Welcome, boss back at work!
Going through thyroid surgery is a unique way to get your throat slit, but I'm now back at work with a new voice and a new boss: A heartfelt welcome to Jim Tyree.
Former political powerhouse Ed Vrdolyak, who was sentenced in June to community service -- rather than jail -- after a federal corruption probe, is now working with the Illinois State Crime Commission.
Huh?
u Translation: Vrdolyak tells Sneed he is heading up a campaign co-sponsored by the commission to give away 5,400 quilted coats to children in first through eighth grades in Lake, Cook, Will and DuPage counties before Christmas . . . and injured Chicago Bear "Brian Urlacher has signed on as the project's honorary chairman."
Watch for Gov. Quinn to push for the creation of a public health advocate to centralize the efforts of the state's major medical institutions in battling chronic illnesses like juvenile diabetes, asthma and autism.
u The stats: The new state health advocate would be appointed by Quinn and be part of the Illinois Public Health Department.
Trick or treat? No trick. The governor is unlocking the security gate in front of the Springfield mansion, opening the front door and will be waiting at the top of the stairs on the mansion's main level to pass out candy to kids on Halloween.
The Numbers Game: Sneed is told there were 26 writers competing to collaborate on ex-Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin's memoir, Going Rogue, which wound up being a $1.25 million book deal . . . and was co-authored by writer Lynn Vincent, who is an editor at Christian World magazine.
Count 'em: It's no secret Mayor Daley, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger are Roman Catholic; but nine of the 11 candidates running in Illinois' Dem and GOP gubernatorial primaries are also members of the Catholic Church, according to a survey by ChicagoCatholicNews.com.
u Protestant side: Republican gubernatorial candidate Kirk Dillard is a Methodist and Dem primary rival William "Dock" Walls is a Baptist, according to the report.
u The flip side: Until Quinn, there hadn't been a Catholic governor in Illinois since Edward F. Dunne, who served from 1913 to 1917.
The diva didactic: Veteran actress Elizabeth Taylor, who was close to singer Michael Jackson, tweets that the Jackson "This Is It" documentary is "the single most brilliant piece of film-making I have ever seen."
Singer Taylor Swift, who was unceremoniously dissed by singer Kanye West at the MTV awards show, stopped into Fantasy Costumes in Portage Park to do some Halloween shopping two weeks ago with her boyfriend, Jacob "Twilight" Black.
u The transaction: "Swift traded six front-row tickets to her show that night for a pink flamingo costume, and she and her band bought about $1,000 worth of stuff," said owner George Garcia. "The flamingo costume was worth about $700."
Congrats to Greg and Danielle Matson on the birth of daughter Emery. . . . Today's birthdays: Bill Gates, 54; Jim Laski, 56; Annie Potts, 57; Daphne Zuniga, 47; Bruce Jenner, 60; Lauren Holly, 46; Dennis Franz, 65; Jami Gertz, 44; Julia Roberts, 42. . . . And belated wishes to Debbie Silverman Krolik, ageless; and Robert J. "Bob" Fix, 85.