November 10th, 2026 Vol.14 No. 14
Classic album from 1969
Perspective’s from a last week’s election from our contributors Marianne Goss (stop asking for money), Regan Burke (Can Rahm Change his spots?) , Newcity editor Brian Hieggelke (thoughts before the results were in), Dennis Connor appreciation of poll workers here and in North Carolina; and Columbia College reactions to the election.
Having S’More Fun at the Printers Row Park Camp Fire event.
Marianne Goss Happy with the Election but Please stop Asking for Money. Page 4
Beth Finke: More questions from school kids, this time with a Long Island accent March/ 2018 Page 10
Regan Burke: Can Rahm Change his Spots? Page 6
Bonnie McGrath RIP: Ida B. Wells deserves official Chicago recognition. From May 30th, 2018. Page 13
INDEX
Jazz Showcase ………………………….P3
Book Review ……………………………P5
One Community Near South ….. P7
New City ………………………………….P8
Alderman Lamont Robinson….. P9
Police Blotter …………………………P20
Real Estate Transactions and Listings …………………………..P21 & 22
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Wed, Nov 11, 8pm & 10pm…………………………Jazz Links Jam
Session
Thu-Sat, Nov 12-14, 8pm & 10pm…………….Pharez Whitted Quintet
Sun, Nov 15, 4pm & 8pm……………………………….Pharez Whitted Quintet
Mon, Nov 16, 8pm & 10pm…………………………..Bob Lark Septet
Tue, Nov 17, 8pm & 10pm…………………………….Petra’s Recession Seven
Wed, Nov 18, 8pm & 10pm………………………….Dorian Phelps Quartet
Thu-Sat, Nov 19-21, 8 & 10pm..………………..Cyrus Chestnut Trio
Sun, Nov 22, 4pm & 8pm……………….……….….Cyrus Chestnut Trio
Mon, Nov 23, 7pm & 9pm…………………………..Dakarai Barclay
Tue, Nov 24, 8pm & 10pm…………………………..Kyle Swan Quartet
Wed, Nov 25, 8pm & 10pm………………………..Sabertooth Organ Quartet
Thu-Sat, Nov 26-28, 8pm & 10pm…………Justin Quintet –
Tribute to Roy Hargrove
Sun, Nov 29, 4 pm & 8pm……………….………Justin Quintet –
Tribute to Roy Hargrove
PHAREZ WHITTED QUINTET Nov 12 to Nov 15
CYRUS CHESTNUT TRIO Nov 19 to Nov 22
Dearborn Station 312.360.0234 806 S. Plymouth Ct. CHICAGO, 60605 jazzshowcase.com
Welcome to Jazz Showcase where Jazz lives in Chicago since 1947. Our exclusive 170 seat venue features the best Jazz acts you’ll find anywhere in the Chicago area. Tickets are now available online. Don’t forget to sgin up for our e-mail newsletter so you don’t miss out on our upcoming shows!
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SOUTH LOOP NEIGHBORS
South Loop Neighbors is a non-profit membership based organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in South Loop’s neighborhoods and preserving the area’s landmark districts.
South Loop Neighbors represents South Loop residents who are concerned about:
· Ensuring high-quality, reasonably-sized real estate development as well as infrastructure
improvements that respect the unique character of our community
· Preserving and protecting the area’s Landmark Districts, including Printing House Row and
· Promoting quality education, recreation, services, retail, community activities, and events
Historic Michigan Boulevard
· Maintaining a socially, culturally, and economically diverse neighborhood
· Developing strong relationships with key city officials to ensure they respect, hear, and act on the concerns and ideas of the South Loop community. South Loop Neighbors serves members and residents within the area bounded by Ida B. Wells to approximately 25th Street and from the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. Www.Southloopneighbors.org
South Loop Neighbors
Elected board
President – Jim Wales
Vice President – Jack Chalabian
Secretary – Benjamin Cottrell
Treasurer – Rob Hard
Director—Susan Zinner
Director Planning & Development Tyler Jones
Director—Diana Turowski
Director—Paul Jacobs
Director—Lauren Pace
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I’m happy with the election results, but please stop asking for money
November 4, 2026
James Talarico’s election to the US Senate from Texas is thrilling. I hope to live long enough to vote for him for president. But it sure was annoying to get three or four text messages and emails a day from his campaign.
Talarico said he needed money to counter the massive amount Republicans were spending on advertising. The pleas worked; I sent a donation. The appeals didn’t stop. Every time my phone dinged, I guessed it was Talarico again — and it often was.
Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries also texted for money to support Democratic congressional candidates, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker solicited for ActBlue, but not so often.
The askers must have gotten my phone number and email address from past Democratic campaigns. Democrats apparently share freely.
I contributed to Talarico thinking I’d feel guilty if he lost. But how much does advertising matter in a political race?
The evidence, I found, is nuanced.
“If you correlate ad buys at the market level with county-level vote returns, which we’ve been doing for a long time, we tend to find very small effects,” Mike Franz, codirector of the Wesleyan Media Project, told attendees at WMP’s 2024 postelection conference. WMP tracks US political advertising.
Note that Franz said “very small effects.” In a close race, “small does not mean inconsequential,” Lynn Vavreck, a UCLA political scientist, told The New Republic.
“If TV commercials manage to sway one or two voters out of every 1,000 who watch them, you start to have the margin” in a tight race, said Brett Gordon, a marketing professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Consider that in the 2000 presidential election Al Gore lost Florida by 537 votes out of 5,963,110 cast. That’s not even 1 in 11,000 votes. Of course we can’t know whether more or different advertising would have flipped those few hundred votes, but campaigns won’t risk advertising less in tight races.
Up until the end many pollsters said the Senate race in Texas was a toss-up, and the state hadn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1988, so I don’t feel foolish about contributing to Talarico. But I also feel justified about being annoyed by the incessant texts and emails.
The Center for Campaign Innovation found that even party activists express frustration with the number of appeals they receive, according to an article in Politico. Reporter Jessica Piper wrote that digital solicitations by political campaigns have become indiscriminate and are getting backlash from overwhelmed recipients.
“The negative feedback from donors, coupled with lower return rates, might seem like a factor that would give campaigns pause,” Piper wrote. But nothing is likely to change soon: “Mass texting and email programs still turn a profit, and no single campaign has the incentive or the power to change anything.”
With the election over, I’d like a break, but now multiple appeals are coming from Hakeem Jeffries. The presumed next speaker sent a text last evening right after Democrats took the House. He wanted $25 toward expected recounts. This morning Jeffries texted again, starting out “It’s Hakeem.”
Although it feels disloyal, I replied “STOP.” I’m seriously close to being turned off.
| South Looper Marianne Goss blogs at: https://sincerelymarianne.blogspot.com/ |
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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Am I cheating by having both my friends’ book club and the store book club read the same book? Perhaps, but I couldn’t resist this wintry gem. I’ve been in a book club with my friends for close to 40 years, and it’s a rare book that we all love. This picky group of lawyers and social workers loves to debate unreliable narrators and which authors needed a better editor. Small Things Like These got a huge thumbs-up from all of them, and that’s why it’s the December pick for the Sandmeyer’s Book Club.
Her beautifully atmospheric writing tells the story of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries, the church-run institutions for so-called “wayward girls.” Bill Furlong, the protagonist, balances life’s growing demands with his conscience about what is happening in his economically struggling small Irish town. The thing I love most about Claire Keegan is all the things she leaves for you to decide. Not everything is spelled out, and I enjoy being left to wonder why.
—
BOOK REVIEW
Have you already read this novella? (Personally, I’m on my third reading, and I find something new every time.) Keegan’s 2007 short story collection, Walk the Blue Fields, was recently re-released. Her stories never cease to amaze me. How can you become so attached to characters and a place in so few pages?
Come pick up a copy of Small Things Like These and join us in December 15. I’d love to hear what you think Bill’s fate will be.
Ellen Hanson Sandmeyer’s Bookstore 714 S Dearborn, Chicago 312.922.2104
You can now order books online at: Sandmeyer’s Bookstore.com!
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Can Rahm Change his Spots?
In early January 1992 I scheduled the execution I sent a team to Atlanta. The lead member of the advance group phoned: “Regan, the Ku Klux Klan hold an annual cross-burning at Stone Mountain. Are you sure you want Clinton to come here?”
of a man on death row.
I was the scheduler for Bill Clinton’s presidential primary campaign. As the governor of Arkansas, Clinton was required by law to be in the state whenever an execution occurred. There was a man whose case had run its course and he had to be put to death in the month of January, smack in the middle of the most feverish campaigning before the first Primary in New Hampshire. In creating a schedule of events, consultant-driven campaigns are guided by red-hot polling data. A candidate’s time is in flux except for fundraising events which cannot be changed or postponed.
When I got the call from the governor’s office about the execution, my body shivered to the bone. I barely made the bathroom to expel a volcanic rise in my belly. Shaking it off, I grabbed Clinton’s calendar and headed to the fundraiser’s office.
“Rahm,” I said, “Get off the phone. This is important.”
“What the fuck is wrong?” Rahm flew out of his chair.
“I have to schedule a day for Clinton to be in Arkansas for an execution,” I said, “help me nail down the details of your upcoming fundraisers.”
“That’s great!” Rahm said, “polling shows the public favors capital punishment.”
Bill Clinton called from New Hampshire. He explained the case of Ricky Ray Rector, that he had wrestled with this man’s story for years. He heard my tears, was sorry I had been put in this position. But it was the law and we had to proceed.
Clinton deplaned in Arkansas on January 14, 1992. Ricky Ray Rector was executed. Clinton departed an hour later to resume campaigning.
“In early March, campaign bigwig James Carville directed me to schedule Clinton at the Stone Mountain Correctional Institution in Georgia, a boot camp for young male prisoners. He reasoned that a photo of Clinton strolling with Black inmates and Southern White male politicians would appeal to the state’s Reagan Democrats a.k.a White voters to cinch a win in the Super Tuesday Primary.
No. But Carville says the bold move will shift the polls.” I answered, “and Rahm wants Clinton to look like the law-and-order candidate.”
Bill Clinton won Georgia. The front page Stone Mountain photo did its job, but not without a price. The national press excoriated Clinton for racial insensitivity. Democratic candidate Jerry Brown (former governor of California) was quoted, “Clinton and the other politicians looked like colonial masters trying to tell white voters ‘Don’t worry, we’ll keep them in their place.’ Carville apologized for not taking my team’s concerns seriously.
Rahm Emmanuel worked as policy meister in the Clinton Administration, Chief of Staff for Obama, Congressman and Chicago mayor, as he continually reminds us in his unapologetic pre-announcement hurl toward the 2028 presidential campaign.
Jeremiah 13:23: Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.
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One Community Meeting September 29, 2026
Summary of One Community Near South Meeting October 27, 2026
Hi, Neighbors–
Thank you to all who attended our October meeting at Victory Tap. We covered a lot of issues, notes to follow below. But first, we regret that this will be our last meeting at this location. A recent staffing change has led the restaurant to rethink this partnership and they will no longer make space available to us.
Please help us find a new home base where we can meet for free in 2027. Ideally this will be a private room in an area restaurant where we can order food & drinks — that becomes our only form of payment to our hosts, as we have yet to reach the point of having an operating budget. And of course we can also consider non-restaurant spaces such as residential community rooms. We have been meeting the 4th Tuesday of each month (generally it’s good to bring business to restaurants on Tuesdays), and thanks to Jessica for offering to soon develop a survey where members can consider other date options.
We plan one more meeting for 2026, combining November-December due to the holidays. While we discussed December 1, we can be flexible, depending on venue options. Please send ideas for this, too.
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT MEETING
As noted earlier, Ald. Dowell has coordinated with CDOT to run this meeting and no date has been set yet. At our meeting this week, we discussed several requests, first and foremost to have it be an in-person meeting with opportunities for us to help guide the agenda so we ensure it’s responsive as a follow up to our Alder Forum discussions. Sent our ideas via email, will share responses when we get them.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Thanks to Lesley for advising us that the plan for a Printer’s Row Chamber of Commerce is now focused on developing a new tax for businesses and residents within a yet-to-be-named Special Service area. She’ll find out more details to share.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
As we continue to grow this organization, we thank Larry for stepping up to serve as Treasurer and welcome your ideas for a Fiscal Agent and/or your experiences with online donation sites such as Patreon and “Buy me a coffee” to handle online donations. We thank Carrie and Alice for co-leading a committee on a Near South High School. We also need co-leaders for a traffic safety committee as well as a team to co-lead a committee on public safety. Volunteers are always needed to help with database membership as our group continues to grow.
BRIDGEPORT BEARS?
The highly-respected architectural firm Skidmore, Owens & Merrill this week revealed plans for a potential Bears stadium at the current site of the White Sox’s Rate Field. This, of course, would presume the Sox move to the S. Loop site their future owner has purchased on the west side of the Chicago river across from the new Fire stadium. Interesting idea, but will the Bears bite? The Sun Times reports the plan “would include moving Wentworth Gardens, a nearby CHA housing development, which would certainly meet some resistance. But a Bears stadium at the site, which is owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, could mean the team could avoid paying property taxes, a major selling point.” There’s also the built-in infrastructure, with the potential for federal transportation funds as well. So it’s all TBD but the idea is sure to capture the attention of state lawmakers as they head into the fall veto session to consider all things stadium.
Please review our requests in this newsletter carefully and note the urgency with which we need a new home. And, of course, make sure you vote in this critical midterm election.
Marj & the One Community Team —
Marj Halperin
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Editor’s Letter: November 2026
BY BRIAN HIEGGELKE | November 4, 2026
Detail of Rashid Johnson, “Self Portrait Laying on Jack Johnson’s Grave,” 2006. Chromogenic print mounted on panel; 40 1/2 × 49 5/8 in. (102.9 × 126 cm). Edition 1/3, 2 AP. Collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger. © Rashid Johnson
You are reading the last print edition of this magazine before the midterm elections. We can’t know what lies beyond, in terms of our democracy or even our school board, but we’re both nervous and optimistic, like most of the nation. In preparation for all of the scenarios, we spoke to Northwestern professor Jeffrey A. Winters, who has been studying the political force of oligarchs, and the news ain’t great. But it’s not hopeless.
As always, the arts afford more unabashed optimism.
This issue is a kind of homecoming, as we profile Rashid Johnson on the occasion of his acclaimed retrospective arriving in his hometown, at the MCA. Johnson was on the very first Newcity Breakout Artist list, back in 2004, and we’ve followed him since with an extra dose of pride and awe.
When Newcity art writer Charles Venkatesh Young, who is studying in New York, told me he was interested in writing an in-depth profile around the time that Johnson was readying his exhibition at the Guggenheim, the stars aligned. Even more so when we found out that the artist was also going to bring the show home.
Finally, this issue features our biannual look at the movie and television industry, in its increasingly expansive state. This is the eleventh time we’ve done this, and film in Chicago has been an upward trajectory since the start.
We have a special relationship to this art form, as we have a sister company that sometimes finances, produces or distributes narrative features. This month, the fifth movie we’ve been involved with, “Mouse,” hits theaters. It’s the new release from Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, both also members of the Newcity Film 50 universe, and if you saw their most recent, “Ghostlight,” I don’t have to sell you on seeing the new movie. And if you did not see “Ghostlight,” watch it now.
—BRIAN HIEGGELKE
Look for Newcity’s November 2026 print edition at Chicago-area locations this week or subscribe to the print edition at Newcityshop.com.
IN THIS ISSUE
Blind No More
-Jeffrey A. Winters has a read on how oligarchs rule through democracy
-As high-profile in the art world as Rashid Johnson is, Bob Waldmire and Elijah Miller are off the grid. Unless your grid is along Route 66, as it was for Dave Hoekstra, who is a master storyteller of the unexpected and champion of the unsung.
–CAPE CrusaderHow Rashid Johnson’s origin story in Chicago made him an art superhero
Off the Road
-The artists Bob Waldmire and Elijah Miller might be a generation apart, but Route 66 connects them
–Film 50 2026Who is helping make movie magic in Chicago
AND
Poetry
“Wake”
A new poem by Eamon Dunn
And so much more…
The City Will Vote On Whether To Establish A Permanent Festival Site
“Some Chicagoans have pushed for large-scale festivals to leave city parks for good. Now, a nonbinding ballot measure takes the temperature of residents citywide,” reports the Sun-Times. “It is one of several nonbinding questions this election cycle, and it arrives after pushback in recent years from Chicagoans who oppose privately run festivals taking place in the city’s public spaces, from Lollapalooza in Grant Park to Riot Fest in Douglass Park.” The measure “will gauge public interest in Chicago designating a location for such festival-sized events.” It simply asks: “Should Chicago develop a permanent festival and outdoor event space for large-scale events?”
Rashid Johnson Comes Home For His MCA Retrospective
“Rashid Johnson’s face relaxes into a sheepish smile,” profiles Chicago magazine (gift link). “There are very few jobs in life in which you get to what people consider the middle of it, and they ask you to put down your pen and look at everything you did,” says. “Johnson, forty-nine, is preparing for the Chicago launch of ‘A Poem for Deep Thinkers,’ his mid-career retrospective opening November 7 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Surveying nearly thirty years of work, the exhibition reflects an artist’s nuanced evolution from a young photographer shooting in Chicago’s South Loop to an internationally renowned Brooklyn-based creator of large-form paintings and sculptures.”
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Lamont Robinson (4th) during a City Council meeting on Dec. 10, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Ald. Lamont Robinson Running Unopposed In South Side’s 4th Ward
The first-term alderman beat six candidates to represent the 4th Ward at City Council. He now is in line for a second term after no challengers came forward.
by Rory Quealy October 27, 2026Updated November 2, 2026
KENWOOD — Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) will not face a challenger as he seeks his second term representing parts of the South Loop, Bronzeville, Kenwood and Hyde Park on the City Council.
The first-term incumbent was the only candidate who filed to run for leader of the 4th Ward in next year’s municipal elections, according to petitions submitted to the Chicago Board of Elections by Monday’s deadline to make the ballot.
Robinson has served on the City Council since 2023, when he succeeded former Ald. Sophia King after she gave up her seat to run for mayor in an unsuccessful bid that election cycle.
Robinson defeated six candidates in the 2023 race, with he and King’s then-chief of staff, Prentice Butler, advancing to a run-off race. In the runoff, Robinson earned 66.5 percent of the vote to Butler’s 33.4 percent.
During his first term, Robinson introduced an ordinance, alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson and several other alderpeople, that would pause new data center construction for a year. He enhanced policing at 31st Street Beach in response to multiple violent disturbances in recent years and proposed creating a task force to combat poverty in the city.
Robinson is a native of Chatham. He attended Clark Atlanta University and is a business owner, operating two Allstate Insurance agencies on the South Side.
Robinson’s 2023 campaign focused on public safety, education and economic development, emphasizing a multiagency approach to all three issues. He was endorsed by Gov. JB Pritzker, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in his 2023 race. Preckwinkle previously represented the 4th Ward on the Council from 1991 to 2010.Before serving on the Council, Robinson represented Illinois’ 5th district in the state House of Representatives for two terms. His former House district overlaps with much of the 4th Ward, including parts of the Near South Side and Bronzeville.
Robinson made history as the first openly Black LGBTQ+ member of the Illinois House. As a state legislator, he focused on jobs, housing and other resources for the LGBTQ community, securing $15 million in state funding for a community center on the South Side.
Chicago’s municipal elections, where residents will vote for mayor, alderperson and other public offices, will be held Feb. 23.
Blockclubchicago.org
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Safe and Sound Blog by Beth Finke March/ 2018
More questions from school kids, this time with a Long Island accent March/ 2018
Mike, Whitney and I flew into La Guardia last Tuesday evening. The next day, New York City schools were closed due to snow. The next day, schools on Long Island were closed, too, so our Thursday visit to Rall Elementary School was cancelled.
Eyebrows up! Whitney and I finally outlasted Mother Nature on Friday. We spent that entire day at Harding Avenue Elementary School in Lindenhurst, and if you ask me, the questions the kids asked there made the wait worthwhile. Some examples:
- What happens when you have to go upstairs?
- How many dogs have you had?
- What inspired you to write books?
- How do you eat ice cream?
- How can you write books if you can’t see??
- What if your Seeing Eye dog bit you?
- How come you’ve had so many dogs?
- But what if the ice cream is in a cone?
- Can your dog have babies? Why not?
- When you go to shop, how do you pick out clothes?
- How can you drive?
- How come you have to change dogs so much?
- Is your dog with you all the time when you’re at home, too?
- How do you feel if you’re blind?
- You said all you can see is the color black, right, so I gotta wonder if, when your dog pulls you, does she keep you safe?
The questions were fast and furious. Photo courtesy of retired teacher Maria LaPlaca Bohrer, who, with her husband Glenn, graciously fed and put us up for the night.
It took that little boy a while to get that last question out. I sure didn’t mind — it just gave me a chance to lean down and scratch Whitney’s ears while I listened. Bonus: the concern in the boy’s voice motivated me to lift the harness on Whitney’s back and demonstrate how a Seeing Eye dog works.
And so, for our grand finale, I commanded “Whitney, outside!” The kids watched in awe as my magnificent Seeing Eye dog led mea safely around chairs, bookshelves and children sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor to the door out of the room.This past Monday special education teacher Caitlin Farrell emailed me thank you notes from her class that I can hear.
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JAMES ARMSTRONG
Ages 21 and up
Friday, November 13
Show: 8 pm
$27.30
Online ticket cut off time is 4:00PM day of show.
Tickets are available at the door after 5:00PM
Acoustic: John Neafsey & Ron Sorin – 5:30- 7:30PM
Opener: Donna Shorty Mac – 8:00PM – 9:00PM
Headliner: JAMES ARMSTRONG – 9:30PM to Close
21+ After 8:00PM
SEATING POLICY:
All tickets sold are General Admission, which means table/bar seating are on a first-come, first-served basis. Buying your ticket online in advance guarantees admission (not seating). We recommend arriving early for seating.
700 S Wabash, Chicago, IL
312.427.1190
November 7 – 21, 2026
You know the story of the Underground Railroad that ran North – but this show takes you on the path that ran South by crossing the Rio Grande into Mexico. “An electrifying theatrical experience,” (The New York Times) created and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, this groundbreaking musical follows a freedom seeker and an unlikely ally as they forge a remarkable bond that transcends borders.
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Bike Cops on patrol 11/09/2026
Herding Kids by Dearborn Station 11/09/2026
Condo Corner | Nov 17 | 7-9PM | Cafe Bionda
Going Green without Breaking the Bank
In this session, we’ll be focusing on how to integrate climate-friendly features into your condo building for free. This is geared to condo and townhome board members but open to all South Loop residents. If you’ve got questions, we’ll get you the answers!
RSVP to reserve your spot.
Printers Row Holiday Walk
Friday, December 4th | 5-8PM
Dearborn Street (from Polk to Harrison)
Join the South Loop Neighbors for our 3rd Annual Printers Row HOLIDAY WALK. Enjoy the decorations and special offerings from local businesses including Born Again Consignment, Necessary & Sufficient Coffee, Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, Vitalogy on Dearborn, and more!
FROM 5-5:45PM, come to Printers Row Park for holiday themed photo booth and provide you with a map of all the locations for this self-guided tour.
Stop by Half Sour (755 S Clark) at 8PM for an After Party to mingle with friends and neighbors and have some holiday cheer!
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Electoral Leadership
Dennis Connor from North Carolina, spent a period of his life in the South Loop to plant a Baptist Church. While here he created a South Loop Entrepreneurial group for networking and support. And along the way, he discovered community, became a fan of the Chicago White Sox and discovered some great restaurants. Here he talks about his appreciation of poll workers in North Carolina and the South Loop.
by Dennis Connor, November 5th, 2026
In the summer of 2001, Cindy and I moved to Windsor when I was called to serve as pastor of Cashie Baptist Church. Soon after, I went to the Bertie County Board of Elections office to register to vote.
The Director of Elections at the time was a woman I knew from my previous tenure as pastor of Riverside Baptist Church. She knew that I was an active voter and someone who valued our electoral process. Consequently, she asked if I would be willing to serve as a precinct judge, noting that Bertie County had way too few people willing to serve in that role. I agreed to do it. I’m so glad that I did. Serving as a precinct judge has had a profound effect on me.
At the next election, a midterm primary, I was assigned to serve as an elections judge in the Snakebite precinct. Hosted by a predominantly African American church in a sparsely populated area northwest of Windsor, the day was long. We had 217 ballots cast over the 13 hours the polls were open. Averaging 16 votes each hour and seeing a couple of “rushes” before and after typical work hours, it was a really long day.
I struggled to stay awake that afternoon. That was true, in part, because a woman in her 70s who lived in the community prepared a feast for all of us working the polls that day. Fresh, hot fried chicken, baked ham, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, fresh hot rolls, chocolate cake for dessert, and tea sweet enough to short-circuit a diabetic’s insulin pump. And when she brought those fruits of her labor into the building that morning, she was dressed as if she were headed to Sunday worship on Homecoming Sunday. Along with her finest dress, she wore a hat fitting of her role as a Church Mother.
Earlier that morning, an African American man in his 80s came in to vote. He, too, was dressed for church. A stylish, well-tailored suit, a bold tie, and a crisply creased felt fedora indicated the seriousness with which he took the day and his vote.
Many years later, I served as a precinct judge in another midterm primary election. This one, however, was in a precinct just a couple of blocks from our home in Chicago’s South Loop. It was a very different experience. There was virtually no downtime. I don’t remember how many ballots were cast that day, but it was many more than 217. We were so busy that I can’t recall the attire of any of the voters who came to cast their ballots that day.
For different reasons, both experiences steeped in me an already deep appreciation for our electoral process. In Chicago, I saw how a big city runs elections on a massive scale. Years of experience, effective processes, extensive training, and thorough preparation were evident to someone who had worked in polling places that served a fraction of a fraction of the voters we saw that day.
In the Snakebite precinct in Bertie County, I learned about the sanctity of the vote among people who had only gained access to participate in elections as adults. They lived and exercised their right to vote in an environment where their ancestors, just a generation or two earlier, were viewed as something less than human. It’s a reality so foreign to my experience that I still struggle to grasp it fully. Yet, because of that day in the Snakebite precinct, I understand and appreciate the solemnity of Election Day for that generation of African American voters.
Poll workers in North Carolina
These and a few other experiences prompt me to point to the thousands of leaders whose names were largely unknown, yet were crucial in maintaining our republic earlier this week. While pundits, reporters, consultants and analysts were transfixed on the names printed on the ballots on Tuesday and in the headlines yesterday, I salute the unsung heroes of our country: the people who handled the ballots and made it possible for each of us, no matter where our political passions fall, to exercise our voice through the electoral process. From them, we can glean leadership principles to apply to our roles.
Leaders serve. Every poll worker across this great nation has one fundamental mission: to enable all of us to exercise our right as citizens in determining the future of our communities, municipalities, states, and the whole country. Every procedure and protocol is designed for that purpose. And I’ve yet to meet a poll worker anywhere who didn’t understand that and work diligently to serve us to that end.
Leaders endure. Since I first served in the Snakebite precinct 24 years ago, I have been very intentional about expressing my gratitude to the poll workers when I go vote. When Cindy and I voted early last week, I thanked the woman who checked my credentials and printed my ballot. “Thank you for being here. I know these are long days for y’all.” “You have no idea!” she replied. Rather than explain why I did, in fact, have some idea, I simply thanked her again.
And time is not all they endure. While I didn’t ask her in the moment or observe any that day, I know some voters can be belligerent. I’ve experienced that, too. Others are simply frustrated and lash out when they are really aggravated with themselves for not changing an address or completing some form they were supposed to. Even when that’s happened, I’ve never seen a poll worker respond with anger. It may happen. I suspect that among the millions of interactions between poll workers and voters, it’s bound to happen on occasion. But thankfully, I’ve never seen it.
While most will never have their name on a ballot or in headlines, these leaders who work the polls provide a good example and even a challenge to leaders whose names appear on those ballots, or on the sign outside a church building, because they endure.
What about you? Would those in the church, nonprofit, or professional practice you lead describe you as a servant? If not, why not? Have you subconsciously or knowingly been too focused on being the boss, barking orders, or imposing your will on those you lead? Who can help you think through how to shift your mindset?
How do you endure? When the days are long, or insults are strong, how do you persist? Who can help you assess the situation and develop a strategy to endure?
Enjoy your weekend and consider serving as a poll worker in the next election!
The views and opinions expressed in my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership are my own. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina or any affiliated churches.
MARKET IS OPEN
NOVEMBER 7
May 16 – October 31
EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 21
Saturdays from 9am-1pm
(No market July 4 and September 12)
Printers Row Park
632 S. Dearborn St. Chicago
Sad to see market season coming to an end?
Good news! You can enjoy 3 extra Saturdays this fall at Printers Row! Come shop your favorite vendors, stock up on fall favorites, and squeeze in a few more market mornings before the season wraps up.
If you attended the PR3PAC Moonlight in White event in September, you were treated to the delightful sampling of two uber-talented members of Printers Row’s own A&A BALLET Center for Dance.
If you missed that performance, not-to-worry. You have another chance to experience the troupe’s magnificence–The Art Deco Nutcracker on December 5 at the Athenaeum Theater.
And don’t forget to ask about the VIP package–available to Printers Row residents–which includes a backstage tour and photos with the directors and cast.
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From left to right, Riesa Kongshaug, Claire Bald, Zander Mattke and Mitchell Cremer staff the Columbia Votes voter information table in the Student Center on Nov. 3, 2026.
‘I thought that would never happen’: Columbia students react to election results
William Blakley, Editor-in-Chief
November 4, 2026
After a night of historic firsts, students talked to the Chronicle about the 2026 midterm election, from surprise over Democratic wins in Texas to hopes for expanded rights, accountability and a less divided country.
Columbia student Joe Pierce, a first-year illustration major from Texas, was “blown away” when his state turned blue last night, one of the midterm election’s biggest political surprises.
Texas Democrats also swept statewide offices and flipped the governor’s seat and a U.S. Senate seat. Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, and James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton, marking a dramatic shift in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in more than 30 years.
“I thought that would never happen while I was alive,” Pierce said from the Student Center on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Isabelle Hurst, a theatre design and technology major, also from Texas, said was following the Senate and gubernatorial races closely.
She said was excited that James Talarico and Hinojosa both won.
“Twice! Governor and Senate. It was really beautiful. I almost cried,” Hurst said.
The election also produced historic firsts across the country, with candidates breaking barriers in gubernatorial and congressional races and reshaping the political landscape ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
In Illinois, Democrats swept the major statewide races, with Gov. JB Pritzker winning a third term and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeating Republican Don Tracy to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Stratton‘s victory makes her the second Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois, joining Sen. Tammy Duckworth to give the state the first Senate delegation in U.S. history composed of two women of color.
Democrats also won the 7th Congressional District, where La Shawn Ford succeeded longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, and Chicago voters elected the city’s first fully elected school board.
The victories in Illinois reflected a sweeping national shift, flipping Republican-held seats and delivering a major setback to President Donald Trump and his administration.
Election night delivers historic victories
- Deb Haaland, New Mexico
- Keisha Lance Bottoms, Georgia
- Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan
- Gina Hinojosa, Texas
- Juliana Stratton, Illinois
- Chris Pappas, New Hampshire
- Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota
- Allison Montgomery, Alabama
- Amy Acton, Ohio
- David Crowley, Wisconsin
- Melat Kiros, Colorado
- Byron Donalds, Florida
- Xavier Becerra, California
In Chicago, with 95% of ballots counted, turnout was about 43%. In 2022, 46% of voters turned out for that midterm election, according to the
Chicago Board of Elections. In 2018, it was 61%. Nationally, voter turnout was about 49.42%, according to preliminary estimates from the University of Florida Election Lab. Voter turnout for midterm elections historically has been around 40%.
“Jayla Griggs, a sophomore illustration major and animation minor from Mt. Carmel, in southeastern Illinois, stayed up with her partner to watch several races, mostly focused on their shared hometown, but they also followed races in battleground states like Ohio and Texas.
Seeing the house and senate flip is honestly astronomical to me,” she said, adding that she was wary before the results started coming in.
“I was personally really not hopeful for this election, I felt as though the American people would fail me once again, the same way as they had during the 2024 election. So seeing a blue Senate and House is something I really didn’t think possible for a while,” Griggs said.
“Jamerra Williams, a junior music major, was watching the results come in from her home state of Indiana, a red state. Williams said she was surprised when she saw more counties turn blue this election, aligning with her views.
I was very proud, and I was also very shocked because I had no hope at all,” she said.
Williams said it was nice to regain that hope and see a possibility for change.
She said she has a list of issues she would like to be addressed but understood that Congress can be stubborn so it may take some time to address gas prices, inflation, a higher minimum wage and health insurance.
Mya Wade-Wilson, a first-year fashion design major, said, “Insane how many diverse people were elected, too. Like transgender people, Black women, an Indigenous person; I think we’re heading in a good direction.”Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman governor elected in U.S. history, flipping Georgia to Democrats for the first time since 1998. Also from Georgia, Bentley Hudgins won a state assembly seat and became the first openly trans and nonbinary state lawmaker. Athena Villanova, an illustration major attending class on campus, shared her feelings of hope after seeing many key election results.
“After this midterm I feel safe in my own country and have hope for my future something I haven’t felt in a very long time”
Additional reporting from Katie Peters, Jenna Kottke, Kat Liu, Marina Bradley and Levi Libson.
Copy edited by Camila Verzino
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Information provided by Regan Burke
Contact your Alder, Mayor Johnson and Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas. Request to include the Office of Aging in the 2027 budget.
Updated/Correct Alder List HERE
Mayor Brandon Johnson [email protected]
Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas, [email protected]
On October 16, Mayor Johnson issued an Executive Order establishing a Mayor’s Office on Aging and a Senior Bill of Rights. You may have thought this office already exists, but no. There are a few overworked understaffed people in the Department of Children and Family Services assigned to seniors. The Mayor’s Office on Aging is mandated to adhere to the The Senior Bill of Rights — fundamental rights that activists for the elderly have been seeking for years.
Here’s the problem: Mayor Johnson has not included one cent in the 2027 budget to fund the Office on Aging.
Will you help? Contact your Chicago Alder and tell them we need the Mayor’s Office of Aging staffed and funded. Find Alders Phone and Emails HERE
The Mayor’s Office on Aging is mandated to adhere to the The Senior Bill of Rights whichaffirms the fundamental rights of every Chicagoan age 60 and older in their interactions with City government and City-funded programs. These rights include nine points but the one that we so often need when helping our relatives, friends or ourselves is: To receive coordinated assistance from City departments when conditions threaten elder’s health, safety, housing stability, or ability to remain in their homes.
Here are some talking points for you to consider:
-There are 500,000 Chicagoans over age 60. By 2030 those over 60 will equal 1/3 of Chicago residents. That’s three years from now. Budget funding dedicated to Senior Services is inadequate given the growing population of older Chicagoans.
-When we retire at 60, 65 or even 70, we have years ahead of us to pay taxes, fund tourist attractions, start small businesses and buy a home. We are on park district advisory councils, volunteer at the symphony and the Goodman, tutor your kids, create and fund block clubs, coach soccer, serve on Local School Councils, teach classes at senior centers, ride the CTA and volunteer in your campaigns. We are fundamental to city life.
And yet, the mayor’s budget shows a shocking lack of interest in keeping us in the city. Why is that?
-Chicago has lost 900,000 residents since 1950. Though there are many reasons for this, politicians say that increasing Chicago’s population would solve all our money problems. There are good reasons for seniors to live in Chicago: health care, public transportation, no tax on retirement income, property tax exemptions, parks, festivals, the lake. Does this budget include funding to keep and attract retirees?
-There is no mention in the proposed 2027 budget of assistance to Chicagoans to grow old in their neighborhood homes. I ask that you speak out about funding the Mayor’s Office of Aging and the Senior Bill of Rights as directed by executive order on October 16.
– In May, home delivered meals for older adults were reduced from 5 days of meals to three days of meals. Every Alder was notified of this reduction in food for isolated, vulnerable and mostly poor older adults! Why was there not a public outcry for your constituents? The Johnson administration has not budgeted a dime to meet this gap, while concurrently announcing plans to expand food access. Why is the council not providing funds for vulnerable, hungry, old people? This is not right
-Alder Lopez rightly brought up on Friday the fact that this year, the Chore extension program that shovels snow, helps with lawn care, and supports extermination (that is rats, roaches, and bed bugs in the homes of older people!) has been defunded. Additionally, the basic component of the program that helps seniors with emergency services after a hospital stay, and those with problems with clutter went on a waiting list in August due to lack of funds!! Why is the Council not funding these programs?
-In late 2024, the city closed the Small Accessible Repairs for Seniors program which helped over 300 senior households annually and folded its services into the Home Repair Program. This year, $6.3 million allocated for the city’s Home Repair Program is going to plug the budget and not used for low-income seniors’ critical home repairs and modifications. Without these critical repairs seniors will be forced to leave their homes!
-The budget funding dedicated to Senior Services is inadequate given the growing population of older Chicagoans. We have played a foundational role in the creation of our city today – the one we are constantly reminded is the best in the world! Where is the city’s commitment to those who have paid their taxes year after year, been business and homeowners, saved our parks and advocated for services for others, served on the LSCs and created block clubs. We have fought for this city and now we need the city to recognize and fund programs to support us!
We need the Mayor’s Office of Aging staffed and funded.
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Next CAPs Meeting 5pm Nov 11 In-person Roosevelt Collection 1135 S Delano Court
Beat 131
10/27/2026 4am 1500 S Wabash
BURGLARY Unlawful entry Non-Res Parking lot Beat 131
10/26/2026 5:56pm 1800 S State
AGGRAVATED BATTERY Senior citizen on CTA bus Beat 131
10/25/2026 1:45am Wabash & Roosevelt
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT Knife @ gas station Beat 131
10/24/2026 11:28 am 1900 S Archer
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT Handgun on sidewalk
10/23/2026 12:55pm 1400 S State
AUTO THEFT Residence Beat 131
10/23/2026 9:18 am 1700 S Wabash
AUTO THEFT on Street Beat 131
10/20/2026 8pm 1500 S State
AUTO THEFT Residence garage Beat 131
10/12/2026 7:50am 1200 S Wabash
AUTO THEFT Gas Station Beat 131
10/11/2026 1am 1500 S State St
BURGLARY Unlawful entry Beat 131
BEAT 132
10/24/2026 10:15pm 1300 S Michigan
STRONG ARM ROBBERY No weapon Commercial Business Beat 132
10/18/2026 Midnight 2000 S Michigan
AUTO THEFT on Street Beat 132
BEAT 123
10/27/2026 7pm 800 S Michigan
ARMED ROBBERY w/dangerous weapon Hotel Beat 123
10/27/2026 4:45pm 600 S State
ATTEMPT STRONG ARM ROBBERY No weapon Red Line Subway platform Beat 123
10/25/2026 11:25am 900 S Wabash
AUTO THEFT on street Beat 123
10/24/2026 8:15pm 500 S Wells
STRONG ARM ROBBERY no weapon on sidewalk Beat 123
10/23/2026 6am 500 S Michigan
BURGLARY Unlawful entry Hotel Beat 123
10/23/2026 4:44am State and 8th
AUTO THEFT Non-Res Parking lot Beat 123
10/21/2026 2:59am 1000 S Park Terrace
BURGLARY Attempt Forcible Entry White Townhomes Beat 123
10/18/2026 9pm 500 S Wells
AUTO THEFT on street Beat 123
10/17/2026 6pm 60 E Harrison
AUTO THEFT Non-Res Parking lot Beat 123
Beat 123 River to Michigan Avenue; Ida B Wells to Roosevelt
14 years for man who mugged woman near the Mag Mile while on ankle monitor for CTA robbery
November 2, 2026 2:15 PM Tim Hecke CTA, Magnificent Mile
A man accused of robbing a woman near the Magnificent Mile just four days after a judge released him on electronic monitoring has pleaded guilty to that crime and an earlier CTA robbery, court records show. Emile Hobson, 34, received consecutive sentences totaling 14 years from Judge Tyria Walton. However, with each sentence reduced by half under Illinois sentencing rules, Hobson is expected to serve just seven years.
Walton is the same judge who released Hobson on electronic monitoring twice while his CTA robbery case was pending. Her second release came despite records showing that he had violated monitoring conditions within a day of leaving the Cook County Jail and gone missing from supervision.
Chicago police initially arrested Hobson for an early morning robbery on November 1, 2025, at the Roosevelt CTA station. An 18-year-old woman was transferring trains around 12:42 a.m. when Hobson approached her and threatened to hurt her unless she handed over her purse, prosecutors said. He walked away with the bag, but CTA employees called 911, and officers detained him nearby and recovered the woman’s purse.
Later that day, a judge ordered Hobson detained, citing the random nature of the attack, Hobson’s previous robbery conviction, and his “willingness to prey on vulnerable people in public.” Judge John Hock called Hobson “a clear threat to any person he might have an opportunity to rob.”
Six weeks later, on December 15, Walton disagreed with Hock’s assessment and released Hobson on an ankle monitor. Court records show that the electronic monitoring office detected a “major violation” the next day: Hobson had been ordered to remain at home around the clock, but records indicate he did not return until December 19, four days after his release. He also failed to keep the monitoring device charged. It entered “sleep mode” on December 22, preventing officials from locating him. Walton signed a warrant the next day.
Hobson appeared before Walton again on January 27, 2026, records show. Despite the earlier violations, she released him on electronic monitoring a second time. Just four days later, he robbed another woman near the Magnificent Mile.
The 35-year-old Gold Coast resident was in a parking garage in the first block of East Walton Street around 6:30 a.m. on January 31 when Hobson approached her and displayed what appeared to be the handle of a gun, according to prosecutors. He demanded the woman’s gym bag and phone, forced her to provide the phone’s passcode, and fled. Chicago police officers arrested Hobson within minutes and recovered the phone from his pocket, officials said.
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Real Estate Transactions
$375,000
1143 S PLYMOUTH CT 606
10/2/26
$907,500
1201 S PRAIRIE AVE 3701
10/2/26
$370,000
161 W HARRISON ST 1007
10/2/26
$295,000
1250 S INDIANA AVE 502
10/1/26
$635,000
1411 S PLYMOUTH CT L
9/29/26
$545,000
1307 S WABASH AVE 705
9/29/26
$610,000
1235 S PRAIRIE AVE 1303
9/28/26
$255,000
910 S MICHIGAN AVE 617
9/25/26
$3,759,500
828 S WABASH AVE
9/24/26
$130,000
780 S FEDERAL ST 908
9/24/26
$254,500
1345 S WABASH AVE 907
9/22/26
$220,000
40 E 9TH ST 1618
9/17/26
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