INC. hears that Chicago City Colleges chancellor Salvatore Rotella soon will be gone and that he knows it, too. Officially, the board and top dog Rotella are attempting to work out a ”mutally agreeable departure,” but INC. sources say the board, which wants to buy out the three years remaining on his contract, isn`t real concerned about the mutally agreeable part. Rotella`s been job-shopping: He was one of four finalists in the running for chancellor of the 100,000-student Los Angeles Community College District, but the job went to someone else last week. Not surprising. Under Rotella`s
”leadership,” the system has been plagued by declining enrollment and an enormously high number of dropouts.
THE COURT CALLS . . .
– Jaws are clamping shut when questions are asked about a police report filed June 4 by Circuit Court Judge John P. Tully Jr., who hears personal injury cases. The report says the judge suspects that his son by a previous marriage, John III, 18, cashed checks totalling $9,200 from the judge`s Continental Bank account and then disappeared. And he apparently disappeared along with the judge`s second wife, Kimberly, 30, and her three children. All the police will say is that it`s all . . . well, domestic.
– INC. hears that Operation Safebet investigators have been looking into a 1982 south suburban Christmas party attended by some of Richard M. Daley`s top assistants. The party came under the scrutiny of the feds` probe of gambling and prostitution because of a report that two assistants from one of Daley`s suburban offices were ”entertained” by prostitutes during the festivities. Some current and former prosecutors are nervous about the inquiry, but no indictments are expected.
ABSENTEE LANDLORD? . . .
New Chicago Housing Authority executive director Vincent Lane keeps insisting that the new CHA board won`t be a rubber stamp for his one-man show. But INC. wonders how much hands-on involvement someone like board member Robert Belcaster, who didn`t show up for Tuesday`s City Council committee hearing on CHA board appointees, is going to have. Belcaster was in New York on business, where he apparently will be spending a lot of time. A business magazine reported in April that Belcaster was assigned to national and international real estate portfolios in Tishman Speyer Properties` New York office.
ART AND DARTS . . .
You missed the loveliest little party in Los Angeles last week. There was champagne, a clown cake and the music was a single called ”The Chair,”
recorded years ago by a death row inmate. How else would one celebrate the opening of an exhibition of John Wayne Gacy paintings? Brian King, the owner of a bookstore/gallery called-appropriately enough-Amok, says response to the exhibition (which includes clowns, three variations of the Seven Dwarfs, skulls and movie monsters) has been positive-he`s sold 15 Gacy pieces, even though only 8 are being exhibited. Customers can order copies of the works on display-and Gacy, working on the ”limited edition” principle, will paint up to 50 ”originals” of each one. As King points out, ”I guess he`s got a lot of time.”
STAR TRACKS . . .
Wishful thinking: Sylvester Stallone`s mother (oh, her again) says her boy Sly`s salary for a six-picture series of ”Executioner” films will be a billion dollars. . . . When Sada Thompson leaves the Briar Street Theater`s
”Driving Miss Daisy” on July 31, her replacement probably will come from the list of actresses now being considered: Barbara Bel Geddes, Kim Hunter, Eva Marie Saint and two mystery candidates who are only about 25 years too young for the role: Patty Duke and Lynn Redgrave. Madonna isn`t even on the list. . . . Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during the filming of
”Apocalypse Now” about 10 years ago, but he`s still a heavy chain smoker and constant coffee drinker. . . . Jim ”Red Heat” Belushi just signed a two- picture deal with Tri-Star (he may get to act as producer on one or both)
and, while he was at it, signed on for the sequel to ”About Last Night. . .” P.S. Belushi and Marjorie Bransfield have set a June 10, 1989, wedding date.
REEL NEWS . . .
Gary Kurtz obviously wasn`t paying attention when ”Howard the Duck”
took a dive because he`s developing a comedy film in which the main character is an animated bird. Well, maybe he did know about ”Howard”-he did change his project`s title from ”Hollywood Duck” to ”Feathers.” . . . We can hardly wait to see what somebody will do with them, but the movie rights to
”Monopoly” have been sold. . . . The lighting crews that will be working on ”Men Don`t Leave,” which stars Jessica Lange and films here this summer, have a real treat in store. According to reports from those who have worked with Lange lately, she often will come onto the set and order that lights, angles and intensities be changed according to her directions-which, of course, makes her a most popular gal with the crews trained and paid to do the work.
DUKE-MANIA . . .
– Hours before the polls closed in California Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis had already clinched the Democratic nomination for president. How? Dukakis campaign aides worked all day phoning up delegates committed to other candidates to get them to privately switch. They did-in big enough numbers that a halt was called to the phone campaign lest word leak to the press and influence Californians to stay home instead of vote.
– Democratic Circuit Court clerk candidate Aurelia Pucinski says that now that Sen. Paul Simon (D., Ill.) has released all his delegates, she`ll be voting for Dukakis on the first ballot.
INC.LINGS . . .
Sunday birthdays: Q101`s Carla Leonardo, 34; Jim Nabors, 55; Vic Damone, 60; George Bush, 64. . . . Anna Hirschfeld`s family is celebrating her birthday by taking her to Sunday brunch at Arnie`s because she`s never been there; she`s turning 100. . . . The producers of ”Les Miserables” are shopping around for a Chicago space that`ll be available for a minimum of 18 months, and INC. hears they`re not limiting their shopping strictly to theater spaces.
