December 24, 2002

BY MICHAEL SNEED SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Sneed hears rumbles Gov.-elect Rod Blagojevich plans to be ecumenical by retaining a Republican department chief. Guess who?

Hmmm . . .

Sneed hears University of Illinois law professor Francis Boyle is planning to nominate Gov. Ryan for a Nobel Peace Prize should he commute the sentences of all Death Row inmates.

Now there's a carrot.

Sign 'em . . .

In case you are wondering, here's a list of some celebs who signed a letter urging Gov. Ryan to commute the death sentences.

*"We wish you Godspeed," wrote Lucie Arnaz, Edward Asner, Barbara Bosson, Blair Brown, Peter Coyote, Ted Danson, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Olympia Dukakis, Richard Dreyfuss, Anthony Edwards, Shelley Fabares, Morgan Fairchild, Mike Farrell, Melissa Gilbert, Danny Glover, Ken Howard, Laurence Luckinbill, Kent McCord, Paula Poundstone, Mary Steenburgen, Noah Wyle, Alec Baldwin, E.L. Doctorow, Anjelica Huston, Camryn Manheim, Susan Sarandon, Diahann Carroll and Peter Yarrow.

Burn 'em . . .

State Sen. Ed Petka (R-Plainfield) may be called "Electric Ed" due to his strong stance on capital punishment--but his wife, Phyllis, wants us to know--he does not keep a model of an electric chair on his desk!

*Fact: A Joliet newspaper reporter built a replica of an electric chair and gave it to Petka when he was the Will County state's attorney. It now resides in Petka's storage box in the basement of his house, where it's been for 16 years!

"So, now you know--the real story," Phyllis told Sneed.

Tripp 'em . . .

Ho. Ho. Huh? . . . Linda Tripp, the Monicagate mouth that roared, now sells Christmas goodies from a shop in Middleburg, Va. That is if you believe everything you read in the London tabloids.

Wed 'em . . .

Carl "Watergate" Bernstein, who reportedly was a character in ex-wife Nora Ephron's novel Heartburn who would sleep with a Venetian blind, is engaged to be married again . . . according to the New York press. That is . . . if you care about such things.

Las Vegas lore . . .

Former Chicago cop Jim Mullen, who was shot and paralyzed from the waist down while on duty, just returned from Las Vegas where he enjoyed his first vacation in six years.

The Castro corner . . .

Besame Mucho! When DePaul University student Jessica Jaramillo met Cuban leader Fidel Castro at a Havana art gallery during a recent study abroad, she not only got a surprise and an autograph . . . he told her she was "beautiful" and gave her a . . . kiss! Ay!

The Bono beat . . .

Before the year is out, chew on this tasty morsel: Rocker Bono and entourage, which included comedian Chris Tucker, actress Ashley Judd and her husband Scottish racecar driver Dario Franchitti, Kennedy cousin Bobby Shriver (brother of NBC's Maria Shriver) and members of financier Warren Buffett's family . . . indulged in a post-midnight supper of poached trout, squid-ink risotto and tenderloin at Carlucci's Restaurant in Rosemont during his AIDS tour. Yummy.

Sneedlings . . .

Watch for Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman to swear in new Senate President Emil Jones and the entire Senate along with re-elected Secretary of State Jesse White. . . . As his tenure in office ends, one of Gov. Ryan's last official acts as governor will be to "top off" the Park Plaza condo development in the Belmont Harbor area on Dec. 30. . . . Condolences to Sun-Times deputy metro editor Paul Saltzman, whose beloved father, Sol, died recently. . . . Congrats to Patti and Terry Durkin on the recent birth of their child, William Francis. . . . Congrats to Bridget Higgins and Kevin McCarthy on their recent engagement. . . . Today's birthdays: Ricky Martin, 31, and Matt Storin, ageless.