Vrdolyak-Carothers routine held over — at halfway house

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6-8-09 Chicago Alderman Isaac Carothers, indicted on fraud and bribery charges, leaves Dirksen Federal Building, 219 S. Dearborn following his arraignment. (photo by john h white/chicago sun-times)

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Updated: February 11, 2012 8:20AM

Yike & Ike ...

Strange bedfellows: Sneed is told former Ald. Ike Carothers and former political powerhouse Ed Vrdolyak, who are the “Smothers Brothers” of politics, are bunkmates at the same halfway house in Chicago since their prison release.

Imagine a YouTube video!

No, don’t.

The Romney Factor ...

Looney Tunes: Did you know GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney gets in the debate mood by watching the late comedian Chris Farley’s routines on YouTube?

The #Un Factor ...

Looney Tunes: Did you know Kim Jong-un, the new leader of North Korea, copies the signature of his grandfather when signing documents?

The Blanco factor ...

Did you know Ed Vrdolyak and Kim Jong-un once owned and rode white horses? Now you do.

Daley Departure ...

The abrupt decision by White House Chief of staff Bill Daley to quit his job netted this response to Sneed.

◆To wit: “Not doing anything, Mike, but let’s talk soon pretty straightforward,” e-mailed Daley shortly after President Barack Obama announced his departure Monday. (Daley will still co-chair Obama’s re-election campaign.)

◆The backshot: Less than two months ago, shortly after presidential counselor Pete Rouse was handed the day-to-day White House operations — Bill Daley told Sneed: “I’m not giving up or walking away from anything. The buck stops with me.”

◆The upshot: “Bill chose to quit on the one-year anniversary of the day he started the White House job,” said a Daley source. “I think it’s safe to say he was getting tired of the political games on the Hill and in the White House.”

◆The upshot: Daley’s sudden decision to quit shortly after his Christmas vacation in Mexico may have flummoxed President Obama, who offered Daley a couple of days to reconsider — but it didn’t surprise some of Bill Daley’s friends.

◆The buckshot: “If you saw Bill over the Christmas holidays and when Maggie ]Daley] became seriously ill, you’d know he’d checked out of the job a while ago,” said a longtime friend who asked to remain anonymous.

“He was here all the time, and what White House Chief of Staff isn’t working 20 hours a day,” the source added. “The staff cut his legs off, and he couldn’t perform the way he wanted.”

◆The backshot: “Bill told me he had a great run, he enjoyed it and he felt the president had rebounded from where he was in the polls a year ago,” said a Daley family source.

◆The final shot: “He went on vacation to Mexico with his wife, Bernie, and made his final decision. As far as I know, Bill doesn’t know what he’s going to do next. But working with Pete [Rouse] was difficult.”

Police Blotter ...

Top cop Garry McCarthy is being credited with a mega morale booster: he reassigned the two patrol officers — who made the routine traffic stop leading to the arrest of two men charged in the Dec. 29 shooting death of police officer Clifton Lewis — to the fugitive unit of the detective bureau for their exemplary work on the case.

The Rivera case ...

◆Stat Chat: Juan Rivera, who was released from prison Friday after spending nearly 20 years in prison on murder charges which were just overturned, reveled in taking a 40-minute hot shower alone; buying a Timex watch; and shopping for clothes.

◆Stat Snag: Rivera “had trouble sleeping his first night of freedom at a downtown hotel because “the bed was too soft,” said his brother, Miguel Diaz.

Sneedlings ...

Today’s birthdays: Pat Benatar, 59; George Foreman, 63; Rod Stewart, 67, and Frank Sinatra Jr., 68.