Steve Scott's Blog

Is it just me, or are the City Hall scandals catching up with "Da Mare" just a bit?

Yesterday was a big day for me. For the first time in several months, I was able to run!

Oh, it was only for a few minutes at a time on the treadmill at my club. But, it was the first time I had been able to run since I suffered an achilles tendon injury back in early April. I had been limited to - at best - steep uphill walking on the treadmill since then. (The bend of my ankle while walking uphill has been much more agreeable than walking downhill or on a flat surface)

The achilles had been feeling okay for the past week...so, yesterday - with my trainer out of the room, of course - I decided to let 'er rip (I hate to say "achilles" and "rip" in the same sentence!). Alas, I was able to run pretty much pain-free. I didn't try a sprint...just 7 mph. But, the fact that I was able to do it - and am still pain-free the morning after - is very encouraging for me.

Let it be said, though, that healthy achilles or not, I likely will not be joining fellow radio rascal Dave Dahl on his six-mile jaunts through Peoria. I don't think people who are 6'5" and 230+ lbs. were made to be long distance runners! : )

These pics of today's crash of an Illinois Department of Transportation helicopter along the Tri-State Tollway courtesy of my sister station, WLS-TV.

The helicopter crashed along the busy tollway just at the end of the Tuesday morning rush.

Thanks to heroic efforts by the pilot, there were no fatalities in either the copter or on the ground.

Just in...discussions to build the tallest building in the United States...right here in downtown Chicago. Apparently, it would be known as the Fordham Spire.

It's the second building from the right in the photo illustration above.

We'll see...

I've fallen behind a bit in posting here. Thanks to all who sent cards and emails making sure everything is alright.

Okay, actually...no one noticed! :)

We seem to have survived "The Hottest Day in Ten Years in Chicago." Yes, our little mini heat wave has it's own name! It was 102 officially in Chicago on Sunday...104 at Midway. But, thanks to a blast furnace-like 25 mph southwest wind, the humidity - although bad - wasn't as bad as it could have been. The heat index topped out at around 107 or so. That's a far cry from the "Deadly Heat Wave of 1995" (another one with an official name!) that killed 700 people here. Heat index readings back then were in the 125 degree range.

First, the city reported that three people died from Sunday's extreme heat. Then, they changed their mind. Now, they say those people died of other causes...but just happened to die on a very hot day.

I have long believed - and I'm certainly not alone - that the "700 heat fatalities" from 1995 were greatly inflated. In the vast majority of those fatalities, the heat was the second - or even third - listed cause of death. Sadly, many of those people were going to expire any way...it just happened to occur during the heat wave. Did the heat kill people in the summer of 1995? Sure...but not 700 people.

A real concern this summer is the drought in northern Illinois. We got a few sprinkles yesterday...but we are still in the area of 6 - 7 inches below normal for rainfall. This is our rainiest time of year...yet, some parts of northern Illinois have received less than two inches since the start of June! Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has declared the entire state to be an agricultural disaster area, in hopes of securing federal relief for farmers...many of whom have already lost more than half their crop...and, some of whom will sadly be wiped out this year.

Big story out of Chicago on Monday was the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union splitting from the AFL-CIO. This is actually a pretty huge deal in the labor world...and there are few, if any, bigger union cities than Chicago. My own union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) is also a part of the AFL-CIO. I'm not sure we'd merit much network coverage if we were to bail out...

Our vacation plans are set...August 12 - 22 in Cabo San Lucas. WooHoo! And, we still plan on going to California for the annual bash at Francis Ford Coppola's Niebaum-Coppola Winery in September.

Spotted at the airport in Oklahoma City recently...


Hey...I know where I'm going, the next time a storm threatens OKC. And, you can't accuse them of not getting the most use out of their available space!

Although, the thought of a headline reading NEWSMAN DIES IN CAN DURING STORM may be enough to convince me to just take my chances with the tornado! : )

It's the tale of two leaders...

One of these two is president of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association.

The other is president of a place that doesn't exactly encourage freedom of the press.



One has served in his office almost as long as the other (or perhaps it just seems that way).

You pick the prez! ;)

Thanks to fellow radio rascal Dave Dahl for the tutorial on how to post photos on my blog.

Here's my first one:




That's all for now! :)

I'm enjoying a quiet Friday evening at home tonight. Jeanne had a work outing at Arlington Park today...so I'm on my own this evening.

I tried a new Japanese restaurant...Kizoku, on Ontario Street, just a couple quick blocks from here. I walked over a little after 6pm...and was the only one in the dining room when I got there! But, the place did fill up quite a bit before I left. They have a nice menu. I stuck with maki rolls tonight...they're usually pretty safe. I enjoyed them. All in all, I enjoyed it. It's much more subdued than my other favorite Japanese place, Sushi Samba Rio, which has more of a Japanese-Latin fusion feel to it (hence the name, I suppose). But, the food at Kizoku was quite good...I would return.

There were a flurry of news stories late in the day today. I have a high-ranking cop friend who tips me off on some great stuff. First, it was a rocket propelled grenade launcher (along with a MAC-10 assault rifle, lots of pot, and $200,000+ in cash) found in a Ricobenes Restaurant delivery truck on the southwest side. The, later this afternoon, a "ticking package" was delivered to Provident Hospital on the south side. That forced the evacuation of an entire wing of the hospital...including the emergency room. Eventually, the all-clear was given...and everything returned to normal.

My cop source has tipped me off on a couple items which - if I can figure out how to properly research, package and present them - could turn into blockbuster stories. But, there are only so many hours in the day, you? That's one hardship our WLS news staff faces. We only have five full-time news people. It's hard for me to tell one reporter to just take the next six weeks to develop an investigative piece. That wipes out a big chunk of my staff. Take a station like WBBM Newsradio 780...they must have 30 or 40 people running around over there. So, it's much easier for them to allow a reporter - like, for instance, the award-winning Steve Miller - to put together some nice investigative stories. And, of course, public radio - like Chicago's WBEZ - has the staffing and the time to put together excellent long-form stories.

So, we'll see if any of my great story ideas ever pan out.

I will say this...the new top management team at WLS is extremely supportive of our news effort...and I expect some enhancements for our news product, both short term and long term.

Looks like the Cubs, Sox and Tiger Woods all had pretty good days today. And, how about the emotion of Jack Nicklaus making birdie on the 18th hole at his final British Open? It doesn't get much better than that. So what if he didn't make the cut...

Should be a relaxing weekend. I hope so.

There's a great column by my former softball teammate Mark Brown in today's Sun-Times.

It seems that, with just a few keystrokes and the click of a mouse, you can now help former Illinois Governor George Ryan fight the federal corruption charges against him.

Yes, George Ryan now has an online legal defense fund.

I'm reminded of my days covering Ryan when he was governor. For a time, I considered changing my first name from "Steve" to "Goddammit." I recall a couple of occasions - including one where I staked out the guv until 3am as he mediated a hotel strike - that I was greeted with, "Goddammit Scott, what are you doing here?"

See ya in court, George.

By the way...the Ryan trial is making for some strange bedfellows. The U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago - rarely, if ever mentioned as a friend of the news media - actually sided with the journalism community...in opposing an attempt by Ryan's lawyers to block the media from attending jury selection in the ex-Guv's corruption trial. The Feds said - and rightfully so - that potential jurors would be just as intimidated by Ryan as they would by reporters.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and the media agreeing on something? Is there a frost warning out in Hell?

I'm happy to see that the south has survived Hurricane Dennis with what appears to be very minimal loss of life (as I write this, there has been one confirmed fatality - a man who stepped on a downed power line).

And, I'm pleased that, although there was some damage - especially flooding - there was little of the catastrophic damage that we saw during last year's Florida hurricanes.

Now, with that said...let's talk about the news media.

Did they go just a little over the top? Perhaps a lot over the top?

CNN brought top anchors Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien to Atlanta to go wall-to-wall on the hurricane. Thank goodness Miles explained to us early on that CNN would likely "lose our satellite feeds several times in the upcoming hours."

Hey, CNN even gave their coverage a name...calling themselves your Hurricane Headquarters.

Did Anderson Cooper really need to stand out in the rain and wind...especially when he started talking about how the storm was "not as bad as it could have been?"

Didn't Rick Sanchez look a little silly reporting over a videophone? Hey, Rick...this isn't Afghanistan. It's Alabama. (insert punch line here)

The TV cable news outlets were building this thing up like it was going to be the end of the world...sort of the "Perfect Storm" of hurricanes. They were doing their best to scare the Hell out of people. In many ways, they succeeded.

And, what did we end up with? A pretty decent storm...and video of people drinking beer and playing pool volleyball in the floodwaters!

Folks, look at it this way. At least seven times as many people died in homicides in Chicago over the weekend as died in the hurricane.

Hey, CNN...get up here! We've got a story for you!

I'm going on 12 hours at the station right now...with a few more hours to go. The terror attacks in London may have been thousands of miles away...but there are plenty of good Chicago angles.

For one thing...we have a substantial underground rail system here. Lots of attention is being focused security in our subways today.

I'll be heading to a news conference at the British Consulate in about an hour. Maybe I'll be home by 5pm or so. We'll see.

Complicating matters on a very busy day today...one staffer (Jim Johnson) off on vacation this week.

Hey, it's a big news day. No one should complain about working a few extra hours.

The Illinois News Broadcasters Association, like many journalism organizations across America, is dismayed that New York Times reporter Judith Miller has been ordered to jail for her refusal to reveal her confidential source in the Valerie Plame case. Time reporter Matthew Cooper avoided jail by agreeing to testify, after, he says, his source contacted him and released Cooper from his promise of confidentiality.

For simply doing her job - and keeping her word - Judy Miller was sent to the same federal lockup as convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. (1)

Illinois, 48 other states, and the District of Columbia all have shield laws to – at least some degree – protect journalists who protect their confidential sources in state trials. However, we still have no federal shield law. The Miller/Cooper saga underscores the need for a shield law on the federal level.

There is now shield legislation pending in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. However, neither of Illinois’ senators – and only two of our representatives (Emanuel, LaHood) – have signed on as co-sponsors of these federal shield bills. (2)

In fact, regarding federal shield legislation, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) says “I would consider it, as long as they make it clear that in a situation like this (Miller/Cooper) where sources in the White House disclosed the identity of this CIA agent…thereby violating the law and committing a felony…in that situation, I don’t believe that people who commit a felony should get off the hook … At this point, I’m troubled by it. I can understand confidentiality, how important it is to having good journalism – but, on the other side of it, if we’re going to allow people to conceal crimes this way…I’m troubled by it.” (3)

INBA is joining other journalism organizations in asking you to please contact your elected representatives, and ask them to support federal shield legislation. As journalists, we’re often uncomfortable asking the people we cover to support a certain piece of legislation. However, I hope you’ll agree that this issue is important enough that we all need to act.

The Radio-Television News Directors Association – the national leader in the fight for press freedoms – has prepared background information and talking points to aid you in speaking more comfortably on the issue of federal shield legislation.

Please go to this link. It will answer most – if not all – questions you may have on the subject of federal shield legislation and other press freedoms.

Friends, this is a critical time for journalism in America – including right here in Illinois. Judy Miller is in jail with a convicted terrorist. Matt Cooper – going against every principle he has as journalist – has agreed to talk. You could be next. The door has been opened. It will be difficult to slam it shut again…but we must do everything we can to try.

Again, please visit that RTNDA site then contact your elected officials. Ask them to cosponsor – and push for passage of – federal shield legislation.

Thank you for your time and for your support of fair and open journalism.

Steve Scott, President
Illinois News Broadcasters Association

(1) Source: Associated Press – July 6, 2005
(2) Source: Radio-Television News Directors Association
(3) Source: WLS-AM – July 6, 2005

Some of these just seem to repeat...year after year after year.

* Pyrotechnician ends up in the hospital with second and third degree burns, after shell detonates prematurely at Evanston (IL) fireworks show.

* Chicago Heights (IL) man accused of fatally shooting neighbor because the neighbor wouldn't stop shooting off fireworks.

* Chicago Police say a big fire on city's south side may have been started by kids shooting off fireworks. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

I'll make sure I save my scripts...just in case I need them again next year!

Oh, and add to the mix...Aurora (IL) man accused of shooting three of neighbors' dogs with shotgun...and you can pretty much see how my newscasts shaped up this morning. Blah.

We enjoyed Chicago's big lakefront fireworks show from Riva on Navy Pier. Kudos to Jeanne for getting us a reservation on one of their busiest nights of the year. The fireworks started a little before 9:30pm...it was pretty close to 10:00pm before we actually ate. They had lots of great choices. As good as a steak sounded, I went with the Swordfish Oscar instead. Probably a smart move at that late hour.

I have the day off today. It's nice to have a three day weekend. Cisco Cotto and Jennifer Keiper staffed the newsroom today. Great job by Jen today on some breaking news...confirming a tip that Naperville Ribfest was being evacuated due to severe weather...and getting it on the air as it was happening! Excellent work!

Pretty lazy day today...but I did have an awesome stint on the treadmill. Maybe it's my imagination, but those minutes sure seemed to fly by faster with my new iPod. I mean, who wouldn't roll along at a fast pace with Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers pounding in their ears!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y...Night! : )

I shared my iPod list with fellow radio rascal Dave Dahl...and he shared his list with me.

The following new adds to my iPod playlist were inspired by - or directly stolen from - Dave's list:

Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad
We're an American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
Dance the Night Away - Van Halen
Working for the Weekend - Loverboy
If You Leave - OMD
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
My Sharona - The Knack
Good Girls Don't - The Knack
Hot Blooded - Foreigner
I've Been Waiting (For a Girl Like You) - Foreigner
Feels Like the First Time - Foreigner
Cold As Ice - Foreigner
Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson
Is She Really Going Out With Him - Joe Jackson
Strange Magic - ELO
Fooled Around and Fell in Love - Elvin Bishop
Baby Hold On To Me - Eddie Money
Every Time I Think of You - The Babys
Life in the Fast Lane - The Eagles
Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Everlasting Love - Gloria Estefan
I Only Want to be With You - Bay City Rollers
Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers


Will I ever get around to listening to all of them? Doubtful. I mean, who listens to music for 10 - 12 consecutive hours? But, it should give me a decent mix when I do want to listen for a long time.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I have purchased an iPod Shuffle. At the risk of once again being ridiculed by people I don't even know...here's the current playlist on my Shuffle.

It's a rather bizarre and eclectic mix of pop, rock and country tunes from both the present...and back in the day.

Good luck trying to figure out my musical taste(s). I'm not sure I have yet!

Mamma Mia 3:33 Abba
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing 4:56 AeroSmith
Pieces Of Me 3:37 Ashlee Simpson
Skater Boy 3:24 Avril Lavigne
Show me the meaning of being lonely 3:56 Backstreet Boys
I Want I That Way 3:33 Backstreet Boys
Manic Monday 3:06 Bangles
Heaven is a Place On Earth 4:14 Belinda Carlisle
Let's Get It Started 3:37 Black Eyed Peas
Where is the Love 3:47 Black Eyed Peas Featuring Justin Timberlake
Look What You've Done To Me 5:19 Boz Scaggs
Lido Shuffle 3:43 Boz Scaggs
My Heart Will Go On 5:10 Celine Dion
I Want You To Want Me 3:44 Cheap Trick
Dream Police 3:54 CheapTrick
All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun 4:33 Cheryl Crow
What A Girl Wants 3:20 Christina Aguilera
Falling In Love With You 3:40 The Corrs
Run Away 4:20 The Corrs
Breathless 3:26 The Corrs
I never loved you anyway 4:26 The Corrs
Only when I sleep. 4:23 The Corrs
Big Yellow Taxi (featuring Vanessa Carlton) 3:46 Counting Crows
We Just Disagree 3:03 Dave Mason
Seven Bridges Road 3:26 Eagles
Take Me Home Tonight 3:30 Eddie Money
This Kiss 3:18 Faith Hill
100 Years 4:11 Five For Fighting
Go Your Own Way 3:37 Fleetwood Mac
Don't Stop 3:12 Fleetwood Mac
Lonely Man On The Corner 4:14 Genesis
Throwing it All Away 3:49 Genesis
Easy Lover 5:05 Phil Collins (with Phillip Bailey)
Head over Heels 3:37 The Go-Go's
Temptation Eyes 2:32 The Grass Roots
I Walke Alone 4:18 Green Day
Jeopardy 3:49 Greg Kihn Band
The Breakup Song 2:51 Greg Kihn Band
Dreamboat Annie 2:07 Heart
Dog & Butterfly 4:58 Heart
All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You 5:05 Heart
Crazy on You 4:52 Heart
These Dreams 4:14 Heart
I Want A New Drug 4:45 Huey Lewis and the News
If This Is It 3:52 Huey Lewis and the News
Vehicle 2:55 The Ides of March
The Load Out & Stay 8:59 Jackson Browne
Waiting for Tonight 4:06 Jennifer Lopez
With You 3:14 Jessica Simpson
Lights 3:10 Journey
Loving, Touching, Squeezin' 3:50 Journey
SUBG 3:08 Kelly Clarkson
Miss Independent 4:57 Kelly Clarkson
Danger Zone 3:35 Kenny Loggins
I Hope You Dance 4:56 Lee Ann Womack
Beautiful Stranger 4:21 Madonna
I Need To Know 3:14 Marc Anthony
You Sang To Me 5:25 Marc Anthony
Maroon 5 - This Love 4:26 Maroon 5
Unwell 3:48 Matchbox Twenty
Come To My Window 3:57 Melissa Etheridge
Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing 2:48 Michael McDonald
Don't Know Why 3:10 Norah Jones
Band on the Run 5:13 Paul McCartney & Wings
Sunny Came Home 3:42 Paula Cole
Do You Feel Like I Do? 13:45 Peter Frampton
Baby, I Love Your Way 4:45 Peter Frampton
Get This Party Started 3:14 Pink
Crazy Love 2:57 Poco
Keep On Loving You 3:21 REO Speedwagon
Time For Me To Fly 3:37 REO Speedwagon
Riding The Storm Out 5:45 REO Speedwagon
Take it on the run 4:01 Reo Speedwagon
You're In My Heart 4:29 Rod Stewart
Da ya think I'm sexy? 5:30 Rod Stewart
Tonight's The Night 3:33 Rod Stewart
Maggie May 5:43 Rod Stewart
Any Man of Mine 4:06 Shania Twain
Man! I Feel Like A Woman 3:52 Shania Twain
You're Still the One 3:32 Shania Twain
If It Makes You Happy 4:34 Sheryl Crow
Soak Up the Sun 3:18 Sheryl Crow
The First Cut is the Deepest 3:46 Sheryl Crow
Sara 4:25 Starship
Romeo's Tune 3:33 Steve Forbert
Keep On Rocking Me Baby 3:07 Steve Miller Band
Isn't She Lovely 3:20 Stevie Wonder
Come Sail Away 6:05 Styx
Live Like You Were Dying 4:57 Tim McGraw
White Houses 3:42 Vanessa Carlton
Dreams 4:14 Fleetwood Mac
Dancing Queen 3:51 ABBA
Complicated 4:05 Avril Lavigne
Cruel Summer 4:47 Bananarama
Amanda 4:16 Boston
More Than a Feeling 4:45 Boston
Everything I Do 6:33 Bryan Adams
Summer of '69 3:34 Bryan Adams
I Drove All Night 4:01 Celine Dion
I'm Your Lady 5:42 Celine Dion
September 3:36 Earth Wind & Fire
Two Tickets To Paradise 3:55 Eddie Money
Tears In Heaven 4:36 Eric Clapton
Wonderful Tonight 3:39 Eric Clapton
Cruisin' 4:52 Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow
The Power of Love 3:56 Huey Lewis & the News
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now 4:35 Starship
We Built This City 4:58 Starship
Oh Sherry 3:50 Steve Perry
Faithfully 4:26 Faithfully
Danny's Song (Even Though We Ain't Got Money) 4:17 Loggins & Messina
Beth 2:46 Beth
One Sweet Day(A Capella) 4:48 Maria Carey & Boyz II Men
Build Me Up Buttercup 2:57 Temptations
Where Have All The Cowboys Gone 4:25 Paula Cole
Show Me The Way 4:41 Peter Frampton
I Believe I Can Fly 5:22 R Kelly
Georgia On My Mind 3:39 Ray Charles
Lonely No More 3:46 Rob Thomas
Have I Told You Lately 4:00 Rod Stewart
The Game of Love 4:15 Santana (with Michelle Branch)
I Will Remember You 4:48 Sarah McLachlin
Fly Like An Eagle 2:57 Steve Miller Band
Jungle Love 3:09 Steve Miller Band
Lady 3:04 Styx
We Got The Beat 2:32 The Go-Gos
Vacation 3:01 The Go-Gos

So far, so good for the holiday weekend. I've received a few phone calls from our weekend news people, letting me know about some breaking stories...but, so far, there's been nothing that I had to drop everything to run out to cover. I hope it stays that way.

I bought an iPod Shuffle yesterday. I don't have a huge collection of downloaded music - maybe 100 songs at this point - so the Shuffle has more than enough capacity for me. Plus, I got it cheap, because the Bulls had given me a Best Buy gift card at the end of the season. I look forward to using the Shuffle during those long, somewhat boring stints on the treadmill.

Best Buy can be a dangerous place for me. I can spend hours in there! Yesterday, was a surgical strike...go in...get the iPod...and get out before I spent any more money!

Speaking of the Bulls...as they do every year after the season ends, they sent me a big box of some of the promotional items that they give away at games during the season. So, I am now fully stocked with hats, shirts, basketballs, etc. Of course, I also get many of these items at the games at which they're actually given away! Need some Bulls stuff? Let me know! : )

We had a nice dinner at the Erie Cafe last night. Even though it's less than a mile from where we've lived for 15 years, Jeanne and I had never had dinner there. I had a good steak...so I was a happy camper!

There was also an element of free entertainment at dinner. Two very prominent Chicago aldermen were dining at separate tables...one, with his family...the other (not surprisingly) alone. These two fellows happen to be longtime personal friends. One alderman (the lonely guy) called the other on his cell phone - I guess 15 feet was too far to walk! At one point, we heard the words "He's a reporter?" In the end, I think one alderman picked up the other's dinner tab.

Tonight - July 3rd - is the big night for fireworks in Chicago. They shoot them off from a barge just offshore in Lake Michigan. We plan to have dinner on Navy Pier tonight...it should provide a good view of the fireworks.

The weather here has been just about perfect the last few days...on the heels of that stretch of 8 consecutive days of 90+ degree temperatures (unusual for Chicago). So, it should be nice for the fireworks tonight.

I'm off work on Monday...but, since I'm in town, I'll be available if we have a huge breaking news story Monday morning.

Have a great holiday, every one!