Gathering Headwinds

In what seems a lifetime ago, I joined a group that tried to save Comiskey Park. Through it all, we faced wave upon wave of useful idiots in service of Jerry Reinsdorf. Whether or not Lenin said it, everyday people and members of the media acted the role. With White Sox Stadium 2.0, this isn’t then. Radio, TV, the press, social media—just about everyone everywhere appears to be against public funding for a new stadium. And I thought the Bears were having a tough go of it. Unlike other owners (the McCaskeys included) who want public funding, Reinsdorf has made next to no effort to engage the public. Politicians, yes, but not Joe and Mary Smith, which has only infuriated the Smiths and their friends. Oh, and the governor of the state of Illinois. You’d think an owner seeking $1 billion in public funds would make the effort, but not Reinsdorf so far. Strange, or lazy or stubborn or some combination of the three. Rarely has anyone been so enamored of his own counsel. If Jerry doesn’t want to put on his leather jacket for a return trip to Springfield, nobody in his inner circle is going to tell him he has to. Which is both good and bad. Good because it further complicates getting a stadium deal done. Bad because I’m sure Reinsdorf is ready, willing and able to go nuclear and threaten to move the team to Nashville. Then what? I honestly don’t know.