What is the New Normal on Privacy?

The Ryan trial continues to generate fallout as other Chicago cases come up. Tribune:

A federal judge barred prosecutors Wednesday from making criminal background checks of prospective jurors in the upcoming trial of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's onetime patronage chief and three other former city officials.

"I will order that no criminal background checks be run absent an order of the court," U.S. District Judge David H. Coar said in response to notification from prosecutors that they planned to make such checks before jury selection scheduled to start May 10 gets under way.

The judge said such actions could have a "coercive effect" and alluded to the Chicago Tribune's role in digging into the background of jurors in the Ryan trial:

"Absent some showing that it would be appropriate or necessary, I don't think as a matter of policy any party ought to be allowed to conduct criminal background checks of the jurors," he said. He said the issue could be revisited if prosecutors had more information to present.....

Coar acknowledged that the news media might conduct such background checks but said that wasn't enough to persuade him to authorize them.

"I'm not going to lecture the press on what their responsibilities are -- although they have responsibilities," he said.

Earlier post here. What a mess. I guess the judge is suggesting the honor system should be upheld. And the media shouldn't go on fishing expeditions of jurors' lives.

The Ryan judge, Tribune here, is also not letting his lawyers question jurors on that case, in preparation for an appeal. One juror claimed publicly that she had been set up by other jurors for dismissal.

Maybe the Ryan jurors have watched too many episodes of Survivor.

Meanwhile, Democrat candidate for Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulious, a banker whose family bank made a loan to a mob figure, talked to reporters today to "clear up any confusion about the loans because he may have been too cavalier in answering some questions from the media."

He said he took responsibility for the loans, but that "my qualifications for state treasure are not as a seasoned politician; they're as someone with financial background," and brought forth a veteran bank auditor to give a positive testimonial. The auditor said in 30 years he has never seen criminal background checks as part of a bank's loan policy.

In the case of Michael "Jaws" Giorango, all you would have to do is a Google search.

It kind of makes you wonder about Illinois though. Are these people a representative sample?

UPDATE: This story has more details about other questionable loans, including millions to a company later indicted for money laundering. Sen. Obama should return his campaign contributions.