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Michael Sneed biography

Michael Sneed has been a Chicago journalist for nearly four decades covering everything short of war.

Among the stories Sneed has reported on in her …

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  • SNEED: Rosemont mayor wants a piece of the McCormick Place arena

    The loss of the DePaul University Blue Demons basketball team at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena now that plans are to build a $173 million basketball arena at McCormick Place “did not shatter me,” said Stephens. “But new legislation dealing with expansion of convention business at McCormick Place will impact us and something should be provided to benefit our convention center in Rosemont,” he told Sneed.

  • Obama eyes Gov. Deval Patrick to replace Eric Holder at Justice

    Sneed is told that Attorney General Eric “Fast and Furious” Holder’s days are numbered. Sneed hears President Barack Obama, who is this/close to Holder, has set his sights on Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick as a possible replacement “when the heat dies down on the latest hot-button scandals to hit the U.S. Justice Department,” said a top White House source.

  • Sox boss Kenny Williams calls fiance, CNN anchor Sambolin “brave” in breast cancer fight

    White Sox Executive Veep Kenny Williams is covering all bases in his fiancee’s battle against breast cancer. “I am proud to be engaged to one strong and brave woman and my intention is to be with her any way she needs me to be,” said Williams, whose fiancee, CNN’s “Early Start” anchor Zoraida Sambolin, announced Tuesday she has breast cancer and is planning to have a double mastectomy later this month. Williams, who helped steer the Sox into a World Series win, tells Sneed the disclosure of Sambolin’s cancer on CNN Tuesday morning was prompted by an op-ed piece in

    • Sneed: Authorities learn of deadly gang mission

    Michael Sneed has learned a street gang directive ordering a hit squad to kill law enforcement officers was intercepted by the Cook County Sheriff’s Intelligence unit. The deadly order, which came via the Cook County Jail grapevine, claims the leadership of the Satan Disciples street gang has called for the formation of an assassination unit that would be assigned the deadly mission.

    Jesse Jr. and Sandi Jackson feeling relieved as sentencing day nears

    The Jackson file . . . Father & son: As the July 1 sentencing date approaches for corruption and tax-evasion convictions against former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, former Ald. Sandi Jackson, Sneed is told the couple are feeling at least some relief. …

    Supt. Garry McCarthy shakes up top ranks of CPD

    Sneed is told Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy is shaking up the police department by getting rid of “legacy” top brass. ◆ Translation: Top cop holdovers from Mayor Richard Daley’s regime are retiring — through decision or force— and going bye bye. ◆ Job changes: Although Chief of Patrol Joe Patterson, whom McCarthy appointed, has opted to retire — Sneed is told Chief of the Bureau of Detectives Tom Byrne is leaving as well as Tina Skahill, chief of special functions.

    Kerry’s advice south on whether Russia might accept Boston bomber’s body

    The Boston Strangler. . . It’s grisly. Finding somewhere to bury the body of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev has taken an unusual turn. Translation: Sneed hears rumbles that Secretary of State John Kerry’s office is being asked to assist and/or give advice on the possibility of Russia accepting the body of Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shootout with the Boston police.

  • Behind the scenes of Hillary Clinton’s surprise Chicago visit

    The Hillary file . . . She sat in a corner. Translation: Hillary Clinton, one of the world’s most powerful women, chose to sit in a quiet, corner table with her Park Ridge school buddies Saturday night — rather than at a head table with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who was receiving the prestigious Lincoln Leadership Prize at the Hilton Hotel. Instead, Hillary, a hush-hush surprise guest, chatted with her old Park Ridge chums Betsy Ebeling, Ernie Ricketts and Kevin O’Keefe to catch up on their lives and new grandchildren.

  • Anita Alvarez eyeing attorney general seat; Madigan set sights on governor

    Sneed exclusives. . . The women’s room. . . The ladies are lining up! Sneed hears Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez is talking with pollsters about exploring a run for Illinois attorney general in the 2014 primary election. . . . if Attorney General …Read More

  • The Pritzker prize

    The Pritzker prize. . . It finally happened. Billionairess Penny Pritzker finally got a birthday present she really wanted: the job of U.S. Commerce Secretary -- an appointment Sneed first tipped in January. So what was the hold-up? “Nothing really,” said a top Dem White …Read More

  • Sheriff Tom Dart vs. Chief Judge Timothy Evans in courthouse security dustup

    It’s chuckles & knuckles time at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building, where the latest dustup between Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is now at hand. Dart’s dander rose recently after Evans, who banned cellphones in the courtrooms, blasted Dart’s courthouse security for not tackling the electronic device misuse.

  • A sign for Rosie

    A beacon of hope. . . It’s riveting for Rosie! †Translation: Rosie Colucci, an eight-year-old who has been battling inoperable brain cancer for the past five years, now has her own star in the twinkling firmament atop the Novak Construction Company, which looks over the …Read More

    • Sneed: Paralympic marathoner pushes forward in face of ‘evil’

    The marathon nightmare. . . After two shrapnel-spreading bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, hundreds of people selflessly rushed to help the wounded athletes and their families. But not everyone at the scene was noble. Deborah McFadden ran into one guy who should be ashamed …

    Quinn takes poignant letter from Chicago student to Mexico City

    Crime time. . . Thirteen words tell it all. ◆ To wit: One of the letters sent by a student at Chicago’s Benito Juarez Community Academy to its sister school (Benito Juarez High School) in Mexico City recently read: “I like to go downtown because …

    In the early days, it was clear Roger Ebert was going to make it big

    Roger Ebert was a pudgy, nerdy kind of guy when I met him back in the late 1960s; probably going horizontal on a bar stool at O’Rourke’s Pub in Old Town — backdropped by a life-size poster of Brendan Behan spitting in your face. But even back then, Ebert, the rumpled, intellectual, bespectacled doughboy, stood out. He had it. You sensed he was going to make it. Many of us were still slogging it out at the legendary City News Bureau before the era of uberjournalism, but he was on his way.

    Cook County Sheriff to patrol expressways while troopers attend colleague’s funeral

    Sneed exclusive Scoopsville. . . In a move to honor late Illinois State Trooper James Sauter, 28, who was killed Thursday when his emergency vehicle was struck by a truck, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s police officers will patrol the county expressways during his funeral, …

    HOLDING THEIR FIRE

    Bang! Bang! Here’s a shocker: The Northern District of Illinois has a lousy record for federal gun law prosecutions, according to a study tracking federal data done by Syracuse University. In fact, the districts that contain Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City ranked last …

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