Metering is ON

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Carol Marin biography

Carol Marin is the political columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.

In addition to her work at the paper, she is the political editor for NBC5 …

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  • Oh, the pain of giving up a perk

    State Sen. Annazette Collins (D-Chicago) was not pleased Thursday when I called. Are you in Springfield? “No,” she said. Are you in Chicago? “Yes,” she said, adding, “I don’t like talking to you all.” At that, she hung up. I was asking only because a …Read More

  • Readers weigh in on nuns and me

    You have a lot to say about nuns! My email box is filled with strong words about a recent column on the Vatican’s excoriation of American sisters for spending too much time worrying about the poor, the disabled and the disenfranchised. And for being, unlike …Read More

  • ‘Won’t you please come to Chicago’

    “From the bottom of the ocean To the mountains on the moon Won’t you please come to Chicago No one else can take your place . . . We can change the world.” Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1970 You may be hearing that old song, …Read More

  • Gorbachev brings charm to Chicago

    If I hadn’t known better, I would have mistaken Mikhail Gorbachev for a Chicago ward boss. Except for his Russian accent, of course. “Salut! Salut!” he boomed as he entered a meeting room at the JW Marriott downtown, where we were to do an interview …Read More

  • Vatican waging a war on nuns

    You decide if this makes sense. There is a criminal trial under way in Philadelphia in which a Catholic priest is charged with attempted rape of a minor, and the priest’s codefendant, a monsignor, is charged with covering up clergy sexual abuse. There is a …Read More

  • How can we ‘trust’ infrastructure plan?

    Just once, it would be thrilling to see a brave City Council hold the new mayor’s feet to the fire. But that’s like asking the Cubs to win the World Series, hockey players not to fight or Illinois politicians not to pad their pensions. On …Read More

  • All Blago plotters aren’t equal

    There were times in the courtroom when it looked like Alonzo “Lon” Monk was struggling for composure. Times when he put his hand to his face. Or turned his head to the wall as his attorney, Michael Shepherd, summoned an arsenal of arguments to win …Read More

  • Nanci Koschman fights for her boy

    What Nanci Koschman is doing takes courage. She sat, quietly crying at times, in the first row of Courtroom 606 at the Cook County Criminal Courts on Thurs­day as her attorneys asked Judge Michael Toomin to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the events surrounding her son’s death.

  • Daley can’t duck torture questions

    Calling former Mayor Daley. That’s what the People’s Law Office has been doing relentlessly for seven months in the torture lawsuit of Michael Tillman. But Daley’s not answering. And his private lawyers — paid for by your tax dollars — keep stalling. So Tillman’s lead …Read More

  • Election wiener is . . .Wieners Circle

    The only unequivocal winner of Tuesday’s election, for me anyway, arrived long after the polls closed and the candidates had gone home. It was the Chicago-style dog at the Wieners Circle, served up, as always, with attitude. The Illinois primary was a snooze. But even …Read More

  • Loyalty vs. pragmatism in Preckwinkle’s picks

    Toni Preckwinkle is a rare popular politician at a time when voter love is in scarce supply. Even so, in Tuesday’s primary, the coattails of the first-term president of the Cook County Board couldn’t carry some of the high-profile candidates she endorsed. Preckwinkle’s candidate for …Read More

  • GOP crowd looks for Lincoln magic

    It’s true. Things are heating up a bit for the Illinois primary this Tuesday. But folks in the GOP are concerned that “heat” is a relative term. And that plenty of Republican voters remain lukewarm, at best, about their presidential possibilities. State Sen. Kirk Dillard …Read More

  • Abortion big new issue in court race

    Abortion is front and center in the Illinois Supreme Court race thanks to a federal court ruling Tuesday that gave the bipartisan, pro-choice Personal PAC a giant victory. And opened the way for unlimited fund-raising for pro-choice candidates. That kindles a firefight over the open …Read More

  • The rise and fall  of Rod Blagojevich

    Rod Blagojevich is planning a farewell news conference. On Wednesday, the day before he boards a plane to Colorado to enter federal prison, he’ll meet the press one last time outside his Ravenswood Manor home. And say something, quote something. Kipling, perhaps. I’d prefer Shakespeare, …Read More

    • He’s Mayor Quiet on subject of G-8

    You’ve got to believe that Mayor Rahm Emanuel doesn’t like surprises, at least not when he’s the guy getting surprised. At a news conference Monday morning, the mayor was still telling reporters about how prepared Chicago was for a four-day, dual G-8/NATO summit beginning May …

    You’ll make state’s Supreme choice

    Aurelia Pucinski is making ’em sweat. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Cook County Democratic Party are pulling out all the stops to elect her opponent, Mary Jane Theis, to a 10-year term on the Illinois Supreme Court. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and friends from …

    GOP hands gifts to Axelrod, Dems

    David Axelrod walked into his small, largely unused office at the Obama for President headquarters on Tuesday looking a bit tired but relaxed. Why not? The Dow was closing above 13,000 for the first time since 2008. That’s when two Democrats were battling for their …

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