Lyons: Madigan balks; King of Pop checks out

Prevailing wisdom had Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sitting in the leather chair of her choice in the governor’s mansion or the one that Roland Burris has been keeping warm in Washington.

Locals and political gadflies say they knew or pretended to know that Madigan’s decision would determine a statewide office run from Marengo’s own Jack Franks, who built his name recognition well beyond McHenry County borders amid the wreckage of the USS Blagojevich.

Perhaps if Madigan ran for governor, Franks would try his luck in an attorney general’s contest or aim even higher if Madigan chose to run for U.S. Senate.

I don’t know whether Madigan’s decision not to step onto a larger stage makes our local Democrat’s decision harder or easier. But I’d expect to find out in the coming weeks.

• • •

When we got news of Michael Jackson’s death, we knew collectively that it was a big pop culture story. The biggest in some time. It belonged on page 1. For one day.

For people between the ages of 30 and 50, he was Elvis – a larger-than-life talent. Flawed and fascinating. Gaudy and bewildering. He might have had a penchant for children, which was not proved in a court of law. Yet the allegations were disturbing.

Jackson’s talent as an entertainer and his impact on pop culture over the past 30 years is unparalleled. But again, his death is a huge pop culture story. It is little else. It has little to do with race, despite what Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson Jr. and many others will tell anyone who listens. Unless you count breaking racial barriers on MTV as a significant milestone, he wasn’t Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. or Jackie Robinson.

How much impact does it have on our everyday lives? Unless you were a friend or family member, not much. Fans are entitled to grieve the loss, but let’s keep this in perspective.

I’ve talked to some who have been captivated by the endless Jackson coverage on cable news. I’m not judging them. We all have our diversions. But for the past week, I haven’t even been able to turn CNN on. It is beyond weird. It’s a lunatic menagerie.

Are you now ready for a return to regularly scheduled programming on the rest of cable news that involves people yelling at one another and pretending that they aren’t partisan shills?

Then we can switch the channel off again when Larry King comes on with a daily dose of self-important celebrities who try to convince us why we should care about their thoughts on anything.

• Kevin Lyons is news editor of the Northwest Herald. Reach him at 815-526-4505 or at kelyons@nwherald.com.