The Evening Rush for Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Sun-Times Library

Rahm’s budget battle

If the federal government shutdown isn’t bad enough for you, take a peek at Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2014 budget. Fran Speilman got a look at it before Emanuel unveils his final version to the City Council on Oct. 23. Besides a 90-day hiring freeze, Emanuel also is proposing job cuts, all of which will result in the city still having a budget gap of more than $330 million. Of course, this is all small beans compared to the apocalypse that faces the city in the coming years thanks to a lack of pension reform, which could see that budget gap balloon to more than $1 billion by 2016. So soak it up, Chicago; these could be the good days. [Sun-Times, Crain’s]

Defending Obama

Not that Emanuel stayed out of the shutdown fray, offering a fiery defense of his former boss and the Affordable Care Act while taking plenty of shots at the GOP. [Sun-Times]

Shutdown talk

Speaking of the shutdown, President Barack Obama has summoned top lawmakers to his office of ovular shape to see if a compromise can be HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no. [WaPo]

Moratorium on the moratorium?

Even though CPS said it would have a moratorium on closing schools, it looks like they’re trying to figure out a way around that moratorium to . . . still close schools. [Sun-Times]

Phone roam

Toni Preckwinkle is going after the phone service provider of the Cook County Jail. [WBEZ]

Tears for Ty

Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner got a little choked up today when he pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges. [Sun-Times]

Bopping

A look at “bopping,” a real dance craze that’s sweeping the South Side, is not controversial like twerking, and is pretty awesome. [The Reader]

Oh, no, Harpo!

Harpo Inc., Oprah’s company, is looking into selling its West Side campus. [Sun-Times]

RIP

RIP author Tom Clancy, who died yesterday. [N.Y. Times]

Thug life

The Bears-Lions rivalry just got a little spicy thanks to Lions’ vice chairman Bill Ford, who referred to some Bears players as “thugs.” [Sun-Times]

Everybody loves the Hawks

The Blackhawks opened the season with a banner raising and a win over the Caps, all to the tune of record television ratings. [Voices]

The Bright One

Neil Steinberg continues his Divvy Diaries, documenting his adventures around the city on a Divvy bike. [Voices]

Commute

Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally

This Transformers-looking mask gives you superpowers. Or something. [MNN]