Hollywood insider
Renatta Frazier’s trip last week to Los Angeles proved productive.
Springfield’s most famous former police officer signed a management deal with
The Brokaw Company — whose clients include Bill Cosby, Toni Braxton, Lou Rawls,
and Tavis Smiley (not to mention an assortment of the paler novelties like Carrot
Top, Tony Orlando, and Loretta Lynn). The deal could lead to a book, a movie,
and public speaking engagements. The only downside is that for the time being,
she can’t be quoted unless The Brokaw Co. gives the OK.
Take this to the bank
Three dozen area residents rode a bus to Chicago last week to testify
against the $58 billion merger of Bank One Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase &
Co. The group included a farmer from Lincoln, a minister from Champaign, a retired
legal aid lawyer from Bloomington, and Springfield NAACP President Rudy Davenport.
The group urged the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to lean on banks that
discriminate against minorities.
Davenport, a member of the Central Illinois Organizing Project, told the Fed
that the banks have a “moral duty” to close disparities in their lending practices.
“If you happen to be black in Springfield and you’re a college graduate,” he
said, “a white high school graduate stands a better chance of getting a loan
than you.”
Judy, Judy, Judy
Ward 7 Alderwoman Judy Yeager hopes to return to council in June.
Despite months of viral pneumonia and a stroke, Yeager hasn’t lost an ounce
of spunk.
“I am so happy to be in this stage of recovery,” she said from her daughter’s
home in Chicago, “so that I can get better and kick ass when I get back.”
This article appears in Apr 29 – May 5, 2004.
