Does Gov. Pat Quinn have a new girlfriend? Does anyone really care?
Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster cares, and that's sorta lame. Surely there's a curiosity factor in all of us about whether the man pictured above has the chops to land a lady, but is it news that the governor has a new lady friend?
Sadly, in this day and age, yes.
Should it be? No!
You'd think we'd have grown up a bit - especially given the serious problems facing us at the moment.
Alas, though the dippy Foster's column might not constitute news, it's what the kids are reading these days.
But she's not alone.
Politics
Her colleague, Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed, in her inimitable fashion, is also "reporting" today on a non-news Quinn event: he chose to walk instead of riding in a golf cart at the state fair! What a guy!
That item was almost assuredly fed to Sneed by Quinn's surprisingly shameless staff - the same ones that had him sign a bill on Fox Chicago News the other morning. Sneed bit was still made up of the same thin gruel as the Foster bit, and she is probably very proud to have "broken" it.
What a waste of resources.
(Note to Quinn's people: if you indeed fed Foster the dating bit, you may well regret opening up that can of worms if and when you can no longer control the flow of such personal information.)
The one notable piece to emerge from the story is that Quinn is a bachelor governor, which is interesting because it's rare. It's also refreshing, and if the man wants to date, let him date in private. It's none of our business - until or unless the lucky woman gets a state contract or job.
Barring that, let's stay out of the governor's personal life.
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.
