June 29, 2004

BY MICHAEL SNEED SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Dateline: The Clout Line--It should come as no surprise Gov. Blago appointed a woman named Harper Montgomery to the Illinois Arts Council, reportedly inviting the enmity of Arts chief Shirley Madigan, wife of Blago's nemesis, House Speaker Mike Madigan.

*To wit: Harper, who has an arts background, is the wife of ... Blago's deputy governor/top adviser/lead henchman Bradley Tusk, a whipper snapper from New York who lives by da polls.

*This, of course, follows in the wake of Blago naming his mother-in-law, Margaret Mell, to the Illinois Arts Council.

A Mell memo . . .

Deborah Mell, Gov. Blago's gay sister-in-law, has got moxie.

*Translation: She was spotted at the Gay Pride Parade (aka Equal Marriage Now) Sunday with a three-foot photo of Blago with a bubble coming out of his mouth saying, "Please don't discriminate. Except when it comes to Gay Equal Rights."

*Quoth a Sneed spotter: "He [Blago] couldn't come because he was in Springfield. How convenient."

The porch tragedy . . .

I'd like to think the rare earthquake tremor that hit Chicago around midnight Sunday was a way of jarring our memory to the tragedy that occurred a year ago last night.

It was a prelude to the first anniversary of the Lincoln Park porch collapse -- which claimed the lives of 13 young people and injured 57 others.

Although a private memorial service honoring the victims was held at nearby St. Clement's Catholic Church last week to avoid the media, I remembered the agony and railroad track facial scar of a young man attending the funeral of his best friend, Shea Fitzgerald, a New Trier grad and football player at Northern Illinois University, who was killed that night.

His name was Cullan Stefanik, and he was only 10 feet from Fitzgerald on that third floor which collapsed . . . also killing his pal Sam Farmer, who was one floor below.

Cullan was trapped in the porch debris, but lived . . . and allowed others more seriously injured than him to be rescued first.

For Cullan, life since then has had ups and downs . . . mostly downs.

"The first six months after it happened, I was in shock," said Cullan. "But the last six months have been difficult."

Cullan, who suffered severe facial lacerations, remembers being awake and conscious in the porch rubble. "I've had a couple of nightmares since then and I don't know why, but it seems to come back when I'm in the shower," said Cullan, who attended the University of Kentucky one semester but opted not to return.

"I went to a house party when I was at the university and remember seeing refreshments on the porch . . . and found myself standing on the fringe, but not going out on it at all.

"The physical stuff I've had to go through is minuscule to anything else that is bothering me. It's the guilt attached to it. I now know there is nothing I could have done. It's just that four of us fell and two of us walked out."

Cullan feels the positive aspect of the tragedy is "the honor and privilege of knowing two of the strongest families [Fitzgerald and Farmer] and see how they now look out for each other, love each other and support each other. The mothers are now really close."

One last note: Cullan stressed the importance of a memorial scholarship at New Trier High School in the name of "Sam and Shea," which is accepting donations. "It's based on both of them overcoming some pretty serious learning disabilities."

Added Cullan: "I don't take anything for granted anymore, and I am blessed with a strong family base."

Sneedlings . . .

Former obstreperous Senate leader James "Pate" Philip recently underwent successful open heart surgery at Elmhurst Hospital. . . . Congrats to Wilmette lawyer/former reporter Ed McManus, who has been elected national chair of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, one of the leading peace organizations in the country. . . . Today's birthdays: Gary Busey, 60; Robert Evans, 74; Richard Lewis, 57, Sharon Lawrence, 43; Amanda Donohoe, 42; Maria Conchita Alonso, 47, and Elizabeth Dole, 68.

Michael Sneed is seen at 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays on WMAQ-Channel 5.