty Ford will be the keynote speaker for The Lambs` May 22 Good Shepherd Awards dinner at Lambs Farm in Libertyville. . . . Thursday birthdays: Gov. James Thompson, 50; Don Rickles, 60; Toni Tennille, 43;
Melissa Gilbert, 22; Alex Van Halen, 30; Jackie Etcheber, 34. . . . Museum of Science and Industry President Vic Danilov is working on a guide to local museums, zoos, conservatories, aquariums and historical societies. The guide, to be published next year by the Chicago Review Press, will include history, photos, floor plans, hours and prices. . . . The Women`s Board of the Chicago Maternity Center, dumped last fall as the fundraising arm of Prentice Hospital, has resurfaced as the Children`s Service Board of Children`s Memorial Hospital–and will continue the Gold Coast Fashion Show that was the group`s big fundraiser. It`ll be held this year on Oct. 30 at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
