Gaze into our crystal ball and see if you can see what we see. We'll try to keep it short, sweet and simple. Same categories as last year.
- Politics - Local - Too much of this is dependent on what the feds have on Blago. Thousands of intercepted phone calls? You can't tell us he wasn't talking to committee men, precinct bosses, state reps, senators and Washington DC people. Or a certain mayor. What will Mell do to protect Patti? We expect more scandal to muck up City politics.
- Politics - State - The Blago case will move forward, he will be impeached, he will be removed from office because Madigan and Daley want him removed from office. If Rod stays in, he will drag down other state-wide candidates and the Machine cannot abide this. Blago's impact will be felt all over.
- Politics - National and International - Here's where Blago spills over onto the national stage, too. The national democrats will make hay about Roland Burris, but he'll probably end up seated, maybe via a court decision. Obama will launch a series of initiatives, most of which he will have no idea how much they will cost, but he doesn't care about money - he's the "chosen one" who will bring change to Washington. Expect attacks on gun rights, police, pensions, and a bunch more things we take for granted. China continues to cause the US problems, the Middle East remains the most screwed-up section of the world, South America burns like a French suburb.
- Sports - Bears stagnate, Cubs make a serious run again, Ozzie flips his shit one time too many and the Sox just miss the playoffs, Bulls suck and the Blackhawks begin moving a round or two closer to Lord Stanley, but not quite all the way there. We're missing one piece and that will arrive fall 2009.
- Department - This will not be a good year. The aggravated battery and homicide rate will continue to climb as the band-aids that are "brainstorms" prove to be ineffective and even counterproductive. Patrol continues to be the neglected child and manpower becomes stretched even thinner. The contact will come up for a vote. Upon ratification or arbitration, expect an extra 100 to 150 retirements along with the predicted 550 or so. Someone up high is going to make a serious proposal at closing a district, maybe two, to alleviate manpower and equipment shortages. One class each of Lieutenants, Sergeants and Detectives. Tahoes arrive. Rifles maybe. Another J-Fed reorganization. Scandals continue.
- General - We could take a few gratuitous swipes here, but we won't. Too much of 2009 is going to revolve around Washington and Illinois politics and we're sick of it already. Oh yeah, in the fall, Chicago wins the 2016 Games.
Readers are welcome to make their own predictions with the following restriction - we will not allow people to wish death or damage in any way, shape or form upon public figures. NYPD Rant had visits from the feebs and the Secret Service about a certain topic. That ain't happening here.
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