Media
Once again, this month find my words in Community Media Workshop's annual media guide, the 2008 'Getting on the Air, Online & into Print.' Here's how that wonderful opportunity came about.
Politics
The title a beautifully incisive quote from New East Side resident Eric Frost, poobah of the nascent downtown discussion board WindyChat, when asked why his kids prefer to romp in the playground of Daley Bicentennial Plaza instead of in Lakeshore East Park. I interviewed him over coffee at the Rando
Life
The Friday evening IM was as unexpected as it was emphatic. Fifteen hours til Donn's movers were coming, and he wasn't done boxing yet. Good thing he was only moving next door. They say you learn a lot about a person when you help them move. Mostly, things you never expected to find out.
Life
Every now and then in my downtown Chicago life, I overhear something so ridiculous that I wonder whether I should blog it. This time, I just can't help myself.
Politics
Of all the things I thought downtown's 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly would offer as a compromise in the ongoing controversy over the Chicago Children's Museum's proposed move from Navy Pier to Daley Bicentennial Plaza, agreeing with a reporter's suggestion to 'put the museum in a cave' wasn't on
Chicago
On Friday, I was given unfettered access to interview the administrative staff of the Chicago Children's Museum. I wanted to learn about the museum's civic importance, programs, and reputation--all things Chicago dailies have ignored in their ongoing coverage of the controversy surrounding the museu
Chicago
On a recent downtown walk through the Chicago Park District's new Lakeshore East Park, imagine my surprise to find neighborhood developers had posted several signs declaring the place 'Private Property.' Um, try again.
Getting Around
Now I've heard a lot of creative funding schemes before, but I've sure never heard of a state lending money to its cities' transit systems to keep them running, much less yanking the same money back later. Well, unless that state is run by Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Politics
So far this week, we've seen the Chicago Tribune and 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly go toe-to-toe with Mayor Daley and a prominent Pritzker over the Chicago Children's Museum's proposed move to the 'forever free and clear' Grant Park. Whoever is left standing in the end, no one is coming out of t
Life
I finally have a grown-up bathroom and I'm proud to say it. Four-and-a-half months is a long time to live in a cave, which is as much as I did this year. Separating in the middle of a move, as did I and my ex-partner in May, much was already boxed up, thrown out, or otherwise inaccessible when the d
Politics
Today, was a litmus test for 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly. He failed. So much for aldermanic privilege. Mayor Daley may get the Chicago Children's Museum moved to Grant Park after all.
Politics
The Laborer's Union International of North America (LiUNA) is hosting a 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate Forum at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel & Towers. I'll be live-blogging from the event.