By publishing the comprehensive “Road Map to Corruption Probe” Sunday—an outstanding presentation in itself running five pages—the Sun-Times illustrated how effective its journalism was in cracking open the Daley administration to show the phenomenal corruption that it revealed with its first Hired Trucks disclosure. While I’ve been critical about the paper’s Washington plus Illinois political coverage ala Lynn Sweet and outrageously politicized uninformed leftish religious coverage ala Cathleen Falsani, there is no taking away from the spectacular service the newspaper has rendered to the citizens of Chicago. Taking on reputedly the nation’s top mayor who appeared on the cover of Time by courageously exposing the scandals deserves all the kudos the Pultizer could bring. Steve Warmbir and Tim Novak richly deserve it.
Other aspects of the entire newspaper deserve laudatory mention: Jack Higgins’ editorial page cartoons certify that he is at the topmost of the business in the nation. The business section under Dan Miller, an outstanding reporter and expert on the nation’s and Chicago’s economy with particular strength due to his experience as former chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, puts that section in top national category. Miller is more than a good business editor but one of the nation’s best libertarian philosophers as well. Moreover, the clever, sardonic, defly waspish and often brilliant liberal commentary on the news in QT (Quick Takes) by Zay Smith is a welcome feature of the paper and this grump grudgingly acknowledges Smith’s highly imaginative acerbic writing that often matches the best the Comedy Central channel can offer. Why is Grump writing this now? Because in re-reading past offerings on this blog he decided he had not properly emphasized the paper’s strong points.
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