Memo to Gov. Jim Thompson: Tread carefully on that proposal from Michigan attorney Paul Nine to build a golf course-resort in Downstate Illinois because it could get pretty pricey for taxpayers. Nine`s Grand Traverse Resort, where you and the other guvs just met, cost taxpayers $8 million in interest that never got paid to the Farmers Home Administration. And Nine and his crew were turned down by Michigan officials for loans to bail out the Grand Traverse Resort.
TOP JOBBERS . . .
Will Mayor Harold Washington and Gov. Thompson reach a compromise on the top jobs at McCormick Place that makes no one a loser? INC. hears that a proposal from Jay Pritzker`s Hyatt Management Corp. to run operations is sounding appealing to both parties.
CAR CZARS . . .
Not only does Mayor Washington`s office grab personnel from city department payrolls to work at the mayor`s beck and call, but it also usurps department automobiles, too. How`s this for a system: A silver Ford LTD with city license plates is listed on state records as belonging to the city`s Department of Consumer Services. It`s been seen tooling around town with Gloria Chevere, formerly of the city`s Department of Personnel and currently with the Chicago Transit Authority, at the wheel–in shorts, with her kids. INC.`s inquiries about the car prompted a call from mayoral assistant Ben Reyes, who said, well, gee, he`s been using the car for, oh, over a year and he just flipped the keys to Chevere while her city car was in the shop. It`s nice that taxpayers footing the bills for these fully-loaded autos know exactly how critical they are to city business. Maybe when the City Council considers the mayor`s tax-hike proposals, someone will have the guts to review the use of city autos.
THE GENDER GAP . . .
Custom-made, and made, and made. U.S. Reps. Cardiss Collins (D., Ill.)
and Lynn Martin (R., Ill.) still don`t have the special license plates that members of Congress are issued by Secretary of State Jim Edgar`s office. The first batch of plates sent to them designated Illinois` only two female members of Congress as ”Congressman.” No thanks, said they. Batch 2 went out proclaiming each of them to be ”Congresswomen.” Not quite, said they. Like they say, the third time`s a charm.
REEL NEWS . . .
If you had trouble following the storyline of ”Superman IV,” chances are you`re older than 12. Cannon Films decided the movie`s appeal was strictly to kids, and since research shows that kids can`t sit still for more than an hour and a half, the movie was chopped to run a plot-be-damned 89 minutes. . . . ”Wish You Were Here” writer/director David Leland says his next project could involve Jeff (”Something Wild”) Daniels. The two met last week in Chicago. . . . Actor Ray Liotta, who appeared in ”Wild” with Daniels, just turned down $750,000 to star in ”Warlock” for executive producer Arnold Kopelson. But then, INC. hears, everybody is turning Kopelson down for this project, even though his last was something called ”Platoon.”
HEY, KIDS, WHAT TIME IS IT? . . .
Kevin Dobson of ”Knots Landing,” Perry King, Jerry (”Leave It to Beaver”) Mathers, and Garrett Morris–along with their kids–were among the celebs in the peanut gallery at the recent taping of a Howdy Doody 40th anniversary TV special. Also in the front row–Diana (”Throb”) Canova, who was introduced by Buffalo Bob as ”Judy Canova.” Close.
STAGE SCENE . . .
Pegasus Players are hoping that next Wednesday`s opening night of
”Brighton Beach Memoirs” will be exciting, but just a little less exciting, please, than the play`s opening night at the Woodstock Opera House last week. Five minutes before the curtain was to rise, lightning struck the opera house and blew up the production`s computerized light board. The show went on with work lights. . . . Guy Van Swearingen doesn`t wanna set the world on fire when he plays the title role in Rare Terra Theater`s ”Master Harold and the Boys,” but his co-workers could handle it if he did. He`s a Chicago fireman, and co-founder of the group that`ll be presenting the play Friday through Sept. 5 at Evanston`s Live Theater, 1234 Sherman Ave.
INC.LINGS . . .
Thursday birthdays: Peter Bogdanovich, 48; Bill Frink, 61; Paul Anka, 46. . . . Mangel Florists honcho John Mangel II and his son, John III, will be in front of the Drake Hotel Aug. 12 between noon and 2 p.m., handing out 2,000 long-stemmed roses to celebrate the company`s 100th anniversary. . . . U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder (D., Colo.) gets encouraging words regarding her contemplated bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Friday when she meets with members of the Cook County Democratic Women in Chicago. . . . We knew somebody would come up with something like the CondoKeyper, didn`t we?
It`s a keychain that holds a condom in a resealable compartment; the promotional advertising suggests ”Design Your Own: Schools, Logos, Teams!”
