The golden rule of Twitter is simple: Never Tweet. But if you must, check which account you’re logged into first.

The D.C. Democratic Party learned that lesson the hard way this week, after the local party sent out a strange tweet Monday promoting a slate of candidates jockeying for control of the Chicago Teachers’ Union. The account’s managers quickly realized the mistake and pulled it down, but not before plenty of people (including Washington Teachers’ Union Secretary Laura Fuchs) noticed and started drawing attention to the post, considering that the “Members First Caucus” the tweet promoted has been criticizing the CTU’s recent work stoppage.

At first, the party tweeted simply that the post was an “accident” and that “we do not get involved in internal union elections in Chicago or any other city.” But the replies piled up, filled with people wondering why, exactly, someone working for this bunch of strike-averse teachers would even have access to the local Dems’ Twitter account.

By Thursday, the D.C. Dems addressed the matter more directly, naming Josh Brown, the party’s communications and digital director, as the person responsible for the errant post, which was intended for his client in Chicago. The group also pledged to open an investigation, noting allegations that Brown is “anti-union and anti-Democratic Party causes” based on his work for the Members First Caucus.

Most curiously, the statement said that the party would suspend its contract with Brown’s company, Brown Strategy, as that investigation proceeds. Brown is listed as staff on the D.C. Dems website, alongside Executive Director Claudette David.

Neither Brown nor David responded to requests for comment seeking clarity on the arrangement. But it would seem the local party is paying Brown in some capacity to run its Twitter account and reach its roughly 5,300 followers (and Brown’s firm lists the party among its clients on its website), a slightly odd set-up for a local Democratic committee.

So what else does Brown do when he’s not involved in Chicago politics? Other clients listed on the firm’s site include the politically connected contractor Fort Myer Construction and At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds. But his work locally is largely focused on anti-tobacco efforts.

For the past three years, Brown has worked as a lobbyist for the Tobacco Free Kids Action Fund (an offshoot of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids), per D.C. records. He’s lobbied Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration and the Council frequently on these matters in recent years, with lobbying reports showing a particular amount of support for the Council’s recently passed bill banning flavored tobacco products. Tweets on his personal account reflect that focus, too (though he took a break from tobacco-related content last February to retweet lots of pro-Mike Bloomberg posts).

The Members First account, which Brown presumably has some hand in running, has also stayed busy since the D.C. Dems snafu Monday. Members First frequently criticizes CTU’s leadership (a slate affiliated with the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators) for pressing so aggressively for new COVID safety measures before agreeing to end a work stoppage. Its tweets largely reflect those complaints, with some notable exceptions.

On Wednesday, for instance, the account retweeted a user who replied to Fuchs, when she noted Brown’s involvement with the Members First Caucus. “Your [sic] one of those socialists that ends up abusing people and covering it up,” @drkugler wrote, linking to an article asserting that a“rape coverup” undermined the International Socialist Organization in 2019.

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Get more in-depth, daily coverage of Chicago politics at The Daily Line.

Chicago’s first City Council meeting of 2022 on Wednesday could set the stage for intense debate on a series of controversial police misconduct settlements as well as a pair of long-stalled proposals to reverse a 2021 speeding crackdown and give the council its own legal representation. 

The council is set to give a final stamp of approval to a $14 million settlement to end two separate lawsuits brought by Corey Batchelor and Kevin Bailey, who served a combined 43 years in prison based on a conviction that was later overturned due to new DNA evidence that exonerated them. 

The men were convicted in the 1989 murder of a retired Chicago police officer’s wife. But the men later filed claims with the Illinois Torture and Relief Inquiry Commission, which had been established to investigate convictions that resulted from disgraced Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge, alleging that their convictions were based on forced confessions. As a result, their convictions were vacated in 2018. 

Related: Aldermen to consider $14M settlement for men imprisoned for decades based on forced confession  

The $14 million payout represents a significant chunk of the $82 million the Chicago Police Department was budgeted for total legal settlement and judgment costs in 2022. Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2019 created a Chief Risk Officer position to help tamp down settlement costs, but the post has been empty since Tamika Puckett departed in 2020.  

The Batchelor and Bailey settlement cleared the City Council Committee on Finance in a unanimous vote on Monday. But two other, smaller settlements passed on narrow margins and a third was defeated, setting up potential fireworks when they reach the full council on Wednesday.  

The finance committee voted 15-13 to advance a $425,000 payment to settle a lawsuit brought by Dejuan Harris, who was shot by police under disputed circumstances in 2016. And committee members voted 17-9 to approve a $115,000 settlement in the lawsuit brought by two brothers who were arrested in 2018 on gun charges that were later dropped.  

But the committee deadlocked in a 13-13 vote on whether to approve a $125,000 settlement to end a lawsuit brought by Lenora Bonds, whose son was shot to death by Chicago police in 2013. City Council rules spell defeat for any motion that ends in a tie vote, meaning the committee will report a “do not pass” recommendation to the full City Council during its meeting on Wednesday. 

Related: Committee rejects police misconduct settlement, narrowly approves 2 others, setting up City Council clash 

Bonds’ 2016 lawsuit centered on the death of her son, Terrence Harris, who was “suffering a mental health related episode” in 2013 when Bonds called 911, according to Chicago Deputy Corporation Counsel Victoria Benson. When one police sergeant responded to the call at Bonds’ home, Harris stabbed him in the face with a knife. The sergeant sought medical attention and Bonds left the house.  

Afterward, three police officers went inside the house and saw Harris wielding two knives. The officers then shot at Harris 32 times, hitting him 29 times and killing him.  

Bonds did not allege excessive force against the officers in her lawsuit, but rather she sued the city for its lack of crisis intervention training of police officers at the time of the shooting, according to Benson. The first police sergeant who arrived at the scene was trained to manage mental health crises, but the three officers who subsequently shot Harris to death were not. 

The City Council may vote on Wednesday to reverse the committee’s recommendation and approve the Bonds settlement. Benson warned Monday that if the case goes to trial, the city could be forced to spend upwards of $100,000 on “document discovery alone.” 

But a growing number of pro-police aldermen have grown increasingly defiant against a range of police misconduct settlements, saying city attorneys should be taking more cases to trial to ward off frivolous lawsuits. 

“If we’re opening these floodgates for people, no matter how small [the settlements] are, this is going to continue to happen,” Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38) said Monday. “It’s going to continue to cost us money.”  

Beale looks to force votes on stalled ordinances, again 

Ald. Anthony Beale (9) filed a Rule 41 notice last week in his latest attempt to force votes on two of his proposals that have stalled for months: a proposal (O2021-2901) to establish an independent legal counsel for the City Council and an ordinance (O2021-1227) that would reverse the city’s 2021 move to impose speed camera violations for people who drive more than 6 mph over the speed limit near schools and parks. 

Beale was stymied when he tried a similar maneuver in September to force up-or-down votes on both ordinances. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) quashed the effort on procedural grounds, saying Beale had failed to file his Rule 41 notice with the required five days’ notice. 

Beale got a partial reprieve in October, when the City Council Committee on Committees and Rules re-referred both measures to their originally intended committees. But Reilly struck again at the next City Council meeting, joining Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) to defer and publish both items. 

Related:  

Beale reacted by sending dozens of new ordinances to the rules committee, but Reilly moved to suspend the rules to undo his action — a counter-maneuver that Beale called “illegal” but was quickly approved by Lightfoot. 

Ald. Michelle Harris (8), who chairs the rules committee, filed a Rule 41 notice on Monday to finish the job of re-referring both ordinances out of her committee. But Harris did not file her notice five days in advance, leaving them vulnerable to a similar procedural challenge. 

Harris did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. But Beale told The Daily Line that he interpreted Harris’ notice as a counter-maneuver to block a direct vote on his ordinances. 

“I’m hoping that my colleagues are finally fed up with the administration manipulating the rules and not abiding by the rules,” Beale said Tuesday. “Most of my colleagues are in agreement that we need our own corporation counsel, we need our own parliamentarian, because this administration consistently changes the rules — and that’s a problem.” 

Beale said he will “absolutely” move again to send new ordinances to the rules committee if his ordinances are sidelined again on Wednesday. 

“You can’t have it both ways — in politics, it’s a give-and-take,” Beale said. “You can’t just continue to get whatever you want, and then when we try to bring ordinances to the floor, we can’t even get them heard.” 

“That’s not a democracy — that’s dictatorship,” he added. 

A spokesperson for Lightfoot did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. 

Emergency procurement rules set for final vote 

Wednesday is also set to see the return of a controversial proposal Lightfoot offered last month that would have granted emergency powers to Chicago’s Chief Procurement Officer Aileen Velazquez. 

The measure (SO2021-5647), which proposes to allow the procurement officer to make emergency payments of up to $1 million without City Council approval, faced significant pushback in committee when aldermen cited the proposal for taking away their control over contracting decisions. Aldermen also said they were not given enough information about the proposal ahead of a scheduled vote.  

The budget committee ultimately advanced the measure in a unanimous vote after officials added a sunset provision to the emergency powers. But Beale and Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) deferred and published the ordinance at the Dec. 15 meeting, delaying the vote by a month. 

Related: Aldermen OK emergency powers for chief procurement officer after sunset provision added 

Lightfoot said last month that she signed an executive order allowing Velasquez to “quickly secure supplies that are essential to preserve the public health and safety in the city.” 

Related: Aldermen approve apartments over colleague’s objection, allow sports betting at Chicago stadiums and ballparks 

Still, budget committee chair Ald. Pat Dowell (3) filed a Rule 41 notice last week to bring the ordinance back up for a vote on Wednesday. 

Stolen phone crackdown 

Aldermen on Wednesday are also set to approve an ordinance (O2021-5859) Lightfoot and Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) introduced last month meant to crack down on stolen cell phones. 

If approved by aldermen on Wednesday, the ordinance would hike fines for people caught re-selling stolen phones from between $1,000 and $2,000 to between $2,000 and $10,000.  

Additionally, the measure would revoke the license of businesses caught selling stolen phones twice within two years. The business owner would be stuck to the license revocation for four years and the revocation would be attached to the physical location for one year, Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Comm. Ken Meyer told aldermen during a committee meeting last week. 

Hairston said during last week’s committee meeting that cell phone robberies are “something that we are seeing all over the city” as a byproduct of carjackings. Hairston pointed to a recent incident in her ward when a man was murdered for his phone and the attacker immediately resold the phone for $100.  

Related: Crackdown on stolen cell phones advances as aldermen press officials on enforcement  

Municipal depositories, other ordinances  

The council is also set to approve an ordinance (O2022-274) authorizing this year’s round of municipal depositories, or banks that will hold portions of the city’s approximately $9 billion in assets.  

Despite an effort (O2021-2879) by city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin to make it easier for smaller, community-based banks to apply for the right to hold city assets, the list of banks who applied this year is nearly identical to the roster of big-name national institutions who already hold city funds, Comptroller Reshma Soni told aldermen during a hearing last month. However, GN Bank, a Black-owned, Chicago-based bank currently designated as a Chicago municipal depository, did not reapply for the right to hold city funds. MUFG Union Bank, another relatively small institution, did not reapply either.  

Representatives of the Illinois Bankers Association and the nonprofit Woodstock Institute suggested last month that new city rules (SO2021-2872) requiring banks to disclose their home lending data could be repelling smaller banks from applying. 

Related: Chase remains worst actor on racist home lending as city struggles to expand investment pool, data shows 

The following other citywide ordinances are on tap for approval on Wednesday: 

O2021-3106 — A proposal from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), which if approved on Wednesday would ban pedicab drivers from playing music on a radio or speaker between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. each night. Reilly introduced the measure last July with a companion ordinance (O2021-3104) that would have created an “exclusion zone” in River North where pedicabs would be banned from operating overnight. But Reilly dropped the “exclusion zone” proposal after speaking with “members of the pedicab industry to narrow the scope and focus” of his efforts, he told his colleagues last week. 

O2021-5871 — The “encumbrance ordinance,” allowing the Chicago Department of Housing to waive city debts, fees and liens on any property the city is targeting for private “revitalization” efforts. 

Related: ‘Encumbrance ordinance’ could help spur more rehabs of blighted properties: housing officials 

O2021-5875 — An ordinance authorizing the issuance of a $75 million bond to renew the city’s TaxSmart program, which offers a 25 percent tax credit on some homeowners’ mortgage interest payments, capped at $2,000 per household per year. 

O2021-5286 — An ordinance from Lightfoot that follows up on last year’s initiative (SO2020-4817) allowing city license officials to revoke licenses of scofflaw towing companies operating in the city. The proposal up for a vote on Wednesday sets a series of “technical amendments,” one of which would double from one year to two years the life of city-issued “emblems” for tow operators. Updated rules also “clarify” that tow operators do not need to be affiliated with storage lots, and that they may tow cars to lots located outside the city. Under the new measure, companies with suburban tow lots will need an “affidavit certifying that the tow lot is in compliance with all applicable laws” before applying with the city for a towing license, Meyer told aldermen last week.    

O2021-5726 — An ordinance introduced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot last month that would prohibit restaurants from marketing sugary drinks as part of kids’ meals. Lightfoot’s ordinance is proposed as a “local implementation” of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Serve Kids Better Act (SB1846), which the governor signed into law last August. If aldermen approve the measure on Wednesday, restaurants will only be able to advertise one of five “default beverages” as part of a kids’ meal: water; sparkling water without added sweeteners; flavored water without added sweeteners; nonfat or 1 percent dairy milk; “non-dairy milk alternatives” without added sugar that contain 130 calories or fewer; or “100 percent fruit or vegetable juice” without added sweeteners, served in a container of 8 ounces or less. Customers under the ordinance would still be allowed to substitute sugary or otherwise unhealthy drinks if they prefer them over the six “default” options.  

Related: Kids’ beverage ordinance advances 

SO2021-2058 An ordinance raising the minimum wage above the city’s minimum for employees of companies that are contracted by the airlines at Chicago’s airports. 

Related: Wage hike approved for airport workers 

O2021-5842 — A proposal from Ald. Michelle Harris (8), who chairs the City Council Committee on Committees and Rules, to transfer funds within the committee for the 2021 budget year. The measure proposes $5,500 from the rental/equipment line item to be used for material/supplies, $49.74 budgeted for “contingencies” to graphics/designs and $1,760 from the phone/AMI line item to be spent on “supplies.” 

O2021-5873 — An ordinance raising the cap on a routine property transfer tax remittance that the city conveys to the CTA each year, reflecting higher-than-expected revenues each year. The approximately $76 million transfer will help the transit agency pay down its pension obligations. 

R2021-1305 — The re-referral to the Finance Committee of a resolution by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) calling for a study of potential city investments in weapons manufacturers. 

R2021-1304 — The re-referral to the Committee on Budget and Government Operations of a resolution from Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) calling for the city to use federal pandemic relief money to prioritize installing new water meters for low-income households. 

R2021-1129 — The re-referral to the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights of a resolution by Ald. Sophia King (4) “reaffirming” Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city for Haitian and other Black immigrants. 

The following location-specific ordinances are on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting: 

O2021-5877 — An ordinance authorizing the sale of the city-owned former Maxim’s Restaurant in Bertrand Goldman’s Astor Tower. If approved by the City Council on Tuesday, the measure will authorize the city to sell the commercial condo unit at 1300 N. Astor St. in the 43rd Ward to Adam Bilter of Bilter Foundation for the parcel’s appraised value of $680,000, according to city documents. 

Related: Aldermen approve sale of former Maxim’s Restaurant 

O2021-5882 — An ordinance authorizing the city to issue about $44.7 million in Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds to help finance a renovation of the 272-unit Barbara Jean Wright Court affordable apartments in the 25th Ward. The loan, coupled with $4 million in tax-increment financing, will aid the Jonathan Rose Companies’ imminent takeover and renovation of the housing complex. 

O2021-5878 — An ordinance authorizing the sale of a of vacant city-owned property at 3975-77 S. Drexel Blvd. and 3981-83 S. Drexel Blvd. in the 4th Ward to John Jones for $250,000 

O2021-5876 — A proposal for the Class C tax status renewal for the property at 4535 W. Armitage Ave. in the 36th Ward. 

O2021-5841 — Expenditure of $450,000 in Open Space lmpact Fees to reimburse Chicago Public Schools for work on storm drainage, an asphalt basketball court, a play plaza area and a drinking fountain at Oscar F. Mayer Elementary School at 2250 N. Clifton Ave. in the 43rd Ward. 

O2021-5732 — Expenditure of $329,800 in tax-increment financing for Chicago Public Schools to fund mechanical upgrades at Solorio Academy High School at 5400 S. St. Louis Ave. in the 14th Ward.   

O2021-5746 — Expenditure of $3.8 million in tax-increment financing for Chicago Public Schools to fund a new mechanical system at Irma Ruiz High School at 2410 S. Leavitt St. in the 25th Ward.  

O2021-5747 — Expenditure of $4.25 million in tax-increment financing for Chicago Public Schools to fund a roof replacement at Spencer Elementary Technology Academy at 214 N. Lavergne Ave. in the 28th Ward. 

The council is also set to give a final stamp to all the measures approved by the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Tuesday, including a proposal to relocate Saint Anthony Hospital within Little Village. 

Related: Zoning committee set to vote on construction code changes, relocating Saint Anthony Hospital 

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Life-long Northside Chicagoan and proud first generation Irish American. Born at home on December 10, 1933 on Orleans Street in Old Town, died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on January 18, 2022. Loving husband of 65 years of Anna “Patsy” (nee Crnovich). Danny was the son of Mary (nee Joyce of Lettermuckoo, County Galway Ireland ) and Michael Ryan (Hospital, County Limerick Ireland). Brother of the late Mary, the late Mike (the late Josephine), the late Patrick, the late Jamesy, the late Jerry, Kathleen (the late Charlie) Bone, Margie (the late Michael) Dever, Patricia (Kevin Keane), Sheila (Richard) Cassettari and the late Johnny. Danny was the beloved father of eight children, the late Kevin, Patsy Ann (the late Gary) Schreiber, Mike (Megan), Dan, MaryKay, Annie (Randy Nyberg), Johnny (Sandy Jacobi), James (Katie). Adored Grandfather of Megan and Bridget (Dan Smeriglio) Schreiber, the late Conor Ryan, Samantha and Noreen Ryan, Liam and Rory Shanley, Matthew, Patrick, Eric, Lauren, Kate and Mitch Ryan, Jaqui (Kevin) Kraut, Jacob Ryan and Haley McLaughlin. Special cousin to Delia (the late John) Lawlor and the late Tom (Mary) Wallace. Uncle, cousin and brother-in-law to many. Danny was a gifted storyteller and left an indelible mark on everyone who knew him. Danny and Patsy were married in 1956 at Immaculate Conception in Old Town and quickly started their family. Danny proudly served in the Army shortly after and in 1961 purchased their home on Whipple Street .Danny was extremely proud of his immigrant parents, his siblings, children, grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Danny labored to provide for his family. He delivered coal, ice and groceries, and washed pans in a bakery while in school. He worked as a roofer, carpenter and at a lumber yard as a young man.Danny was a Chief Operating Engineer for the Chicago Police Department, retiring in 1999. He was a proud member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399. In retirement, he was a full time grandpa with Patsy (“Lady”) as his co-pilot on their many adventures. Danny was a devout Catholic and during his life was a parishioner of Immaculate Conception in Old Town, St. Gregory the Great in Andersonville, St. Veronica’s in Avondale and St. Thecla and St. Tarcissus in Norwood Park. His pleasures were simple, spending time with friends and family and telling stories. He was not concerned with material possessions.Danny loved to read newspapers and watch the local news, Chicago politics, taking walks, sitting in the yard listening to Irish music and watching birds, bad weather, wakes, Diet Coke and well done pizzas.He knew every street in Chicago and was a human Google Maps. He was loved by all who knew him. In lieu of flowers or donations, the best way to honor Danny is to do a favor for someone in need. Visitation will be held on Monday, January, 24th 2022 from 4-8pm located at Malec & Sons Funeral Home located at 6000 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60646. A final viewing will take place Tuesday January, 25th, 2022 at 8:30am at Malec & Sons Funeral Home. A Funeral Mass will take place after the final viewing on Tuesday at 10am located at 6020 W Ardmore Ave, Chicago, IL 60646. Concluding with a Committal Service at 11:20am on that same Tuesday, at Maryhill Catholic Cemetery located at 8600 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL 60714. Due to the mandates listed by the CDC, we will be requiring face masks to be worn upon entrance to Malec &Sons Funeral Home and at all times inside the facility. We also recommend 6ft social distancing to keep all of our guests safe.

Published by Chicago Tribune on Jan. 23, 2022.

34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315ATo plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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Many of the act’s provisions don’t go into effect until 2023. 

All four Republicans suggested the SAFE-T Act is to blame for increasing crime rates across the state. 

“Before the passage of the SAFE-T Act, we warned them what would happen, and it has,” said Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis. “Innocent victims are in an even more dangerous position than they were a year ago,” 

“Illinois has become the wild wild Midwest,” Durkin said. 

Rates of violent crime have increased in the past few years, said Dr. Magic Wade, assistant professor of political studies at the University of Illinois Springfield. 

But that increase cannot be attributed to the SAFE-T Act, she said, because most of the act has yet to go into effect, and crime rates in some parts of the state have been rising since 2015. 

“Violent crime was going up before the pandemic,” Wade said. “So the pandemic sort of put into overdrive a trend that was already happening.”  

Wade, who studies the criminal justice system, said the increase in crime observed in Illinois is part of a nationwide trend. Criminologists do not agree on why crime rates rise and fall, which leaves room for people to interpret data in more partisan ways. 

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Planned Parenthood has projected that an additional 14,000 women from Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee would likely travel to Southern Illinois for abortion care if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

The center, which had a soft opening in December, has thus far coordinated 138 rides and flights and housed dozens of women in need of overnight stays, according to Planned Parenthood.

Since September, when the Texas law took effect, more than $73,000 in financial assistance has been provided to women traveling to Southern Illinois for the procedure.

The center, which currently employs six people, is funded in part by a $10 million investment Planned Parenthood and Hope Clinic made to increase capacity and infrastructure at their Southern Illinois facilities.

Illinois’ abortion laws are sure to become a flashpoint during the 2022 gubernatorial campaign, where the pro-choice Pritzker — running for a second term — is certain to face an openly anti-choice opponent or someone, at the very least, less comfortable with the procedure.

“Every Republican running for governor is determined to take away a woman’s right to choose,” Pritzker said. “They’re determined to turn Illinois backwards. And so is it on the ballot? Yes, it is, because if one of them gets elected, that is precisely what they will attempt to do.”

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Spain said crime has skyrocketed in Illinois with increases in retail theft, carjacking and murders, citing 800 murders last year in Chicago.

“Illinois has become the wild, wild Midwest,” Durkin said.

Durkin

Tweaks to the bill, including a measure passed last year diluting some of the use-of-force language in the original bill, aren’t good enough, the Republicans said on Thursday, and the SAFE-T Act should be repealed entirely. Mazzochi said it would only take a few Democrats to cross over to get it done.

“Repeal is a realistic solution. The original, underlying legislation passed with a bare minimum of 60 votes,” Mazzochi said. “ … It almost didn’t pass the first time.”

The bill, supported by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, passed on Jan. 13, 2021, one year to the day the bill to repeal it was filed.

The Black Caucus countered the SAFE-T Act made the justice system fairer for minorities, according to statement released after the press conference on Thursday. The statement went on to say they continue to work with law enforcement groups, including by passing two follow-up measures.

“Many provisions of the SAFE-T Act have not even gone into effect yet, proving the Republican gambit is all for show,” the statement said. “In fact, when fully implemented, experts say the SAFE-T Act will help improve public safety by supporting a more holistic approach for first-responders. Instead of coming up with solutions to address crime, Republicans are just trying the same racial scare tactics we see across the country.”

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One day after Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s entry into the GOP primary race for Illinois governor, his team has released a list of 60 endorsements from key Republican leaders across the state.   

While there was criticism from other GOP candidates running for governor that Irvin had previously voted in Democratic primaries, the large block of endorsements was designed to send a signal that Irvin is more that welcomed by the established Republican party in the state.

The list of endorsements, published on Irvin’s campaign website, was highlighted by House Minority Leader Jim Durkin and former State Sen. Jim Oberweis. Former Rep. John Shimkus, DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and former U.S. Ambassador Ron Gidwitz also threw their support behind Irvin’s campaign, as did a total of eight GOP county chairmen from around the state.

As Irvin launched his campaign with running mate Avery Bourne, he also received glowing praise from Ken Griffin, the businessman who is the state’s largest donor to the Republican party.

Griffin, according to published reports, may donate up to $150 million for the race to unseat current Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has already poured tens of millions into his own campaign for re-election.

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CHICAGO — A new state law lets homeowners in Illinois request the removal of racist language from property deeds, decades after the language was deemed unenforceable and outlawed.

WBEZ reports that restrictive covenants barring Black people from owning a property or labeling properties “white only” can be edited more easily due to the change.

State Sen. Adriane Johnson, a Buffalo Grove Democrat, was among the law’s sponsors. Johnson said the covenants aren’t enforceable but making it simpler to edit them is “another way of righting the wrongs from the past.”

Such deeds and covenants were considered legally binding in the U.S. from 1916 until 1948, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they were unenforceable.

The 1968 Fair Housing Act made them illegal.

But homeowners still reported finding the racist language in deeds for property and some also found it was difficult to have the documents altered.

Mundelein resident Nicole Sullivan learned 10 years ago that records for her home and others in the subdivision prohibited the selling, transferring or leasing “persons of the African or Negro, Japanese, Chinese, Jewish or Hebrew races, or their descendants.”

Sullivan said her effort to change the documents through Lake County authorities was slow and cumbersome. So she and others in the community petitioned for a change in state law.

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Back in 1963, Don Rose was an organizer for Midwest states at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He’s made plenty of other marks in Chicago politics — leading school boycotts, managing the anti-machine campaign that elected Jayne Bryne the city’s first female mayor — but today we wanted to talk with him mostly about 1966, when Martin Luther King brought his civil rights work to Chicago, and Rose worked as his press secretary.

GUEST: 

Don Rose 

Longtime activist in Chicago | Press Secretary, MLK’s Chicago Freedom Campaign, 1966

 

Don Rose, living legend, worked with MLK at a critical moment of the civil rights movement, helped spearhead the antiwar protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention, mentored David Axelrod, and knew Charlie Bird Parker when bebop started in the 1940s. https://t.co/hZaf4idEJe

— Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter) December 30, 2021

 

Prepared for web by Owen Henderson

Help shape our coverage on The 21st by joining our texting group and answering weekly questions. To join, text “TALK” to 217-803-0730 or sign up with your phone number below:

 

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Bruce Anderson of MX-80

ART

Warhol Foundation Supports Madison Exhibition By Faisal Abdu’Allah

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art has received a significant grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support the exhibition, “Dark Matter,” opening September 17, by Madison-based, British artist and UW-Madison Professor Faisal Abdu’Allah. “‘Dark Matter’ explores cultural representation and the systems of power that structure our experiences of the world.” More here.

 

DESIGN

Reviews In For Steppenwolf’s Fresh Edifice

“The second phase, completed this past fall, bookends the original theater’s south end, adding a plethora of public-facing amenities like a two-story atrium and two bars. The atrium is conventionally pleasing, using materials like polished concrete and glass to create a sophisticated-yet-industrial feel. Perhaps it felt dull to me because it was empty, but who these days—two years into a pandemic—can imagine a theater atrium aglow and filled with buzzing crowds?” writes Anjulie Rao at the Architect’s Newspaper. “The lackluster atrium stands in contrast to the new, flexible theater-in-the-round that is positioned as the beating heart of ASGG’s addition. Clad in textured gray glass fiber reinforced concrete panels, and ringed by the atrium, the mass of the Ensemble Theater resembles a geometric asteroid in a museum display. Its massive girth and towering height—the volume extends past the atrium roofline—create an identifiable, if ambiguous, cap atop the addition, providing visual interest from the nearby El train… The promise is one of exhilarating and intimate—all seats are within 20 feet of the stage—experiences for audiences.”

Greektown Mixed-Use Development Zoning Approved

“Slumming up Greektown. Dreadful and depressing,” writes Lynn Becker on Twitter, linking to YIMBY’s coverage of zoning approval for a mixed-use development in Greektown. “The Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a mixed-use development at 812 West Adams [at] the corner of South Halsted… The lot is occupied by a one-story structure that once held the Greek staples of Santorini and Pegasus restaurants and a small parking lot. Developer Luxe Suites Chicago LLC has teamed up with local design firm Axios Architects on the project that required two approvals from the board.”

 

DINING & DRINKING

Foxtrot Chain Advances Plan For Twenty-Five More Chicago Locations

“Foxtrot Market, the Chicago-based chain of trendy convenience stores and cafes that already has sixteen locations, aims to continue its meteoric rise across the city,” reports Eater Chicago. “The company has recently raised $100 million from East and West Coast investment firms, bringing the total raised to $160 million, and it aims to open twenty-five more stores over the coming year, according to Crain’s. Among these is a 1,739-square-foot outpost slated to open in the spring inside downtown’s historic Tribune Tower, as well as another inside the Loop’s Willis Tower and a third in the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Founded in 2014 as a delivery service featuring packaged [food], beer, and wine, Foxtrot has steadily grown into a well-known local retailer with on-site bars that serve coffee, espresso, and wine along with prepared grab-and-go meals.”

Is Paper Thin Pizza Really… Paper Thin?

At the Tribune, Nick Kindelsperger applies the micrometer: “I’m not sure it’s humanly possible for pizza to get any thinner, without the crust disappearing completely into the void,” he writes of the Green Street joint.

 

MEDIA

New York Times Hires Trib’s Bill Ruthhart As Mentor

“We are thrilled to announce that Bill Ruthhart is joining The Times as the writing coach and an editor for our newsroom fellowship and early-career programs,” the Times posts on its corporate blog. “Bill joins us from the Chicago Tribune where, as a political reporter, he has spent the last eleven years digging into the rough and tumble of Chicago politics. He covered the 2020 presidential race and Rahm Emanuel’s eventful tenure as Chicago mayor. Previously, he wrote on state and local politics for The Indianapolis Star. Beyond his accomplishments as a reporter, Bill has a passion for shepherding up-and-coming journalists and often speaks with students at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois University. In his new role, Bill will help coach and guide our newsroom fellows as they work to become better reporters and writers. He also will support the careers team in other endeavors, such as helping vet candidates for our fellowship, the Times Corps and other early-career programs.”

Trib Cuts Cartoonist Joe Fournier After Twelve Years

“Chris Jones, editorial page editor of the Tribune, confirmed [cartoonist Joe] Fournier’s departure… ‘Joe is a great freelance cartoonist and I like and value his work. We’re just trying now to include a multiplicity of voices (and cartoonists) on the opinion pages,’” reports Rob Feder.

Is The Athletic Under The New York Times A Threat To Local Newspapers?

The New York Times Co. announced on January 6 that it would pay $550 million for the Athletic. The Athletic has proven “part of its original thesis,” writes Joshua Benton in a jaunty aggregation at NiemanLab, “that you could create a high-quality national sports product that, even in an overcrowded space like sports, get more than a million people to pay for… This team-up has re-raised questions about The Athletic’s impact on local newspapers. Back in 2017, one of its co-founders famously let these words come out of his mouth in front of a reporter: ‘We will wait every local paper out and let them continuously bleed until we are the last ones standing… We will suck them dry of their best talent at every moment..We will make business extremely difficult for them.’”

Astound Broadband Subsumes RCN

RCN, a provider of cable and internet services with a reach of around a million homes around Chicago, has rebranded as “Astound Broadband,” reports the Trib.

Publications Cover Labor And Work Conditions Again

“In the last dozen years, there has been a resurgence of the labor beat, largely fueled by two developments: the Great Recession, which saw the jobless rate jump to 10 percent, and the rise of digital media, which often tilts to the left and has many readers who are interested in how American workers are treated—or mistreated,” writes Steven Greenhouse at NiemanReports. “In 2020, as the pandemic took hold, labor stories became many of the nation’s biggest news stories: the millions of workers laid off when businesses shuttered temporarily, the risks facing grocery and transit workers, the dangers facing health care workers, the abuse flight attendants receive from passengers refusing to wear masks, the work-from-home revolution, the many frightened teachers who wanted their schools closed… With the flood of workplace stories in this unprecedented moment, it seems likely that labor coverage will remain strong and perhaps even grow. In decades past, labor reporters usually focused on covering labor unions, their strikes and contract negotiations… The beat has expanded to include everything from how Uber treats its drivers to some Amazon workers not having enough time to go to the [washroom] to issues like the #MeToo movement, work-family balance, and the lack of childcare. During the pandemic, traditional concepts of office work have been radically altered and the relationships between employers and employees have changed, as well.”

 

MUSIC

Bruce Anderson, Guitarist Of Indiana Art Rockers MX-80, Dies

“Why are we here, if we’re just going to disappear?” Tweeted Steve Albini, “”Oh man, Bruce Anderson from MX-80 died. Fuck. I absolutely loved that band and his playing. The times I got to hang with him he was a lovely guy. Bruce was an effortless virtuoso with an ear for the raw and jagged, a huge inspiration. Requiescat.” David Grubbs posts MX-80’s “Why Are We Here”: “RIP Bruce Anderson, brilliant and immediately recognizable guitarist of MX-80 Sound. This was the first song of theirs I heard (from a Ralph Records 7″ comp), and it’s still rattling around in my brain.”

 

STAGE

Joffrey Tilts “Don Quixote”

The Joffrey Ballet has postponed Yuri Possokhov’s “Don Quixote.” The February 16-27 run has been rescheduled to June 2–12 at the Lyric Opera House.

Christopher “Mad Dog” Thomas Receives Americans for the Arts’ 2022 Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities

Americans for the Arts announced two dance artists as recipients of the 2022 Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities: Charya Burt of Windsor, California, and Christopher “Mad Dog” Thomas of Chicago. The Johnson Fellowship honors an individual artist who demonstrates a sustained commitment to civic participation through their work, and who has made a positive and meaningful difference to inspire, inform, engage, challenge, animate, and celebrate communities through arts and culture. Each is recognized with a $35,000 award. “Thomas is a dancer, choreographer, activist, youth mentor, and an exemplar of Juke/Footwork, a dynamic dance form arising out of the streets of Chicago and rooted in an indigenous culture of urban artistry and activism. He is famous not only for his 170bpm footwork, musicality, individuality, and stage presence, but also for creating compassionate space for others to develop their own genuine expressions. Born and raised in Chicago’s Altgeld Gardens project homes, Thomas was inspired to dance at the age of five by artists like Michael Jackson and New Edition. Nearly two decades ago, he turned to dance to survive the trauma of gun violence to which he lost a friend. Footworking was a way to be vulnerable in an environment of toxic masculinity.” More here.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago Receives NEA Grant

Pegasus Theatre Chicago, hosting the 35th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, streaming through February 6, has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the Young Playwrights Festival 2023. This project will continue this Festival into its thirty-sixth year. The Annual Young Playwrights Festival project is among 1,248 projects across America (totaling $28,840,000) that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category. NEA acting chair Ann Eilers says in a release. “Pegasus Theatre Chicago is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.” More here.

Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre Receives $10,000 NEA Grant 

Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre will receive a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support its original piece, “Soul Remedy.” Company cofounder, artistic director and CEO Wilfredo Rivera says in a release, “These past two years have been challenging but being quiet was not an option for us. As we forge into the unpredictable year ahead, we are proud to continue developing ‘Soul Remedy’ with the support of the NEA.” Monique Haley, choreographer, is creating the work with composer Pharez Whitted and the multicultural, multidisciplinary, multigenerational collective of artists at Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. “These two accomplished Black artists are leading exploration of the Aesthetic of the Cool, a culturally specific phenomenon rooted in the Black American experience that has shaped this country’s arts and culture and impacted the world. ‘Soul Remedy’ will respect, reflect, and represent Black excellence as a central component of American culture.” Website here.

Silk Road Rising Leaves First United Methodist Church

“Silk Road Rising’s residency in Pierce Hall on the lower level of the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple has come to an end,” the company reports. “Per our agreement with the church, our residency was scheduled to conclude on December 31, 2021. But as COVID crept into last year, we requested and were granted an extension through the end of 2022. Like so many theater companies, since the start of the pandemic, we’d been operating under the assumption that in a few months we’d be producing live theater again. But a few months came and went, came and went, came and went, and financially, it no longer made sense to hold onto a space that we weren’t using. And while this particular curtain has closed on our partnership with the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, other curtains will rise. We vacated the basement, not the relationship. FUMC’s shared commitment to connecting cultures and communities and to strengthening interfaith collaboration and understanding intersects beautifully with our emerging Polycultural Institute.” Silk Road Rising’s site is here.

 

ARTS & CULTURE

Chicago Artists Take Creative Capital Grants

Creative Capital has named fifty Creative Capital Awards for 2022. The grants will fund the creation of innovative projects by fifty-nine individual artists working in performing arts, visual arts, film, technology and literature as well as socially engaged and multidisciplinary practices. Each project will receive amounts up to $50,000 in direct funding, supplemented by career development and networking services to foster artistic careers, totaling up to $2.5 million in artist support. “Creative Capital believes that funding the creation of new work by groundbreaking artists is vital to the vibrancy of our culture, society, and our democracy. We are dedicated to supporting artists who are pushing boundaries and asking challenging questions—especially now when new ideas are critical to imagining our future,” Christine Kuan, Creative Capital president and executive director says in a release. From Chicago: Cyrus Moussavi for the documentary, “Somebody’s Gone,” about ninety-four-year-old spiritual singer Brother Theotis Taylor, told through an archive of footage collected by his son, Hubert. Also: Cheswayo Mphanza for “Zambia: Tomorrow the Moon!,” a meta-documentary hybrid poetry-prose project that imagines and reimagines fictional Zambian writers, political and historical figures from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.

Investor-Philanthropist Louis A. Simpson Was 85

The Arts Club remembers Louis A. Simpson, of Naples, Florida, one of the country’s top investors and a philanthropist “whose generosity in the fields of medical research and education touched the lives of thousands.” After receiving his masters in economics from Princeton (where he was later a professor), “Investing became Lou’s career passion and, like all things in his life, he pursued his interests with unmatched intellect, energy, and independent analysis. Lou’s approach to stock research involved voraciously reading everything available on a company and then getting comfortable with management. Reams of newspapers, journals and SEC filings were Lou’s go-to resources, and his stature as a gifted investor grew. Lou devoted more than thirty years of his career to Geico Corporation. During his seventeen-year stint as president and chief executive officer of Geico Capital Operations, Lou’s portfolio returns consistently broke industry records. Lou has been widely recognized for his business acumen, service on numerous corporate boards, and as one the top investors of all time. The financial press touted him as a ‘super stock picker’ and his former boss, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, frequently praised him, saying Lou was ‘a cinch to be inducted into the investment Hall of Fame.’” Simpson and his wife Kimberly Querrey “generously granted scholarships, endowed academic positions, and financed construction of state-of-the-art medical research facilities, including Northwestern University’s Biomedical Research Center, which is named for the couple. In 2016 the Chronicle of Philanthropy named them to its list of fifty most generous Americans.”

Chicago Travel & Adventure Show Moves to February 19-20

The Chicago Travel & Adventure Show has moved its seventeenth edition to February 19-20 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. More here.

 

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