A hot flash! INC. hears State Rep. Al Ronan (D., Chicago), who directed Mayor Jane Byrne`s field operations during her last bid for mayor, will run her mayoral campaign. Ronan is telling pals that Democratic ward committeemen throughout the city sealed his decision. ”Even the committeemen that don`t want her said their wards were committed to her,” Ronan told an INC. source. Hmmmmmm. Something must have changed his mind. Ronan, who worked for Byrne as a field coordinator during the last election, later sued Byrne for campaign fee disbursements. Ronan now claims the problem has been amicably resolved. Guess so.
The McMahon matter . . .
INC. hears that star quarterback Jim McMahon is still a member of the Chicago Bears despite his injury. He will ”probably operate like an assistant coach advising the younger quarterbacks during the rest of the season,” said an INC. source. ”He still has to show up at practice.” What about Grizzly Bear Mike Ditka? ”Ditka wants him around. The quarterbacks all get along pretty well and respect McMahon`s ability and want his input. They want him to stick around on the sidelines.” Sure looks like McMahon is trying to turn around his negative image locally. Hasn`t McMahon become more accessible and isn`t he making more public appearances? Bye-bye bad boy?
News and notes . . .
— Is First Lady Nancy Reagan about to get caught in her own foreign policy brouhaha? Nancy, who has always touted buying American designers, has got a little surprise up her sleeve. Isn`t it true Italian designer Valentino shipped a couture dress to her last week?
— The debutant dog`s Christmas list: Only amongst the simmer-and-sand set in Palm Beach does the pampered puppy get dog biscuits shaped like 1954 Bentleys. The au naturel biscuits are called ”Molly`s PBDBs,” a.k.a. Palm Beach Dog Biscuits, what else! And bowwww wowwwww, they cost an arm and a leg: $3.50 per quarter-pound package!
North by Nicaragua . . .
— INC. hears that Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, who was fired from his National Security Council position Tuesday in the wake of the Iranian arms diversion deal, now wants to return to the Marine Corps. But Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger has privately said nix, even though North is two years from getting his 20-year pension!
— INC. hears North was on President Reagan`s list of favorites. Reagan considered him a war hero–he`s loaded with medals from Vietnam–and armed with a reputation for getting things done. What things? Item: Not only did North have a big hand in the Grenada caper, but it was North`s idea to hijack the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship. ”It was Ollie`s idea to use four U.S. warplanes to intercept an Egyptian airliner carrying four Palestinian pirates to Italy,” the source said.
— Remember the Kissinger commission in 1983? Well, there`s a bow wowwww postscript: While North traveled through Central America with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as an NSC representative, Mrs. Kissinger showed up in Costa Rica with their dog. During a hotel room chat, Kissinger asked North if he`d walk the dog. ”Walk your own dog. . . . I don`t walk anybody`s dog,” he reportedly barked. Sounds like INC.`s kinda guy.
The Iranian mess . . .
— The Regan affair: Notice how White House Chief of Staff Don Regan, who always has bragged about knowing all and having a firm grip on everything happening in the White House, is now talking like he doesn`t know much? INC. hears Regan was not planning to go to the Western White House with the President`s party for Thanksgiving, but at the last minute wound up on the Santa Barbara manifest. Did he figure this was not the time to be away from his boss? Did Don know that Nancy would be hot on the phone to her California pals expressing her displeasure with him, and she might be more circumspect with him around?
— Questions? Questions? Is it possible that veep George Bush knows more than he says about covert dealings with the contras? And what does son Jeb
–the Miami-based Dade County Republican chairman who speaks fluent Spanish and is married to a South American–know about the contra arms deal? Rumors are flying that Bush`s office had major responsibility in dealing with the contras. So why are the Dems being rather quiet? ”They don`t want to go on attack early because they`ll look partisan,” said a top Dem source. ”One man didn`t just know about this mess. Let them get caught in their own web. Then they`ll move in for the kill.”
— Is former White House Chief of Staff Mike Deaver, the aide Nancy really admired and loved, not feeling well?
INC.lings . . .
Surprise, surprise. INC. hears singer Tony Bennett will conduct a one-night appearance at the Gold Star Sardine Bar this week. Guess which night? No one`s telling, but remember, the bar seats only about 40 people. Attorney Leonard Ring`s daughter, Susan, is a semi-finalist in the Miss Illinois/Miss U.S.A. contest at the Arlington Park Hilton. Sunday birthdays: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., 63; Dick Clark, 55; Abbie Hoffman, 50; Richard Crenna, 59; Virginia Mayo, 66.
