Category: Letters

“One of the most popular acts at Woodstock in 1969 was Sha Na Na!” Great Leap Indeed Re “The Great Commander” by Rupa Shenoy, July 10 Is that a Chairman Mao depiction of Oprah? Looks like it to me. If that’s the case, it is totally inappropriate. Mao killed millions of his own people. Oprah, […]

“Our alderman is the invisible man. Calls unanswered, things not getting done…. The job isn’t that difficult.” Silence Stops Nothing Re “The Dead Zone” by Ben Joravsky, July 3 The worst part of Daley’s dictatorship is that the only one who writes about it is Ben Joravsky. Where is the rest of [the] press? Where […]

“Without exception, your recommendations are el supremo, for which all of my senses will be forever grateful.” Correction In last week’s Best of Chicago issue, Marcus Liberty was described by Ted Cox as a past player on Simeon’s basketball team. In fact, Liberty was a player for Martin Luther King Jr. High School under Landon […]

“People all over the country are fighting for what little green space is left, some of them trying to maintain a mere view of nature.” Correction Last week’s cover story, “Rookie of the Century?” by Ted Cox, said that Geovany Soto would be the first rookie to be the primary starting catcher for a World […]

We are like exhausted firefighters … trying to appease the new assistant fire chief … who says, “Why not try aiming AWAY from the fire instead of at it?” The Cars Are Just a Drop in the Polluted Waters Re “Sweet Fleet” by Mick Dumke, June 12 The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is one of […]

“All the higher power option is going to do is turn perhaps the most insightful & witty columnist we have into another white bread & mayonnaise writer.” Steinberg and the Powers That Might Be Re “Steinberg on Steinberg” by Michael Miner, May 29 Um, you can, and many people do, get sober without AA and […]

“The struggle to save Jean Klock Park from development is an issue of moral values. The park was a gift for ‘the children of future generations forever’ “ Benton Harbor Blues Re “Can Jack Nicklaus Save Benton Harbor?” by Mick Dumke, May 22 You missed the fact that the City of Benton Harbor is required […]

“Under Daley the main qualification for service on the [Chicago Plan] commission is loyalty to Daley.” —”A Commission of Puppets” by Ben Joravsky, May 15 Half Full, Half Empty Re “A Commission of Puppets” by Ben Joravsky, May 15 Great article, same old Chicago, just new names. Stick with it, protesters, the law is on […]

“Graduate students at all institutions can organize on their campuses without recourse to the NLRB.” Slaves to the System but Free to Organize Re “And All I Got Was This Lousy PhD” by Deanna Isaacs, The Business, May 1 The members and supporters of Graduate Students United would like to thank Deanna Isaacs for her […]

“If you or someone you know is considering graduate school at the University of Chicago, do yourself a favor and reconsider…” The Cost of Higher Ed Re “And All I Got Was This Lousy PhD” by Deanna Isaacs, The Business, May 1 The U of C has always abused graduate students. Less than 1/3 of […]

“Over one-third of the prisoners currently at Tamms have been there since the first year it was open. [That’s] over nine years, and for many ten full years in supermax confinement.” — Alan Mills, April 24 Just Who’s Subsidizing Whom in the CPD and Latin School Deal? Re “Worse Than We Thought” by Ben Joravsky, […]

“What is the point of going to all the trouble of creating natural and organic foods and products if we harm the environment to bring them to market?” Ask Yourself if Those Healthy Products Are Good for You After All As an add-on to your “Have a Green Day” article [by Mick Dumke, April 17]: […]

“Why Streeterville as opposed to, oh, say, just about anywhere else?” Our Tax Dollars at Work Re “Apparently Money Does Grow on Trees: There’s No Other Way the Park District Can Justify the $22 Million It’s Spending on Its Streeterville Offices” by Ben Joravsky, April 10 And how much property could be purchased for $22 […]

“I guess I’d better die now…. Otherwise a lot of people are going to be really disappointed!” —from “As Del Lay Dying,” an excerpt from The Funniest One in the Room by Kim “Howard” Johnson, April 3 We’re for the Community Your article “The Right to Rant” [Michael Miner, April 3] about the Okons was […]

“Note to D’Angelo: It’s only food, dude (dood). Get over yourself!” Outcry Over Crib Piece The Reader received a flood of responses to Mike Sula’s Omnivorous column, “You Can’t Eat There” (March 28). Here’s a taste: Yes, Chicago is starting to be recognized as the international city it really is, just without all the bullshit. […]