In the category of things that I didn’t see coming . . . My preliminary favorite for this year’s biggest “do as I say, not as I do” hypocrite is Elon Musk. Yes, the world’s richest man and self-proclaimed champion of free speech. It turns out the dude with the “I don’t give a shit, […]
Category: On Politics
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Not a dream
As I lay in bed drenched in sweat, battling COVID, it came to me as in a fevered dream . . . The city council had overwhelmingly approved Mayor Lightfoot’s idea to spend untold millions on a casino. Even as Alderperson Brendan Reilly warned them that it may wind up being as bad as the […]
Posted inOn Politics
False equivalence
So there I am at my kitchen table, drinking my morning coffee and reading the latest column in the New York Times by Tom Friedman, who I disagree with more often than not. I read pretty much every column by Friedman, Bret Stephens, David Brooks, and other writers with whom I disagree, on the outside […]
Posted inOn Politics
MAGA hate
Generally, I like to tell a joke or two in these columns, looking to underscore the absurdity of politics with a little dark humor. But no joking this time. On Saturday, an 18-year-old white supremicist armed with a semiautomatic rifle walked into a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and started shooting people. Black people, […]
Posted inOn Politics
Footing the bill
In the last few weeks, Mayor Lightfoot has revealed several important details about the casino she’s pushing so hard to develop, including . . . Where it will go—near Chicago and Halsted on the city’s near north side. Who will run it—Bally’s Corporation. And why we need it—to raise money to pay police and firefighter […]
Posted inOn Politics
Whole Foods flight
In the aftermath of Whole Foods closing its taxpayer-subsidized store in Englewood, it’s as good a time as ever for me to once again remind you that it was only four years ago that the city and state were begging Jeff Bezos to please, please, please take billions of our tax dollars and build a […]
Posted inOn Politics
Happy birthday, Harold
It was just unofficially Harold Washington week in Chicago as the city celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth. That’s right—had Harold lived, he’d have been 100 years old on April 15. Everywhere I look I see articles proclaiming Harold’s greatness. Oh, if only he had so much support when he was mayor. Look, I […]
Posted inOn Politics
MAGA delusion
Republican strategists think they can win over the Black vote by trashing Justice Jackson.
Posted inOn Politics
Thinking like us
In a year in which Republicans are trying to scare white people into voting Republican, Richard Irvin has taken things one step further. He’s running a commercial intended to win over the “right” (think MAGA) kind of white people by assuring them he’s scaring the shit out of the wrong kind of white people (think […]
Posted inOn Politics
A bad hand
Now that Mayor Lightfoot has officially revealed the three finalists for Chicago’s casino, the bamboozling of the city will begin. Oh, Chicago, you know you’re getting bamboozled. I think you sorta like it—a little attention from the boss. It’s like you matter as they try to win you over into supporting something you don’t really […]
Posted inOn Politics
Jussie justice
Let’s start with an apology to readers tired of reading about Jussie Smollett—because having watched last week’s sentencing, I just got to get something off my chest . . . 150 days! Are you kidding me? My Smollett-hating readers, I realize, have a point—there are far more compelling matters to discuss, what with the species […]
Posted inOn Politics
The goalie
Despite his many flaws, Michael Madigan was one of the few Democrats in Illinois with the guts to stand up to the Rauners & Griffins.
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best tribute to my favorite team, from Van Lier to DeRozan
It’s an hour or so before game time, and I’m up in the nosebleed section, waiting for my beloved Bulls to start playing, and wondering what, oh what, to write about for the Best of Chicago issue. And all of a sudden it hits me—right there in front of my face. Up on the huge, […]
Posted inOn Politics
No más
With word just breaking that Kenneth Griffin kicked in $20 million to Richard Irvin’s gubernatorial campaign, I guess you can say he passed the audition. Irvin, that is, not Griffin. No, Griffin’s running the audition. It’s his play, and he’s casting it. I thought Griffin might abandon Irvin after his inability to answer a straightforward […]
Posted inOn Politics
Race and football
After watching Brian Flores parade before the cameras to talk about his racial-discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, I immediately realized who the Bears should have hired as their coach . . . Brian Flores! The man comes off as fearless, strong, cool under pressure, and classy. In short, just about everything any team would want […]