Oh, brother!
Tweedledum and Tweedledee are back!
Translation: The billionaire boys, Ken Griffin and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, are now duking it out.
And although they claim to differ politically, they certainly are acting like the identical twins in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” except in a derogatory context.
Once again, men acting like “wealth is power.”
Ya think?
Let’s unpack this Hermes valise.
Last week, hedge fund magnate Griffin, known as the state’s richest man (worth $21 billion), pledged to go “all in” funding a challenger to beat Dem Illinois Gov. Pritzker (worth $3.6 billion).
Pritzker “doesn’t deserve to be governor of our state,” harrumphed Griffin, who financed GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign, at an event in New York.
The next day, Pritzker, who pumped $171 million from his own wallet into his own gubernatorial campaign to unseat Rauner, shot back a “nah nah nah” blasting Griffin for backing his “disastrous” predecessor — and said he spent the last three years undoing the damage Rauner did to Illinois.
Hmmm.
Grown men shaking out each other’s expensive political laundry?
Rich guys acting like they have all the answers.
Give us all a break.
Is brain power based on Bitcoin? Do dollars always mean sense?
Have they each lost a sense of adult propriety?
Whom are they trying to wheedle? Us?
Historically, Adam Smith’s 1776 published masterpiece on modern economics, titled “The Wealth of Nations,” discusses the ability of the wealthy to exercise economic and political power.
Not so surprising, then, that Griffin funded Rauner’s gubernatorial campaign; one rich man endorsing the candidacy of a wealthy kinsman, who supports his political and economic objectives.
As columnist Mike Royko once said, politics has always been full of connivers, wheeler dealers, con artists, misfits and deadbeats.
Politics also houses the wealthy givers who have a personal “net worth” outside their bank accounts.
So calm down, fellas.
Political spit is nothing compared to political grit.
Get a grip.
Your “net worth” is showing.
A random Royko thought …
Hmmm: Did you know singer Frank “Ole Blue Eyes” Sinatra once sent a hand-delivered letter to Royko, the legendary Sun-Times columnist, in 1976? Royko had ripped the singer after a 24-hour police guard was put outside his hotel while he was staying in Chicago. Wrote Sinatra: “Quite frankly, I don’t understand why people don’t spit in your eye three or four times a day.”
• Ka-ching! The angry missive from Frank to Mike was later appraised for $15,000 at an Antiques Roadshow auction.
A botanic gift …
It was not just an evening walk, nor just a walk in the park.
And it was unexpected.
The Chicago Botanic Garden, which turns 50 next year, has flicked its holiday switch this year on extraordinary — and turned a mile-plus of their garden path into a major mojo version of Lightscape magic!
Let’s keep it simple: I went last week — and was floored. Somewhere beyond the gleaming Winter Cathedral, the singing trees, and the plant-themed installations was a landscape of poppies blooming in a tangle of trees.
“Our poppy installation had been a lightscape Christmas event at England’s Blenheim Palace where Winston Churchill was born,” said Harriet Resnick, a top Botanic Garden exec.
“It was located in an enchanting forest by a river outside the palace and the poppy red was so very red in such a dark setting. And with music in the background it made the garden come to life,” said Resnick.
“So we brought it here.”
It continues through Jan. 2. Amen.
Sneedlings …
Psst! Although the sale of memorabilia collected by former Sun-Times celeb columnist Bill Zwecker was tipped weeks ago, the “when” was missing: It goes online Nov. 19 at Hindman Auctions, and Bill’s stash of celeb stuff included letters from legendary fashion designers to his late mom, journalist Peg Zwecker. ... Congrats to Mary Lou Gorno, vice chair of the UChicago Board of Trustees, on being named chair of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. ... Weekend birthdays: Friday, Ryan Gosling, 41. Saturday birthdays: Whoopi Goldberg, 66; Joe Mantegna, 74; Jimmy Kimmel, 54. Sunday birthdays: Prince Charles, 73; Condoleezza Rice, 67.
