It’s odd to break a good story only to see the readers you most wanted to reach blow it off. On October 27, as Republican congressman Jerry Weller rolled toward reelection in Illinois’ 11th District, the Reader reported on its front page that Weller’s apparently been buying up beachfront property in Nicaragua without disclosing it, in possible violation of the federal Ethics in Government Act. To give the story by freelancer Frank Smyth maximum exposure, the Reader posted it online on October 25.
When the Daily Herald called, Weller let campaign manager Steve Shearer do the talking, and Shearer went after the messenger. “He does not own three [undisclosed] parcels in Nicaragua,” Shearer told the paper. “He does not own six parcels in Nicaragua. He has filed his disclosure for everything that he owns. The evidence Mr. Pavich is using is a Chicago left-wing-newspaper article.” Elaborating on his description of the Reader, Shearer said, “Half of it is sex ads, so it’s not exactly a Grade A newspaper. You have to consider the source in this, and the timing.”
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If Shearer seriously believes the Reader is half sex ads–well, that’s between him and his therapist. But I called the Daily Herald reporter, Jo Ann Hustis, and asked why she let Shearer’s attempt to discredit the paper stand unchallenged.
But the beachfront revelations in his second story weren’t mentioned. Sun-Times reporter Dave Newbart says he called Shearer, who said Weller had “consolidated” his various properties into the three the congressman did report. Smyth, who has copies of the titles, says there’s not only no evidence that Weller’s newly acquired properties were disclosed before they were consolidated but also no evidence of any consolidation. Newbart and cowriter Abdon Pallasch didn’t have the time or space to sort it out. (The article covered most of a page, but a sweet family shot of Weller and his wife and their infant daughter took up more space than the story did.)
On Wonkette, freelance poster “Ken” pureed Smyth’s careful research with rumors that President Bush and the Reverend Sun Myung Moon have been picking up tens of thousands of acres in Paraguay–“just in case.” (Meaning just in case these jokers have to disappear fast, you know, like some Germans after World War II.) Ken didn’t sweat the details. “To avoid the appearance of being a Global Criminal Mastermind or whatever,” he wrote, “Weller asked his buddies in Congress for various waivers. He got them.” Smyth had reported a single waiver, and he didn’t accuse Weller of cronyism. I reached Ken by e-mail. “I can’t really explain
aTribune headline November 1: “Parties pouring big bucks into area.” Subhead: “Democrats, GOP spend $7 million on 2 Congress races.” And the article began:
aThe only thing to be said for the Sun-Times’s endorsement of Todd Stroger last month is that publisher John Cruickshank–unlike his disgraced predecessor, David Radler–allowed the lesser papers in the Sun-Times News Group to make up their own minds. Neither the Daily Southtown nor the Pioneer Press papers nor a single other STNG paper came out for Stroger. No surprise given the fundamental democratic principles that were violated in making Stroger a candidate.
