— INC. hears that nearly daily meetings are taking place with Republican bigwigs on one side of the table and representatives of some disenchanted Dems on the other to explore all the possibilities–and pros and cons–of the Dems turning in their party badges for ones that read GOP. Much of the talk centers on Ed Vrdolyak, boss of the county Dems, and how a party switch might be orchestrated–if that`s ultimately what he wants and if such a deal doesn`t unravel. A few GOPers, like 43d Ward Republican Committeeman Ron Gidwitz, are a bit concerned about ”opportunistic switches” and want to make sure that Dems seeking a new fold have really had a philosophical change of heart. INC. hears that EV has talked with Cook County Sheriff Jim O`Grady, who has some experience with switching party allegiances, and county Republican chairman Don Totten about ”keeping his options open.” Some say that if EV goes, he`ll take others with him, like 47th Ward Committeeman Ed Kelly.
— There are several different scenarios about which office Vrdolyak might seek as a Republican, running the gamut from 10th Ward Republican Committeeman to a more ambitious bid for county board president in 1990. It`s all speculation since EV hasn`t made up his mind yet, but political insiders are already wondering if EV might lead a push for legislation to transfer some of the city`s power–over things like O`Hare International Airport–to the county. A sort of ”If you can`t beat them, subsume them,” opined an INC. source.
SCOPING THE STATE . . .
— Assistant Majority Leader Alan Greiman (D., Skokie) is seeking an appointment to the Cook County Circuit Court, and would leave the Illinois House if it comes through, possibly this summer. His intentions prompted a suburban Democrat to ask House Speaker Michael Madigan (D., Chicago) at a Saturday meeting if that meant Greiman`s departure would open a suburban leadership position. Madigan, seated next to Greiman, replied that such a vacancy could be interpreted to be ”a fat person`s position.” Greiman, Madigan`s good friend, reportedly laughed and took no offense.
— Illinois Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan and U.S. Rep. Lane Evans (D., Ill.)
will both be on hand when their good friend, Sen. Paul Simon (D., Ill.) makes his presidential candidacy official Monday in Carbondale.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE . . .
Oh, dear, and all this time we thought the marriage of Madonna and Sean Penn had a real future. A publicist for the little woman acknowledges that the couple is ”definitely having problems and they are taking time to work things out.” They haven`t filed for divorce. Yet.
REEL NEWS . . .
”The Rescue,” a Walt Disney movie being filmed in New Zealand, might more appropriately be titled ”Iron Eagle Times 5 Underwater.” Like ”Iron Eagle,” in which a pilot`s son rescued his father from a foreign prison,
”The Rescue” is the story of five teens who rescue their fathers, members of a Navy`s underwater rescue team being held in a North Korean prison. Kevin (”Platoon”) Dillon and Mark Price (Skippy on ”Family Ties”) are two of the movie`s stars. . . . Bernadette Peters has replaced Whoopi Goldberg as the lead in a planned remake of ”Born Yesterday,” not long after Whoopi replaced Cher as the lead in ”Fatal Beauty.” Huh?
NONHEADS OF THE CLASS . . .
Three cast members of ABC-TV`s ”Head of the Class,” in town for last weekend`s ”Say No to Drugs” parade, stopped for a visit with INC.
— Tony O`Dell (his real name is Dellaquilla), possibly the world`s oldest TV high school student at the age of 24, says he tried marijuana several years ago but hasn`t used it in years because he didn`t like not being in control. . . . O`Dell and fellow cast member Brian Robbins often found themselves competing for the same roles and were pleasantly surprised when they both got parts in ”Head of the Class.” O`Dell`s is that of blueblood Alan Pinkard.
— Kimberly Russell, the 22-year-old who plays Sarah Nevins on the show, spent a day last week in Washington, D.C., but didn`t see a thing. She was participating (with O`Dell) in National Barrier Awareness Day–and she was blindfolded to get a feel for how a blind person would negotiate the nation`s capital. Russell, who says a strong family background helped keep her from drugs, recalled that she and her two sisters (born a year apart) learned the facts of life from their mom and dad before they learned there was no Santa Claus.
— Jorie Husain, who graduated from high school two years ago at the age of 16 (he skipped two grades), said he probably was a likely candidate to drift into drug use because of his parents` divorce and several moves in his teen years–but thinks he avoided it because he never hung around with kids who were users. Husain, who plays Jawaharlal in ”Class,” spent his hiatus from the show appearing on several radio shows and says his childhood dream was to be on Public TV`s ”Zoom.”
INC.LINGS . . .
Chicago comic Cary Odes guests Friday on former Chicagoan Jimmy Aleck`s
”Keep on Cruisin”` on WBBM-TV. . . . Tuesday birthdays: Mary Kolleng, 101; Nick Nickolas, 48; George Carlin, 50; Burt Bacharach, 59; Yogi Berra, 62; Howard K. Smith, 73; Steve Winwood, 39. . . . Thursday`s Owl Awards are being held at First Chicago Center, not the Civic Theater.
