All sorts of egos had to be handled during the planning of Mayor Harold Washington`s funeral. INC. hears, for example, that there was heavy pressure exerted on Washington aides to move the funeral service to Operation PUSH headquarters. But the will of Rev. Johnnie Colemon won out and the service stayed put at Christ Universal Temple.
NEW BEGINNINGS . . .
It will be a short tenure, to be sure, but Interim Mayor Ald. David Orr
(49th) is getting some quick tutoring on the trappings of his office. On Saturday, Orr was meeting with top Cabinet members when a beeper went off. Simultaneously, press aide Alton Miller, Corporation Counsel Jud Miner and chief of staff Ernie Barefield, all instinctively reached for their belts to see who was being summoned. ”Thank, God, I don`t have a beeper,” said Orr sincerely. Barefield smiled, and patiently explained to the city`s current chief executive: ”Security does. And we have a very short, short leash on you.”
SENDING A MESSAGE? . . .
– Inc. hears there is some willingness among the four Hispanic aldermen-Luis Gutierrez (26th), Juan Soliz (25th), Jesus Garcia (22d) and Raymond Figueroa (31st)-to back Ald. Gene Sawyer`s (6th) bid to become acting mayor. Why? It`s looking more and more like Ald. Tim Evans (4th) doesn`t have the votes to pull it off.
– The hangup. Sources tell Inc. the Hispanics are turned off by the
”evil cabal”-Aldermen Bill Henry (24th), William Beavers (7th) and Bob Shaw (9th)-leading the charge for Sawyer. The grudge runs deep because the three openly opposed the Hispanics` agendas and constantly complained to Mayor Washington that the Hispanics were getting too much.
PAYING RESPECTS . . .
Aides to the mayor say he was often frustrated that it took government so long to get things done. He would have been pleased by the way his staff worked around the clock to hammer out all the details for his funeral. It was a monumental task and one which Budget Director Sharon Gist Gilliam commented on as she surveyed the scene in the City Hall rotunda late last week.
”Normally it takes us six months to get out a simple contract,” she said.
”It`s incredible what government can do when it has to.”
TELE-VISIONS . . .
Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly are tiring of the series grind and are ready-after six years and a couple of Emmys-to let ”Cagney and Lacey” die a natural death. That may be what`ll happen anyway, now that CBS-TV`s new programming ace Kim LeMasters has moved the show from its successful Monday night spot to a Tuesday night time slot that puts it up against NBC`s ”Crime Story” and ”thirtysomething” on ABC. (LeMasters also engineered the ratings-killing move of ”My Sister Sam” to the Saturday night graveyard.)
THE BASKET BALL . . .
– Just a month or two ago, the International Amphitheatre looked like it would have made a better home for the Loyola University swim team than for the Ramblers basketball team. To accommodate the machinery necessary for a Las Vegas-style ”elevator stage” that was part of the renovation plans, contractors began excavating the middle of the main floor-but hastily decided to revise the plans when the hole began filling with water.
– The Blue Demon blues: A decree from De Paul University`s Athletic Department has put the kibosh on Capitalism 101 students who buy basketball game tickets at cut-rate student rates and re-sell them at, um, somewhat higher prices. No more. Users of student tickets must now be able to produce a De Paul student I.D. in order to use them.
INC.LINGS . . .
Monday birthdays: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., 64; Dick Clark, 58; Abbie Hoffman, 51; Richard Crenna, 60; Virginia Mayo, 57; Robert Guillaume, 59. . . . The on- again-off-again relationship between David Lynch and Isabella Rossellini was on again last Friday in New York, where the pair was seen strolling into the Museum of Natural History. . . . And, please, let`s all remember to spread some holiday cheer by giving to those less fortunate. Take some time to drop a check in the mail to the Chicago Tribune Christmas Fund.
