CHICAGO’S FREE WEEKLY SINCE | APRIL
How to get rid of a CPS principal Maya Dukmasova 6
Operation Hennessy digs a new channel Leor Galil 24
The goats of Austin Welcome to GlennArt Farm, home to urban agriculture, community development—and goat yoga
By L S 12 THIS WEEK CHICAGO READER | APRIL | VOLUME NUMBER
IN THIS ISSUE T R - CITY LIFE OPINION @ 03 Public Service 34 Grassroots How the Announcement Free advice for NoCopAcademy campaign shook sealing your marijuana bust the machine P 04 Feral Citizen Some things you 35 Independent Media Why the T B I E C always wanted to know about fungi Reader is worth saving S K K H but were afraid to ask 36 Savage Love Dan Savage off ers DE K S advice on what to do if someone’s C L SK D P J R NEWS & POLITICS sexually attracted to children C E AL 05 Joravsky | Politics Chicago FILM M E P M would rather solve a phony problem 19 Movies of note Dogman A E J L CLASSIFIEDS S W D I like aldermanic prerogative than 14 Restaurant Review Mima’s is keeps us on edge to the bitter 37 Jobs BJ MS deal with a real one where Cubs go for Cuban end An Elephant Sitting Still is 37 Apartments & Spaces S W M D L G a hyperrealist debut from China 37 Marketplace G D D C S M E B W and Red Joan is naggingly bland M L C in the way one associates with S C -J “respectable” British cinema F L C P F T A E C S C N B D C MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE D C L C N LC 24 Galil | Feature Operation C C M DL C S F I G A G Hennessy digs a new channel for KTH JH J H Chicago hiphop I H D J M K 29 Shows of note Billy Bragg All S K M M E M T B M JRN M O Smiles Alice Merton and more L P K S K RBS FEATURE THEATER shows this week D S L S A W 06 Dukmasova | News How to get 16 Review The I Am Fest 30 Secret History of Chicago COMICS SERIALS ------rid of a CPS principal celebrating women of color comes Music The Infi nitives’ only release 38 Your fave indie strips return! D D J D D P E &P 12 Goats Welcome to GlennArt to the Goodman Theatre is among the most collectible K K Farm home to urban agriculture 17 Plays of note Buyer & Cellar records in garage rock O M SN L community developmentand goat enters the darkness of Barbra 33 Early Warnings Best Coast ADVERTISING yoga Streisand’s makebelieve the Damned Thor and more just -- - @ basement mall First Love is the announced concerts C @ FOOD & DRINK Revolution examines the brutal 33 Gossip Wolf The Maypole S D P F O P J 13 Feature Sol Café wants to bring nature of animals and Footloose is Folk Festival builds a big tent the V P S more to the neighborhood than just just like the movie except without Goldstars lead a tribute to R&B R F R ’ A M specialty coff ee the boring parts icon Andre Williams and more S A R J L A R LM -H C R M TP
N A THIS WEEK ON CHICAGOREADER.COM V M G --- J L SB ------D C [email protected] -- STM READER LLC B P D RL T E R S J S A- S V
C C EB ------R ISSN- Movie Tuesday: Making the news Friends till the end STMR LLC SM SC IL Art imitating life Anya Davidson continues her comics Read Leah Pickett’s review of -- series documenting the year-long, Avengers: Endgame, the three- C ©C R Ben Sachs introduces fi ve capsule citywide event series Chicago 1919: hour Marvel blockbuster that will P C IL reviews from the Reader archives in Confronting the Race Riots. defi nitely not resurrect all those A C R R which directors look at themselves superheroes from Infi nity War. RR T ® via autobiographical stand-ins.
2 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll CITY LIFE Less scrolling.
You can pack your marijuana- related record away by seeking out expungement TOPHER I/FLICKR
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT More strumming. Clear your name Free advice for sealing your public record
YOU MAY HAVE had a marijuana-related You can also seek help from Cabrini Green arrest, charge, or even sentence years ago Legal Aid in person at their help desk at the and feel that your past is behind you. Per- Daley Center (50 W. Washington, Room 1006) haps you were arrested as a teenager for Monday-Thursday during limited hours. Be possession but never got charged. You may aware that help is available on a first-come, not realize that, unless you’ve gone through the process of having your records sealed or expunged, they are still public. C G L A While there are laws in effect to prevent W. Washington, Room employers and landlords from discriminating against those with a criminal record, there are P H -- many reasons that one may want to have their records sealed or expunged. The core diff er- ence between “sealing” a record and “expung- ing” is that a sealed record will still exist and fi rst-served basis. Project Homecoming, a new could be unsealed in specifi c legal situations. eff ort from the Westside Justice Center, runs An expungement fully deletes the record of a hotline for previously incarcerated people arrest or conviction from the archive. You may and their families. have to undergo a waiting period before you There’s also a free summit coming up on Give your digital life a break. can start either process. Those whose arrests June 1 hosted by Cook County Clerk of the resulted in no charge or a dismissal could be Circuit Court Dorothy Brown’s office that Connect over music, dance & more. eligible to start the process immediately a er promises volunteer lawyers who will provide dismissal. counseling about your case and assist you Anyone can play! Find your spring class Several legal aid organizations in Chica- with the beginning of the process. You must at oldtownschool.org go can help you navigate expungement. pre-register to attend. Marijuana may soon be Illinois Legal Aid off ers information about Illi- legal in lllinois, but it’s still a criminalized sub- nois laws and procedures on their website. stance. —S C -J ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 3 CITY LIFE
health, including moisture regulation, carbon scapes that we live with, and containing an storage, and nutrient cycling in grasslands, Feral Citizen understory of wild currant, honeysuckle, and forests, parklands, and backyards. And let us barberry—plants usually “managed” (sought not forget their role as deathmongers. They and destroyed) by restorationists. We traced are the only decomposers who can break down Fungus a narrow section of the Des Plaines River, the lignin (the woody structure of the tree), and longest stream in the Chicago region, which they play a large role in fermentation and well- was the western route used by native peoples ness, and as foods themselves. This makes one among us to canoe from Lake Michigan to the Missis- think that perhaps mycology would be greatly sippi. We were 100 miles or so from where valued. But most of us weren’t taught about Cramp balls, pu alls, and more it begins, maybe 15 miles before it joins the fungi (or lichens or mosses) in our biology or friends in the woods industrial waters in the human-dug Sanitary earth science classes. Or we were taught to be and Ship Canal. phobic of them. By N K There were no footsteps of other humans, As you can imagine, for over 35 years Patrick though plenty from deer. The sky was filled has kept meticulous data and has compiled with naked branches, with only the maples detailed sheets of many of the 1,200 species flowering red. It was also not warm enough found in the Chicago region. If you want to oving past the concrete barrier for fruiting mushrooms, just “the rotters,” as discover the role of fungi in the world and marked “CLOSED,” Patrick Lea- Patrick called them. Mushrooms are deeply learn the characteristics of species commonly cock and I slipped and slided relational and emerge from a complex living and not so commonly found in this area, join
our way into the woods, quiet (or dying) context. They don’t “just happen.” Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) NANCE KLEHM the Illinois Mycological Association on fungal except for the hissing cars and As Michael Kuo, professional amateur mycolo- forays, or attend the monthly meetings, which Moccasional woodpecker. Species of maple, oak, gist, author of Mushrooms of the Midwest, and always feature fabulous presenters from the poplar, elm, and wild cherry were present, as creator of mushroomexpert.com, writes: “It I spotted a jelly fungus that looked like a far-flung myco world. Appreciation of all well as last year’s leaves in the du below our should be obvious that understanding mush- turmeric-colored paint spill and Patrick col- things fungal is what this club is about. feet. There were plenty of tree snags and fallen rooms, therefore, depends on understanding lected it, as he couldn’t identify it. I watched On the drive home we talked about leading logs decomposing. It’s important to know spe- the whole picture.” him cut a long and wide strip of the specimen, newbies on a mushroom foray or a plant forage cies, as fungi have woody associates, meaning When you are on a walk and discover a including wings of the tree bark it was grow- and getting the same, sometimes annoying, they identify and grow on or with particular fungus, note the date and where it is found. ing on, place it gently into his tackle box, and question time and again: Is it edible? When I trees, or “mothers” as I am wont to say. Some Note the color, shape, and size. Does it have scribble down some notes. I casually asked asked him his least favorite question, Patrick species prefer dying or dead wood, others are gills, pores, spines, or teeth? Is it in assem- him to let me know what he found out about snorted and shook his head. When someone parasitic on the living ones. One can’t get away blage with others and how so? Or is it alone, the species. “I won’t have time to look at that points at a fungus and asks “What’s it good from tree identifi cation when one is interested identifying what it seems to be growing on or specimen for a few years!” he quickly admon- for?” he said he bites his tongue and doesn’t in looking for fungi. And that is what Patrick near (species of tree or terrestrial). Keys exist ished me. Apparently, I had forgotten that I utter his retort: “What are you good for?” and I were doing on this dank cold day at the for mushrooms just like they do for plants and was walking with a very busy researcher and And that is the question we, as organ- beginning of spring. to learn how to use a key to identify a species the discoverer of the Chicago chanterelle isms in this ecosystem, could all be asking Patrick is a professional mycologist who is a useful skill. Fungi have their seasons like (Cantharellus chicagoensis). ourselves. v works as a researcher, consultant, and teacher. everything else. There aren’t a lot of jobs for mycologists. As the president of the Illinois Mycological In his backpack, Patrick carried a tackle box Fungi have a pivotal role in soil and plant @NanceKlehm Association, he organizes lectures and leads and large knife, a soft brush, a loupe, and a fungal forays and fi eld trips. He is also a fi eld clipboard with a checklist he had printed from botanist who works with the herbarium col- his own website. This month’s local checklist lections at the Field Museum. He told me that contained 94 species commonly found in the his interest in birds as a young boy introduced Chicago area. him to the woods, and that led to an interest in During our walk we saw and checked o 16 plants, study and fi eld work as a botanist, and species: the corky polypore fungus artist’s then specializing in mycology. conk (Ganoderma applanatum), the medicinal Chicago was a swampy region with oak sa- bracket fungus turkey tail (Trametes versicol- Pear-shaped vannas, woodlands, and tall grass prairies, but or), a few groupings of the fl eshy and edible pu alls (Lycoperdon we have done much to alter the microbial and jelly fungus wood ears (Auricularia angio- pyriforme) terrestrial communities that were once here. spermanun) and the black bubbly jelly fungus NANCE KLEHM Beyond concerns of real estate and agricultur- known as witches butter (Exidia recisa), some al development, the relationship between soil black and lustrous cramp balls (Daldinia fungi and woodlands is an important one. Soils childeae), and a tight chubby family of pear- support what can live with them, and, when shaped pu alls (Lycoperdon pyriforme) that compromised in certain ways, what cannot. formed last fall, still full of pea-green spores Ecologically this woodland is considered that I quickly poked to release their clouds degraded, nonprime, as are most of the land- into the air. 4 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll NEWS & POLITICS
Mayor Rahm Emanuel gesticulating DANIEL X O’NEIL/FLICKR
POLITICS The aldermanic prerogative myth
Chicago would rather solve a phony problem than deal with a real one like the lack of aff ordable housing. By B J
t the risk of getting myself boot- for overpaying mediocre ballplayers with the ed out of the Jaded Journalist proceeds they soak from the saps who show up Society—if such a body even ex- to Wrigley game after game. ists—I’m going to do something I In time, I’m sure we’ll devise a way to blame never thought I’d do. the Ricketts on aldermanic prerogative as AI’m going to defend Chicago aldermen—or well. at least take exception to the developing The list of dignitaries who have recently movement against aldermanic prerogative. railed against aldermanic prerogative in- This is the policy in which aldermen sup- cludes Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, Inspector posedly get the final say over zoning and General Joe Ferguson, and many of my dear land use issues in their wards on the grounds friends of the progressive persuasion. that—papa and mama know best. So shut up So you see, taking this stand wins me no and do what we tell ya! love from anyone, except maybe an alderman At the moment, aldermanic prerogative is or two. cited as a source of corruption, underdevel- That may come in handy should I have opment, segregation, and pretty much every- a late-in-life change of life and go to work thing else wrong with Chicago today, with the for, say, Sterling Bay. Although the way they possible exception of the Cubs’s propensity steamrolled the council into passing the J ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 5 WE ASKED: NEWS & POLITICS Can a community-centered independent paper survive in continued from 5 this environment? Lincoln Yards TIF scam, I’m starting to think By the 1950s, Mayor Richard J. Daley real- the real problem in Chicago is Sterling Bay ized he would face political insurrection from prerogative. generally loyal Democratic white voters if he Anyway, I think the problem of aldermanic dared to promote integration in subsidized prerogative is greatly exaggerated. The policy housing, so he backed o —not that he was so itself exists only when the mayor allows it to. I keen on the policy in the fi rst place. defy Lightfoot, Ferguson, or anyone to give me And mayors have been backing off on in- one example of when aldermen—championing tegration and a ordable housing ever since, aldermanic prerogative as a rallying cry— especially Mayor Richard M. Daley and Mayor THAT’S voted against the mayor. Rahm. They won’t cause they can’t. So, yes, Napolitano used aldermanic pre- In contrast, there are several instances rogative to rally other aldermen to his anti- in which aldermen have thrown aldermanic a ordable housing cause. And it worked. prerogative out the window when ordered to But ask yourself this—what would have hap- do so by the mayor. Two weeks ago, 25th Ward pened had Mayor Rahm stood up for a ordable UP TO YOU, alderman-elect Byron Sigcho-Lopez pleaded housing? You know, if he’d done the right with aldermen not to approve the $1.1 billion thing—for once in his mayoral life. 78 TIF deal. Would the other aldermen have sided with They did so anyway, even though the TIF Rahm as they did with Presence and the 78? project is targeted for Sigcho-Lopez’s ward. My guess is yes. But, we’ll never know. Af- Want another example? In 2018, 42nd Ward fordable housing is just one of the many issues alderman Brendan Reilly asked the council to Rahm refused to stick out his neck for—along CHICAGO. vote against the $5.5 million TIF handout to with taking a stand against corruption by fi ght- We’re asking readers to chip in $48 to become a founding Presence Health, an antiabortion outfi t. Mayor ing to remove Alderman Ed Burke as chair of member of the Chicago Reader and help us keep the legacy Rahm asked them to vote for the deal. the fi nance committee. going strong. The aldermen went with Rahm. That was Why would a politician as practical as Rahm a twofer—they abandoned their principles do something as impractical as taking a princi- Donate before April 30th and not only will that lock in your about aldermanic prerogative and a woman’s pled stand on a ordable housing? It would not membership rate (for life!), but we’ll also send you a right to choose in one fell swoop. buy him much leverage in the council. If, for I suspect the e ort to make an issue out of instance, he successfully lobbied the council to limited-edition pin for founding members. something that does not really exist is the fi rst defy Napolitano on those 30 units, it would be step toward cutting the number of wards. harder for Rahm to extract Napolitano’s vote CHIP IN: ChicagoReader.com/Backer I’m against anything that would give even on something he really wants. Like, just to more power to our already too-powerful may- pick one recent example, the $2.4 billion-dol- ors. Unless of course the next mayor proves to lar handouts for the Lincoln Yards and 78 be the second coming of Harold Washington. projects. Then—more power to you. By the way, Napolitano voted yes on both of Now we get to the issues raised by my pro- those TIF deals—even though they’ll jack up gressive friends—the role of aldermanic pre- property taxes throughout the city, including rogative in blocking e orts to build a ordable Edison Park, and Forest Glen, and all the other housing. communities in the 41st Ward. In particular, 41st Ward alderman An- If this keeps up, the 41st Ward will be unaf- thony Napolitano used the issue to rally his fordable to the folks who voted for Napolitano. colleagues to vote against an attempt to Bottom line, the real issue here isn’t alder- build 30 units of affordable housing out by manic prerogative—it’s Mayor Rahm’s aver- O’Hare. (My colleague—the Marvelous Maya sion to a ordable housing. Dukmasova—has written several articles on And yet I suspect Napolitano’s crusade this topic. I urge one and all to check them against those 30 units will be cited by many as out.) another reason we should do away with alder- The fi ght for a ordable housing and integra- manic prerogative. tion had been going on long before Napolitano That’s so Chicago, Chicagoans. We’ve got WANT TO DONATE VIA CHECK? came on the scene. In the years after World one problem that’s very real and another that’s Make checks payable to “Chicago Reader” and mail to: War II, e orts championed by Elizabeth Wood exaggerated. Guess which one our leaders will Chicago Reader, Suite 102, 2930 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616. and Robert Taylor to integrate publicly funded “solve” fi rst. v Include your mailing address, phone, and email—and please indicate if you housing on the southwest and southeast sides are okay with us thanking you by name in the paper. were greeted by white riots. @joravben 6 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll NEWS & POLITICS
really going on. But its implications for the conspiracy theories proliferated: maybe the fate of the school are perhaps more important. mayor’s office wanted to tank the success of NEWS Ogden, according to the accounts of parents, the Ogden/Jenner merger by pressuring CPS students, and community members, has expe- to remove Beyer, thereby making it less likely rienced instability that threatens not only the that a rich and poor school would merge in the How to get rid of fate of the merger but the future possibility of future? Maybe CPS wanted to clean house of others like it. any principals who raised red fl ags for any rea- son in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal un- a CPS principal PS o¬ cials never explained why, having covered by the Tribune in the summer of 2018? had the OIG’s report since June, they’d Maybe CPS CEO Janice Jackson was cracking The quest to fi re Ogden International’s leader Conly moved to fi re Beyer in November. down and following the OIG’s recommenda- exposes fl aws in the disciplinary mechanism. But this wasn’t the first time he’d gotten in tions to improve her chances of staying in her trouble with the district. job under a new mayor? Maybe CPS was fi nally By M D An outspoken and often polarizing leader, heeding complaints from parents who’d been Beyer was issued a “warning resolution” unhappy with Beyer’s leadership? Maybe this in January 2016 over an e-mail he’d sent to is just how slowly district bureaucracy works? state legislators that appeared critical of CPS Whatever the reason, according to the (“Public education in Illinois, and especially in OIG’s annual report released in January the Chicago, seems chaotic and unplanned,” Beyer attendance record falsifi cation investigation had written to fellow members of a state task at Ogden was spurred by one of 24 such com- force on high-stakes testing) and a post on plaints the office logged in 2018. That year, Facebook inviting Ogden parents to help clean the OIG only recommended discipline for two up the school. Beyer was cited for insubordi- principals it investigated in conjunction with nation to his supervisor and unbecoming con- such allegations: Beyer and the former princi- duct and given vague “directives for improve- pal of Burke Elementary school in Washington ment,” among them: follow all district rules, Park. (Burke had been the source of negative don’t speak out publicly against the district or news for CPS in the spring of 2018, with its leadership, and don’t be insubordinate. both the dirty school and special education Beyer claims that in the two years following scandals.) this warning resolution his district bosses routinely “threatened to have me removed hen CPS wants to fire a principal
BOBBY SIMS for even the slightest alleged infractions that under contract he or she has the they perceived, creating a hostile work envi- Wright to have a formal termination ronment.” (CPS didn’t respond to the Reader’s hearing at which CPS has to present evidence ive months since CPS removed judges and ranks schools by several factors, request for comment about this allegation.) and arguments to justify the dismissal. These Dr. Michael Beyer, the principal of including attendance rates.) Since Novem- Over the course of the 2017-2018 school evidentiary hearings are presided over by an Ogden International School, from ber, Beyer has also faced new allegations of year, Beyer and the late Jenner principal Rob arbitrator and follow state board of educa- his position, he’s still getting paid mishandling student data. Croston worked together on the complicated tion rules. However, before the termination but can’t return to work. Beyer’s removal from Ogden came at a and at times contentious merger of their hearing, the district can suspend the principal FAs the Reader reported in November, CPS pivotal moment, as the K-12, 1,700-student, schools. It was April of 2018 when investi- without pay by holding a “pre-suspension” justifi ed Beyer’s removal with the fi ndings of two-campus school based in the Gold Coast gators from the OIG’s office first contacted hearing overseen by a district sta er (rather an Office of Inspector General investigation and West Town merged with Cabrini-Green- Beyer’s sta with questions about attendance than a neutral third party). that concluded in June 2018. The heavily based Jenner Elementary this school year. The records. After he was removed from Ogden, Beyer’s redacted OIG report, which was released merger consolidated the overcrowded Ogden, News of the attendance fraud and Beyer’s lawyers prepared for his pre-suspension to the public, cited “75 instances” over the which serves a largely well-heeled, interna- removal came as a shock to many in the Ogden hearing. CPS ignored their requests for a list course of three school years “where students tional community, with the under-enrolled community, especially since his contract had of rules the hearing o¬ cer would be following were temporarily unenrolled and re-enrolled Jenner, whose student body of about 215 was just been renewed by the local school council to make her decision and denied them the un- within the same school year,” or coded as majority Black and low-income. in August. Others, who’d been unhappy with redacted OIG report, citing student confi den- transfers during prolonged absences. The OIG Beyer and his allies argue that his removal his leadership style and had long accused him tiality concerns. Beyer’s lawyers immediately claimed that Beyer knew about and directed is indicative of long-standing problems with of dismissive and improper treatment, ex- filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court these falsifi cations. Though the OIG admitted how CPS disciplines principals, especially pressed joy at his departure. While there were claiming his due process rights had been they were “unable to determine” how these those who bring negative attention on district plenty of people who either loved or hated violated. Because principals are government improper codings impacted the school’s atten- officials. They also say his case raises ques- Beyer, there appeared to be consensus that employees with a property right to their pay, dance rate, the report nevertheless stated that tions about the integrity and independence of a midyear removal of a principal managing and the U.S. Constitution says that the gov- “the OIG believes that Ogden perpetuated this the OIG. The full context of Beyer’s legal situa- a school merger was disruptive and showed ernment can’t deprive people of life, liberty, or unenrollment and transfer practice to manip- tion is Dickensian in its procedural complexity poor planning by CPS when they clearly could property without due process, CPS has more ulate the attendance numbers and protect Og- and Ka° aesque in its logic—so much so that have made that decision as early as June. legal hurdles to clear than a private-sector em- den’s SQRP.” (The School Quality Rating Policy conspiracy theories abound about what’s In the information vacuum, speculation and ployer before firing someone. The judge J ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 7 NEWS & POLITICS
Angry bosses
The arbitrator Complaints Inspector General presiding over investigation the termination hearing issues a recommendation— to fi re or not to fi re. CPS makes the fi nal decision.
At a formal termination hearing a principal can fi nally defend herself against allegations of wrongdoing.
Problem principal
Months pass
Many principals OR who are suspended without pay just quit.
A “warning resolution” The principal is removed from school CPS holds a “pre-suspension is issued. (aka “reassigned to home”). hearing,” usually suspending principal without pay. BOBBY SIMS KEY Decision by CPS
continued from 7 ing to CPS, of the ten contract principals who the first day of the hearing (November 15), hearings can take months to arrange and are issued an injunction staying any decisions by faced dismissal in the last five years, seven CPS’s hearing o¬ cer admitted that there were planned at the same time as the district under- the CPS hearing o¬ cer from going into e ect were suspended without pay, two resigned no written rules for the proceedings. Beyer’s takes the suspension process). The arbitrator until she could review it for constitutional before a suspension decision was issued, and lawyers reported this to the circuit court judge. is selected from a CPS-approved list, but the violations. one was terminated without a pre-suspension After the second day of the hearing (December principal has a right to participate in this se- Pre-suspension hearings typically happen hearing because they never requested a termi- 6)—at which Beyer presented more witnesses lection if she wishes—provided she pays for in one day. Chicago Principals and Adminis- nation hearing.) in his defense—the parties went back before half of the arbitrator’s fees. For this and other trators Association president Troy LaRaviere But after the Cook County judge got in- the county judge. CPS fi nally agreed to provide reasons, LaRaviere said termination hearings refers to them as “kangaroo courts,” because, volved, CPS scheduled three dates for Beyer’s Beyer’s legal team with the unredacted OIG re- are still far from fair. He added that another he said, the hearings almost always result in pre-suspension hearing and allowed him to port and subsequently cancelled the third day problem is that principals are so often sus- suspension without pay and principals don’t bring witnesses, including parents who’d of the pre-suspension hearing. pended without pay that they rarely see cases usually get to examine the evidence against unenrolled children for family travel to testify Meanwhile, preparations for Beyer’s formal through to the termination hearing—still them or to mount a defense. (Indeed, accord- that he’d never instructed them to do so. On termination hearing were still ongoing (these employed by the district and therefore J 8 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 9 NEWS & POLITICS continued from 8 breach, CPS’s chief education o¬ cer LaTanya employee or student information. Several coded attendance cases. He said all of those barred from getting another job, many resign McDade wrote that “the settings Dr. Beyer members of the Ogden LSC have also submit- families confirmed that they’d never been in the face of months without pay. Many can’t enabled on the folder made the information ted written statements to CPS confi rming that interviewed by the OIG’s investigators, that afford lawyers, or fees for the arbitrator. available to anyone who was provided a link to he’d never shared sensitive information with temporarily unenrolling their students from (Beyer has been able to fight the district in the folder.” She added that an unnamed “com- them through the Google Drive. Ogden was their own decision, and that Beyer large part because his attorneys have taken his munity member received a copy of the e-mail Beyer’s lawyers didn’t hear from the dis- didn’t encourage them to do so. case pro bono—and because he’s still getting containing the link as part of a CPS response trict again until January 24, when CPS issued On the second page of Beyer’s spreadsheet paid.) to a Freedom of Information Act request” never-before-seen rules for the pre- was a detailed breakdown of the e ect of the A few days before the new year, CPS publicly and that this person subsequently posted the suspension hearing process and announced improperly coded attendance records on the accused Beyer of improperly transmitting link on their website and may have shared it they were reopening a pre-suspension hearing school’s overall attendance rate. Since the OIG confidential employee and student informa- “via other electronic means.” Beyer has since on both the attendance fraud and the new data couldn’t determine what effect the alleged tion, including test scores and special edu- argued that the Google Drive folder contained breach charges. The hearing rules said, among fraud had on Ogden’s attendance rating, Beyer cation status, through a Google Drive folder some files which he shared with the LSC to other things, that neither CPS nor the em- said he wanted to do the math himself to prove that was shared with Ogden LSC members. help them decide whether to renew his con- ployee facing suspension may force the other he and and his sta couldn’t have been schem- In a letter to Ogden parents about the data tract last summer, and that it never contained side to present evidence or witnesses and that ing to game the SQRP. CPS’s ultimate suspension decision couldn’t According to official CPS reports, in the be appealed. Beyer’s new pre-suspension 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 school years hearing was scheduled for January 31. when the 75 cited cases happened, Ogden “After you tried a case and you’re about to Elementary’s SQRP attendance rating was lose you can’t go back and change the rules 95.4 percent, 95.2 percent, and 95.7 percent, to try to win,” said William J. Quinlan, a lead respectively. (In its report the OIG indicated attorney at The Quinlan Law Firm, which is slightly lower overall attendance percentages representing Beyer. He said the newfangled based on “Dashboard”—CPS’s raw data hub, pre-suspension hearing rules appeared to while the district itself adjusts raw numbers to preempt their defense maneuvering. “It shows make sure schools aren’t penalized for factors the zeal with which they want to fi re Michael.” such as students’ medical absences.) CINCO de MAYO On January 31 the CPS hearing o¬ cer didn’t To receive the highest rating for atten- allow Beyer’s lawyers to call any witnesses to dance, the SQRP requires an elementary defend him on either the record falsifi cation school to have a minimum rate of 96 percent CELEBRATION or the data breach charges. A week later CPS average daily attendance. The next rung down decided to suspend Beyer without pay. If not in the attendance rating is 95 percent. If all for the Cook County judge’s injunction on all the Ogden students who had been unenrolled of their pre-suspension hearing decisions, he or marked as transferred had been marked as would have been. The judge is expected to rule absent, the school’s SQRP rating would have on whether the suspension can go into e ect fallen by 0.23 percent, 0.13 percent, and 0.26 Join us for a Cinco de Mayo at the end of April. Planning for Beyer’s termi- percent in each of the three school years, ac- celebration featuring the festive nation hearing is still ongoing. cording to Beyer’s calculations. This would not music and sunny flavors of have brought Ogden’s attendance rate below ince he got his hands on the unredacted the 95 percent threshold in any of the three Mexico. You won’t want to miss OIG report, Beyer has been busy re- years. “So why would we cheat?” Beyer said. this Mex-cellent event. Ssearching the cited unenrollment cases. He was indignant that the OIG didn’t do the In March, Beyer and I met at a north side Chi- math to show the e ect of the 75 cases on Og- THURSDAY, MAY 2 potle. The normally clean-shaven, suited-up den’s attendance rating while accusing Beyer principal came dressed down in athleisure, and his sta of willfully committing fraud to 2:00 p.m. with a stubble beard and cotton wool protrud- game the rating. “They have the data. Either ing from his left ear due to a recent surgery. He one: they’re lazy, two: they don’t know what brought a clear plastic fi le box stu ed with pa- they’re talking about, or three: they don’t limited seating. rsvp pers from which he pulled out a spreadsheet. want to say that this didn’t a ect our rating.” Beyer wouldn’t show me the names of the CPS’s inspector general Nicholas Schuler now. 773-669-5950 children and families identified in the unre- declined to answer questions about the dacted report, but he explained that of the investigation, citing pending litigation and 75 instances of improper unenrollment over disciplinary proceedings. “Our o¬ ce has full Independent Living | Assisted Living the course of three school years, there were confi dence in its investigation and summary #5103988 just 41 unique students. Many of them were report,” Schuler wrote in an e-mail. 4239 North Oak Park Avenue siblings, so in total the report concerned just A part of Beyer would have been happy to Chicago, IL 60634 33 families, all from the elementary school. be o¬ cially fi red long ago, he said with a grim WWW.SENIORLIFESTYLE.COM Beyer obtained written statements from fi ve laugh. But he said he can’t bring himself to of them, accounting for 11 of the improperly drop his battle against the district and give 10 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll NEWS & POLITICS
up hope that he might still return to Ogden. “I send their daughter, who’ll be starting middle to promote a healthy school environment, harassed—people who have said that they’ve want to clear my name,” he said. “And I do care school next year, to a private school. “CPS lost and we are committed to providing students, left under duress,” since 2011. Beyer’s case about the merger.” touch with our community,” he said. Though parents, and sta with the support they need may be a landmark because his legal team’s his family was supportive of the merger, the to ensure the merger of Jenner and Ogden maneuvering created an extensive paper trail andeep Soorya and his wife were “total- way this school year has unfolded has made continues to be a success.” of inconsistencies in the district’s disciplinary ly surprised” to read the redacted OIG him think that CPS couldn’t be trusted to pull LaRaviere, who was himself removed from procedures. But why should we care about Sreport and see between the blacked- o such a complicated social operation. “You his principalship at Blaine Elementary in how CPS principals are fi red? out lines that that their family’s situation can’t pull the leader of a school out and expect 2016 after publicly criticizing the district and “Because,” LaRaviere said, “stable leader- was referenced, especially since they were a merger to go through,” he said. the mayor, said the CPAA is now collecting ship is a huge factor in whether or not these never contacted by investigators. His son and The Sooryas, of course, don’t speak for all information about other principals who’ve schools are going to be able to give those kids daughter go to Ogden. In December 2017, the 2,000 families at Ogden. “I think regardless faced possibly unlawful terminations and what they need to realize their God-given family prepared for a long-anticipated trip to of who’s the leader that merger is going to be is considering a class action lawsuit. So far potential.” v India to visit his wife’s relatives and observe a challenging and it’ll take time to get things they’ve gathered details on about 40 princi- religious holiday. Their kids, then in sixth and going smoothly,” said Lloyd Hervey II, the par- pals “who haveChicagoStyle-Reader-Print.pdf been fired, forced to resign, 1 4/9/19 @mdoukmas 9:29 AM third grade, would have to miss two weeks of ent of a second-grader and LSC member. Plen- school. ty of people are still satisfi ed with the school, Soorya reached out to Beyer “and asked him others were unhappy with Beyer’s leadership how we should handle this so we don’t penal- long before he was accused of any wrongdoing ize our children and the school,” he explained. by CPS, and still others were and remain skep- He and his wife worried that if their son ac- tical of the merger. crued too many absences he wouldn’t be able To Naajidaah Jones, the mother of a to participate in extracurricular activities. second-grader who’d previously gone to Jen- “[Beyer] said ‘Don’t travel during the school ner, Beyer’s removal didn’t exacerbate any year.’ He told us that there’s no way around it: concerns she didn’t already have. She said she ‘You’re gonna be penalized and the school is never felt at home at Ogden. “Beyer had a very gonna be penalized.’” stando¬ sh demeanor,” she said, and the cur- But not going was not an option. It had taken riculum and disciplinary expectations haven’t Soorya, who has a Pakistani passport, years to taken the needs of Black kids into account. get a visa to India. This felt like a once-in-a- “There are no Black teachers, what does that lifetime opportunity. Soorya said they talked say to Black students?” to other families at the school with similar Jones wasn’t surprised to learn of tensions
circumstances—diplomats, immigrants, and at the middle school. “Although we come fromC business people who sometimes had to go up the street from one another we’re at two M abroad for long periods of time. “They told us di erent ends of the spectrum,” she said of the they disenrolled their children during times of Ogden and Jenner communities. “It’s a classY
travel,” he said. The Sooryas did the same. thing, it’s a culture thing, and a race thing tooCM Soorya’s wife testifi ed in Beyer’s support at . . . A lot of young people are already hormonal MY one of the December pre-suspension hearings. and going though their own stu so to have to Even when they heard the news of the data integrate with these people they don’t haveCY
breach later, it didn’t shake their confi dence in any connection to—it’s a culture shock.” CMY him. “It was like they were piling on another Jones plans to enroll her son in a di erent K allegation to justify letting Principal Beyer school next year—an independent private go,” Soorya said, adding that the school has school with an Afrocentric curriculum. taken a turn for the worse since his departure. Whatever ultimately happens to Beyer’s There’ve been reports of frequent fi ghts at employment or the current parents’ enroll- the middle school campus, which is in the old ment decisions, the merger is here to stay. Jenner Elementary building. In mid-February, And the questions these last few months have a staffer was arrested following a physical raised—about how CPS deals with problem altercation with a 12-year-old student. principals, the reliability of the OIG, and how Later that month acting principal Rebecca best to reconcile the competing needs of radi- Bancroft e-mailed parents about changes to cally di erent CPS communities—will remain. between-class hallway movement to “reduce CPS spokesman Michael Passman issued a unstructured student transition time.” Soorya brief statement for this story, reiterating the said his son and his friends reported feeling OIG’s findings and adding that “the district scared in school. agrees with the OIG’s independent assessment Things have calmed down somewhat and that Dr. Beyer failed to act with professional the Sooryas hope that their son can still fi nish integrity and should be removed from his po- middle school at Ogden, but they’ve decided to sition. The removal of Dr. Beyer was necessary ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 11 The goats of Austin They live at GlennArt Farm, a working farm, yoga studio, and community hub. By L S
t’s a cold Sunday morning in March, and I’m hovering over two newborn goat kids with a hair dryer. The kids—one black, one white—came as a surprise, the product of an Iunsanctioned goat romance, and we have to get them warm and dry if they’re going to survive the lingering Chicago winter. Hunched over next to me is Carolyn Ioder, who owns GlennArt Farm alongside her husband, David, a retired Chicago Public Schools teacher. Carolyn wipes her brow and pushes a space heater closer to the smaller kid, who is having trouble latching for his fi rst gulp of milk. For me, this is an unusual Sunday. For the Ioders, it’s just another one of the delightful and disarming moments they’ve come to expect after nine seasons of urban goat farming a few blocks west of the Central Green Line stop. GlennArt Farm operates out of the Ioders’ home (built from a Sears kit in 1909) on West Midway Park, a picturesque street in the racially taut space between South Aus- tin and Oak Park. They bought the home, Carolyn says, because of Midway Park’s old-school neighborhood feel. “Streets like Midway Park are hard to fi nd these days,” she says. However, when the Ioders moved in, they found themselves situated between two dramatically di erent neighborhoods that rarely intersected. Oak Park is a land of cobblestone sidewalks and high-priced nat- ural grocery stores; meanwhile, according to the Sun-Times, Austin saw 180 homicides in 2018, more than 30 percent of the Chica- go Police Department’s reported homicides From le : My Shadow was born on GlennArt Farm on March for the year. Oak Park residents have a 10; Carolyn Ioder holds My Shadow and his sister, Mia; their mother, Emma, stands atop a bale of hay for a nursing median household income of $87,402, while reprieve from her hungry daughter JAMIE RAMSAY more than 40 percent of Austin households make less than $25,000 a year, according to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
12 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll ployment assistance, and academic encour- agement. Daniels regularly picks up nutritious food for program participants as well as baked goods to celebrate birthdays. Daniels calls the west side home, and he sees a positive tide turning in the neighborhood. “People here have giving spirits,” he says. Bonni McKeown, a blues musician who lives up the street, agrees. “This is a nice place to be if you’re having a tough time. This stuff helps,” she says, gesturing to the two tote bags she’s fi lled with cheese, olives, produce, and croissants. I met Bonni on a Friday during one of the Ioders’ food pickup days. She and I sat down with Harry Roundtree, who had scored a hunk of Whole Foods goat cheese to sauté with beans. Roundtree has been in the neigh- borhood since 1985, raising his two children here while working as a jail chaplain and a community activist. “Back in those days, we’d have cab drivers come in and drop dope o in the alley behind my house,” Roundtree says. Now, he says, the street activity isn’t as bad thanks to the infl ux of social media—dealers den representatives and a private landowner conduct business over Instagram, and pick- to ensure a smooth transition. There was a ups have moved indoors. However, while so- steep learning curve. “We had no institutional cial media has reduced blatant drug exchanges memory of keeping animals in the city at all,” on his block, he says it’s also diminished the she says. “It took me a month and a half to neighborhood’s community feel. “People grow the grasses in their original enclosure. don’t get out anymore like they used to,” he They ate it in one day.” says, reminiscing about the old days of stoop The average full-sized adult goat consumes sitting. “The sense of being a human being about 14 pounds of food per day, most of which has changed now.” Still, Roundtree tries to takes the form of hay, grass, or another graz- connect with his fellow west siders. “I’ll walk ing material. Now the Ioders manage a herd of by a liquor store in the neighborhood, and the nine goats—including the two surprise kids, young men outside call me Pops,” he says. For who are doing just fine—along with a flock Roundtree, GlennArt isn’t just a place to stock of laying hens, four cats, and a friendly dog up on healthy food—it’s a place to socialize. Clockwise from le : chickens graze in the backyard; Ioder milks Emma; the goats line up for banana named Jack. They feed their herd with the After our chat, he greets another farm regular peels, one of their favorite snacks JAMIE RAMSAY help of donated produce hauls from several who goes only by Miss Thomas. He pulls out a area groceries and food co-ops. chair so she can relax for a few minutes. “God Admittedly, when I booked my room at actually ventured to the west side. There’s a The hauls help the farm manage costs, but bless you, Miss Thomas,” he says. GlennArt for a two-month sublet through community here—a community the Ioders they also serve as a major boon to the neigh- The Ioders also sell the fruits of their Airbnb’s extended-stay function, I thought hope to strengthen with their unorthodox borhood. The first time Carolyn received a labor—goat milk, goat cheese, fresh eggs, I was staying in ritzy Oak Park. I needed a tourist attraction. produce haul from the Oak Park Whole Foods, and the like—to their fellow west siders, who temporary home during my relocation from Carolyn and David are both the products of the store threw in a massive amount of un- order the products online and pick them up at Springfield, Missouri, to Chicago, and an several generations of midwestern farmers, touched goods including orange juice and cut the farm. For some families, it’s a way to ac- urban goat farm sounded like the perfect which is why Carolyn decided to launch the fruit. Now Carolyn has an agreement with area cess healthy, responsibly-farmed food without destination for my Boston terrier and me. I’m farm as a side project while homeschooling groceries: She takes what they don’t want, trekking to Oak Park, where markups at Whole one of four other long-term guests living at their son, Arthur. She had her hands full whether that be slightly damaged containers Foods and Pete’s Fresh Market are high. the Ioder home, and we spend our evenings with chickens and bees, but soon she began of orange juice or day-old pastries. Then she Despite the farm’s noble aspirations, swapping jokes and playing Rummikub. I’m looking for new ways to make the farm more sends out twice-weekly texts to a group of 14 urban goat farming presents several unique comfortable here, but when I tell people I live fi nancially viable. “David caught me looking at neighborhood residents who need the food, ei- challenges. “Goats are meant for mountains,” in South Austin, I’m met with raised eyebrows Craigslist at goats for sale,” she says, laughing. ther for personal use or to distribute to other Carolyn says, pointing out that the soft and and told to stay away from the Central Green Soon enough, she had acquired two pregnant food-insecure households. The food recipients spongy Illinois ground can wreak havoc on Line station. I get it: I’m a stocky white woman Saanen goats. Carolyn placed the goats in include Patrick Daniels, a program manager sensitive hooves. Then there’s the lack of with a chirpy voice, and the Central station a 20-by-20-foot enclosure in the privately with local nonprofi t UCAN. Headquartered on space. The Ioders have had to get creative, has a reputation. Still, I wonder if the bearers owned community garden at the eastern end the west side, UCAN supports at-risk youth forging relationships with neighborhood land- of those well-meaning warnings have ever of Midway Park, working with community gar- and families, providing trauma therapy, em- owners who allow the goats to graze on J ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 13 continued from 13 their unoccupied lots. The Ioders also have an agreement with the nearby Garfi eld Park Con- servatory, where the goats graze in the sum- mer months. The system has required a fair amount of negotiation with local government o¬ cials, including 29th Ward alderman Chris Taliaferro. Those government relationships are key to endeavors like the Ioders’ recent proposal to waive neighborhood landowners’ mowing requirements, which would allow the goats to munch on the overgrown lots. Funding is another issue. 2018 marked the farm’s first profitable year, the result of GlennArt’s hugely popular goat yoga classes. During the classes, yoga practitioners head to a nearby goat pasture to enjoy an hour-long vinyasa fl ow alongside the curious goat kids, who have been known to hop onto students’ backs during fl oor poses. For the Ioders, the classes are more than an income source: they’re a means to bring visitors into South Austin, breaking the so-called “Green Line stigma” and stimulating the local economy. Unfortunately, the success of these urban agriculture operations are often met with resistance. Take, for example, the Root-Riot community garden at the east end of Midway Park. The garden’s lot is currently owned by an out-of-state landowner; however, if it changes hands and the new landowner chooses to de- velop the space, the garden may have to cease can accompany life in Austin. It’s also a way operations. Garden stakeholders are currently for her to connect with a side of nature that From le : Mealtime; partnering with NeighborSpace, a nonprofit some may see as intimidating. “I just love David Ioder takes a urban land trust, to purchase the land (the animals,” she says. “I want people to know chicken out for some group takes donations at neighbor-space.org). that animals aren’t vicious. Like, sometimes, fresh air. Police found The group has until August to come up with people are scared of the goats or think they’re it running around the city and brought it to $70,000, and they’re optimistic. Still, it’s an harmful, but I want people to know that most the Ioders knowing example of the constant push and pull faced by animals aren’t harmful.” they could take care practitioners of urban agriculture. Kamari is one of the dozens of individuals of it; Carolyn Ioder strains goat milk in Despite its challenges, GlennArt Farm who’ve used the farm as a stress relief tool her sterile processing seems to have activated the neighborhood’s over the years. “Animals bring out a need for room, funded in part underlying community spirit. For Carolyn, the repetition, regularity, and routine,” Carolyn by the Frontera Farmer Foundation. secret to the farm’s success lies in community says. “People need desperately to be in touch JAMIE RAMSAY support in the form of traveling volunteers, with nature, especially in the city. We have curious neighborhood kids, and previously tapped into that longing.” incarcerated farm employees. The latter two While the Ioders are passionate about groups often use the farm as a means of in- building community, they’re firmly opposed businesses that line Chicago Avenue, Austin’s lot like Austin. There’s pain here, but there’s come and a way to enter—or reenter—the job to the gentrification that’s currently sweep- main drag. also promise. market. ing through Chicago’s other majority-Black Through it all, Carolyn’s focus remains on I joined Carolyn on a stroll to the goat yoga Getting dirty on the farm can also be an and Latinx neighborhoods. The Ioders aren’t the neighborhood. “People come here, and pasture a few weeks back. It was a particularly escape from the often-harsh realities of life interested in replacing the neighborhood’s they can see that animals live and die,” she temperate day, and a man in his early 30s was on the west side. That’s the case for Kamari, heritage; instead, they’d rather expose Chica- says. “They have babies. They grow, they play relaxing on his fourth-floor terrace across a 13-year-old who lives across the street go-area residents to Austin’s unique personal- around. They provide you with memories.” the street. He waved at us, yelling down to and is going on her third year helping out on ity. Events like goat yoga bring people to the Ultimately, witnessing that circle of life can ask when the goats were coming back to the the farm. A lifelong Austin resident, Kamari west side, sometimes for the first time. The be healing. Speaking as a newly indoctrinated pasture for their spring grazing. “They’re my has mixed feelings about the neighborhood. hope is that, after that fi rst trip on the Green goat birth assistant—placenta tissue does, in friends!,” he hollered. “I miss those guys.” “Every other week, there’s somebody getting Line, visitors will be more likely to return for a fact, wash out of denim—I can confirm that Carolyn assured him they’d be back soon. v shot,” she says. She finds that working with visit—say, to explore the Garfi eld Park Conser- urban farming offers a perspective on life animals helps her cope with the anxiety that vatory or to patronize one of the Black-owned that’s as stark as it is beautiful. In a way, it’s a @originalspinstr 14 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll S S| Sun 4/28, 7 PM, Sol Café, 1615 Howard, 773-961- 8289, solcafechi.com, $40-$47. FOOD & DRINK
Huevos Demonios at Sol Supper 5: Florida Holidaze prepared by John Hagedorn; diners at Sol Supper 2 by Scott Overall RYAN EDMUND
Freeman has observed that many people enter as strangers but leave as friends. Freeman does what she can to keep the event open to residents with a range of needs: the menus are often vegetarian, and the day of the week changes each month to accommodate people with atypical work schedules. “It’s fun to watch people become more open as the night progresses,” Freeman says. “[The experience] asks you to step outside your comfort zone to share food and talk with strangers.” Over the months, Freeman and her team have honed the Sol Supper experience to incorporate new concepts, flavors, and ex- periences that highlight professional and recreational Chicago chefs (who have included Rafael Esparza and Daniel Speer from Finom Coffee, John Hagedorn from Elizabeth, and Jeremy Leven of Sweet Home). The menu and price change each month, but Freeman keeps the four-course meals below $40 to allow as many neighborhood residents to attend as possible. The neighbors seem to enjoy the events too. But Simone Freeman, the owner of the cafe, sponsoring events and matching customer Nearly every Sol Supper has sold out. which opened its doors more than six years donations to organizations such as the How- Although Sol Café still offers boutique- COMMUNITY ago, is acutely aware of its place and identity ard Area Community Center, Gale Community priced fare—sandwiches are $8-$10 and a within Rogers Park. Academy, and the after-school program Fami- specialty drink runs close to $5—Freeman is “With my staff’s input, I am constantly ly Matters, among others. mindful of keeping some items on the menu at Sunshine on checking myself and the business to make “[Sol Café] has led other businesses in re- accessible prices. She’s constantly searching sure we’re improving in a way that makes alizing you don’t just come to a community. for ways to make her products more afford- people feel like they can be customers,” says You have to actually engage,” says I. Ashaki able, like introducing free bagged lunches Howard Street Freeman. “I want people to be able to make Sol McClain, director of the Teen Girls Program (made from leftovers and extra food) and “$1 Sol Café wants to bring more their own.” at Family Matters. Last year, Sol Café helped Coffee Mondays” to welcome the neighbor- to the neighborhood than just Freeman, 30, owned a coffee stand while sponsor a camping trip to Richard Bong State hood into the space. specialty coff ee. she was still a student at George Washington Recreation Area in Wisconsin for the Teen “We don’t want to turn away anyone who is University, and she wanted to continue the Girls Program. After fundraising, Freeman and hungry or thirsty, or anyone who can’t a ord By C B operation when she moved back to Chicago Sol sta member Emmi Greer volunteered to something here,” Freeman says. “I’m trying to after graduation in 2011. At the time, property chaperone the trip. “That’s a di erent level of fi nd diverse sources of income so I can put less developer Jay Johnson was looking for a cof- engagement,” McClain says. fi nancial burden on the customer and our em- fee shop to fi ll a space in the historic Howard This ethos of community engagement ployees. That’s a huge reason why I started the y all appearances, Sol Café is a Theatre building. When Freeman heard of inspired the Sol Supper program, a series of suppers and plant sales.” (The houseplants are product of gentrification, a prime the opening, she jumped at the opportunity. themed community dinners. Started in Sep- sourced from Damiane Nickles, the Brighton example of the businesses that Sol Café opened in 2012. It has transformed tember 2018 and recurring every four to six Park gardener behind the Instagram account arrive in neighborhoods to accom- several times since then, adding a kitchen, weeks, the events are a microcosm of every- @notaplantshop .) modate newer, wealthier residents. baked goods, and plant sales, but the core of thing the café does in Rogers Park. Freeman says she never thinks Sol’s work is BIt defi nitely stands out from its neighbors on its mission remains fi rm: to provide a quality The Sol Suppers allow their 40-45 attend- done. Howard Street, which include long-standing product to all who want it, not just to people ees to engage with one another through open “If there’s anybody who has an idea to family-owned restaurants, payday lending who can a ord it. seating and family-style sharing. Appetizers bring the community together in some higher services, a minimart, and a pair of shoe stores. Accessibility and community are central are placed in strategic locations around the capacity, I fully welcome it,” says Freeman. Inside the sunlit storefront, baristas sling spe- to Sol Café’s philosophy, and those tenets cafe, encouraging people to walk around the “I want the neighborhood to know that Sol is cialty lattes amidst dried fl owers, plants for are made visible through their community space and mingle with other diners. Nearly really, truly for everybody.” v sale, and a golden disco ball, which fl oats just engagement programs. Each month, the café every part of the meal seeks to build camara- above the register. chooses a nearby organization to work with, derie among the participants, chefs, and sta ; @crassblazer ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 15 M ’T C | R W. Irving Park Rd. -- FOOD & DRINK facebook.com/mimastasteofcuba
fresh plantains every morning, and they’re fried to order (instead of using pre-peeled- RESTAURANT REVIEW and-cut frozen bags). Time and the freezer are often the enemies of Chicago’s native gluten-free sandwich too. Mima’s is But Alvarez treats Mima’s jibarito similarly: freshly fried crisp planks of plantain, drizzled in garlic mojo, bedding the usual set of orna- where Cubs ments (mayo, tomato, lettuce, cheese) with a choice of steak, chicken, lechon, or shrimp, and bringing it back home with a Cuban go for Cuban version with ham, pork, swiss, mustard, and pickles. Lincolnwood’s erstwhile Taste of Alvarez is half Cuban and half Puerto Rican, Cuba has relaunched in Irving Park. and as a kid he worked a couple shifts at Hum- boldt Park’s late Borinquen, where the jibarito By M S was born, so he felt obligated to include one on his menu. For the only strictly non-Cuban item available, it’s a very respectable version. But the classic Cubano sandwich itself is irst it was Jorge Soler. Back when he something extraordinary, an expertly buttered played right fi eld for the Cubs, he re- and pressed package, with all the elements of ally liked the churrasco plate at Cuba fat and acidity in balance contained within a 312. Soler told Javier Baez and Will- uniformly resonant bread jacket. “You have to son Contreras and Pedro Strop, and hear it if you fl ick it with your fi ngernail,” says Fbefore long all sorts of Latin American players Alvarez. He applies this standard so consis- and coaches started hanging out at Billy and tently to the media noche, the lechon, and the Jamie Alvarez’s Roscoe Village restaurant. bistec, as well as to the breakfast sandwiches, Then they discovered the couple’s fi rst restau- that it’s likely you’ll not notice that it’s Turano rant, Taste of Cuba, in Lincolnwood, which bread instead of the unique lard-crisped Cuban served a more traditional, homier menu. That bread that eludes most every sandwich maker was until the couple shut it down and re- north of Tampa. That’s more evident in Mima’s opened in Irving Park in February, in a narrow only unpressed sandwich, the Gordito, a fat boy space formerly home to a succession of taque- stacked with mojo-marinated sirloin, grilled Le : from top, rias and hot dog stands (including a satellite of onions, swiss, lettuce, and mayo, with a pair of steak jibarito, the once-ascendant La Pasadita empire). over easy eggs winking from under the bun. lechon asado, ropa vieja Now painted a vivid pastel pink and blue, Skirt steak, pork chops, a bowl of peppery sporting a giant Celia Cruz mural on the back ropa vieja, and juicy shredded roast pork are Below: from le , lechon asado, wall, and renamed for Billy’s abuela, Mima’s the core of the meaty platos, each with the cubano, gordito is just a ten-minute drive from Rickettsville choice of classic sides: arroz con gandules, or ALEXIS O’CONNOR in case any players get sick of short rib disco white rice and black beans, and those tostones fries or the Pig Candy BLT. of course, as well as their softer, sweeter cara- Here the Alvarezes have installed a trun- melized whole cousins maduros, which behave cated version of their old menu, more lunch- almost like dessert. focused and sandwich-dominated, still with The family of Cuban coffee drinks and a few larger plates and some desirable fried breakfast sandwiches are available too, bites like yucca fries, empanadas, gooey ham though Alvarez won’t open for breakfast until croquettes, and wa¸ e fries topped with ropa he finds someone willing to work the early vieja and a fried egg (speaking of disco fries). hours. He says he wants to keep the menu tight Some extraordinary frycraft is indeed prac- and focused; he has ambitions to open other ticed at Mima’s, embodied in something as de- locations. ceptively simple as the tostones. Cross-sected, In the meantime the regulars from Wrigley stacked, and smashed, these crackly coins of Field have found their way to the new spot. deep-fried green plantain have a lightness and “These people know fi rsthand what this food freshness, utterly unlike the dense and starchy is supposed to taste like,” he says. v variant you come across all too often. Billy Alvarez says that’s because he buys and preps @MikeSula 16 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll R READER RECOMMENDED b ALL AGES F THEATER
during fi eld research in America, and the Black “When we talk about activism, people think Lives, Black Words International Project was of big and lavish ways, but actually it’s just born out of their conversation. The project speaking out saying, ‘There’s nobody of color brings together playwrights, visual artists, in this poster, or on the board.’” and spoken word performers and asks them to Hodge-Dallaway is particularly excited collaborate on short plays based on the theme about The Interrogation of Sandra Bland , “Do Black lives matter?” It debuted to a packed which she is directing. “Having 100 women house at the Greenhouse Theater Center in take to the stage to pay homage to Sandra Lincoln Park in 2015 and has since traveled to Bland, I would anticipate that they would feel seven other cities in the U.S. and UK. a real sense of unity, and strength in numbers The I Am . . . Fest is an outgrowth of that in a way that they haven’t experienced be- project, specifi cally intended to honor women- fore,” she says. Edmund adds, “It’s especially of-color activists, artists, and leaders. Some important and beautiful that it’s women of of this year’s highlights include a screening color, that it’s Middle Eastern, it’s Latina, it’s of Chisholm ’72: Unbought and Unbossed, a Asian, the whole gamut. It’s not just one per- documentary about Shirley Chisholm, the fi rst son that has experienced police brutality, it is Black woman to run for president; Surviving something that has a ected women of color all the Mic: Brave Space Making, a performance throughout the spectrum.” workshop for survivors of sexual violence led Hodge-Dallaway agrees. “We are the daugh- by multidisciplinary artist Nikki Patin; and ters, the sisters, the mothers, the mothers-to- COURTESY OF BLACK LIVES BLACK WORDS
Making the Artivist, a workshop hosted by be, the surrogates, the adopted mothers, the Red Clay Dance Company which helps artists adoptive aunties, we are the past, the present, understand their agency and power within and the future.” v their communities. Hodge-Dallaway believes PREVIEW that there is beauty and power in activism. @SheriFlanders Strength in numbers The I Am . . . Fest celebrating women of color comes to the Goodman Theatre. By S F
his weekend the Goodman Theatre playwrights and theater artists of yesteryear will present the I Am . . . Fest, three had not fi ltered into the mainstream. She also days of events and artistic edu- observed that she and other highly talented cational programming, including artists were being called back again and again workshops, film screenings, and for temporary roles, yet were never invited to Tplay readings, to celebrate women of color. It fi ll permanent, senior management positions concludes on Monday evening with the Inter- in leading artistic institutions. This inspired national 10-Minute Play Showcase featuring Chicago playwrights Nambi E. Kelley and Loy IAF Webb and the U.S. premiere of The Interroga- Sat /-Mon /: times vary, tion of Sandra Bland by Mojisola Adebayo, in see website; Goodman Theatre, N. Dearborn, --, which 100 women of color perform the tran- goodmantheatre.org , International script of Sandra Bland’s arrest. -Minute Play Showcase $, all Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway and Reginald other events F Edmund curated the festival in partnership with the Goodman. An author, dramaturg, her to establish Artistic Directors of the Fu- arts executive, and one of London’s Most In- ture, an organization that mentors people of fl uential People in Theatre of 2018 (according color and prepares them for leadership roles to the Evening Standard), Hodge-Dallaway in arts organizations in the UK. became frustrated by the lack of people of Edmund, a playwright and director, was color in positions of leadership in the theater experiencing similar roadblocks in Chicago. industry. While working as a project manager He also wanted to fi nd a way to bypass gate- at the National Theatre’s Black Play Archive, keepers and provide artists of color with a she began to wonder why the work of Black platform. Hodge-Dallaway interviewed him ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 17 THEATER
Djembe! The Show tired jokes and sketches that trail off when they should THEATER LIZ LAUREN end with a comic kapow. Do we need yet another sketch about how periods Like buttah turn women into monsters? No, but we get one here, R Buyer & Cellar ventures into the complete with a woman (Krabacher) wearing a face darkness of Barbra Streisand’s (make-believe) mask that makes her look monstrous. There’s an equally basement shopping mall. tired bit about an old lady (Asdou) who fans her crotch in response to old-time Hollywood heartthrobs. The Like a cross between The Santaland Diaries and Sunset overwrought crotch fanning is an eye-roller the fi rst Boulevard, Jonathan Tolins’s 2013 one-man comedy time it’s used as a punchline. By the fourth time you start sends up the lifestyle of the haves through the eye to wonder whether everyone in the writers’ room got of the have-nots. Inspired by Barbra Streisand’s book distracted by sandwiches or something. My Passion for Design, it’s the story of struggling LA A more successful whack at low-hanging fruit arrives actor Alex More (Scott Gryder) who takes a job in the with a sketch about a serial killer (Knox) who only mur- make-believe shopping mall in the basement of Strei- ders wealthy millennial bros. Knox saves the bit with his sand’s Malibu estate and is horrifi ed to learn how the Hannibal Lecter-on-nitrous shenanigans, but coming for other half really lives. brosefs is old news. More is gobsmacked when he learns, a er signing Grinning does have moments of scathing, insightful a nondisclosure agreement, who his employer is. What comedy. Among them: Campbell as an unwilling contes- follows is a series of surreal scenes culminating in what tant on Toss and Turn, the nightly game show hosted by More thinks is a real moment of connection with one your subconscious and designed to kill you via a lethal mix of his idols. But when he’s unceremoniously shown his of insomnia and self-doubt. When the ensemble plumbs walking papers, he realizes the danger of getting too thick layer of guru webinar-talk, is intended for anyone Let’s hear it for the boy the fathoms of human insecurity, it discovers plenty of familiar with those who live on pedestals. but the youngest of audiences. Vocalist Rashada Dawan R The stage musical of Footloose is just like human comedy. Far too o en though, it’s treading water. It is a tribute to Tolins’s quick, witty words and, and emcee Ben Hope deserve so much better than the movie except without the boring parts. —C S G F F F especially, to Gryder’s complete command of the stage having to give fl imsy speeches about how, when you Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM; also Wed that a play about an imaginary mall in Barbra Streisand’s really think about it, playing the djembe and texting on The problem with the 1984 movie Footloose is that it 4/24, 8 PM, Second City e.t.c Theater, 1608 N. Wells, basement turns out to be so compelling. I don’t have a cell phone really aren’t that diff erent. And my heart tries so damned hard to be a serious, realistic drama 312-337-3992, www.secondcity.com , $31-$58. a clue what appeal Streisand could hold for anyone, plummets imagining auditoriums full of grown corporate about a rebellious teen fi ghting against the joy-killing but More’s absolute devotion to her and the spot- adults learning about the rhythms of West African music puritanism of a middle American small town that it You’ve got questions? less glamorous lifestyle she represents is thoroughly via “99 Lu ballons” and “Gangnam Style.” —D J drains the joy out of the best parts of the movie: the silly, The Gamergate-inspired drama Non-Player believable (if kind of sad). People like Streisand who D !T SThrough 6/9: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, energetic, entertaining dance scenes. The beauty of the Character has all the answers you’re expecting. live in a megalomaniacal bubble can’t allow meaningful Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, Apollo Theater, 2540 N. 1998 Broadway version of the movie, at least as it has relationships with others or they risk puncturing the Lincoln, 773-935-6100, apollochicago.com , $39-$53. been realized in this Marriott revival, directed by Gary Red Theater has achieved its admirable goal to “ask dan- perfection they’ve worked so hard to fashion. The only Griffi n and choreographed by William Carlos Angulo, is gerous questions theatrically” in the past. But this time people sadder than those inside the bubble are the ones Boy meets fox that the most sanctimonious elements in the story have playwright Walt McGough’s schematic 2018 Gamer- on the outside eager to get in. More is lucky to have R First Love is the Revolution examines the been stripped away, leaving more room for the fun that gate-inspired drama provides only answers—and likely been banished and we’re happy for him to live his own brutal nature of humans and other animals. the show’s hero yearns to bring to the town. ones the young storefront audience this company courts life rather than prop up someone else’s delusions. Don- The basic story (adapted for the stage by Dean already know. terrio Johnson directed. —D S B & Whimsical, brutal, and evocative of The Secret of NIMH, Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, based on Pitchford’s orig- Ambitious Katja, a 22-year-old coder, is passionate C Through 5/19: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, First Love is the Revolution is a modern fable and one inal screenplay) remains—young man battles prominent about designing a noncompetitive online game that Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, 773-857-0222, of the more interesting plays I’ve seen. It’s the story stick-in-the-mud minister for the soul of the town and involves creating trees, attaching stories to them, and pridefilmsandplays.com, $30-$40, $20 students, of Rdeca, a young fox who allows herself to be tamed the heart of the minister’s daughter—but that plot only watching multiple players’ stories interconnect. Trent, seniors, and military. by a human teenager, Basti, and the consequences of provides a frame on which to hang the myriad rousing a hard-core gamer and Katja’s bosom college friend, that choice. In the dramaturg’s notes, we learn that songs and dances that make up this show. Many of these now at a dead end and living with his parents, can’t Corporate drumming playwright Rita Kalnejais was inspired by an unspecifi ed tunes were hits in the 80s (“Let’s Hear it for the Boy,” understand a game where no one wins. The calculatedly Djembe! The Show works much better as theater international dispute. Fortunately, Kalnejais did not “Holding out for a Hero”) though the music director, opposite-gendered pair (now living on opposite sides for kids than inspiration for adults. write a direct allegory, which saves this from becoming Ryan T. Nelson, and Griffi n’s cast work hard to make of the country, no less) meet only as avatars in a a morality play. these old songs sound new again. Aidan Wharton deliv- game called SpearLight, which Trent’s online friend Everything about Djembe! The Show starts to make Isa Arciniegas plays Rdeca with a bubbly intensity ers an energetic performance in the lead role, evoking Feldrick joins primarily to exhibit Neanderthal-level sex- more sense when you imagine it out of its current as she navigates coming of age, her enthusiasm and the spirit of Kevin Bacon’s performance in the movie ism. When Katja spurns Trent’s romantic advances, he context—the theater—and back in its spiritual place of fear combining to create an intense and deadly teen- without slavishly copying his moves. Ben Barker is quite fl ips from supportive friend to vindictive, self-righteous origin, a corporate seminar. Created by Doug Manuel, age recklessness. When her mother Cochineal (played winning as Wharton’s goofy sidekick. —J H misogynist in the blink of an eye. a white British inspirational speaker and social entre- by Lucy Carapetyan in a heartbreaking performance) F Through 6/2: Wed 1 and 7:30 PM, Thu Throughout, it’s always clear whose thoughts and preneur who sells motivational speeches and leadership teaches Rdeca to kill, it becomes a powerful metaphor 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 1 and 5 PM; actions deserve fi nger snaps and whose should be retreats, this 90-minute commercial interactive musical for parents passing on their brutality and prejudices to also Thu 5/23 and 5/30, 1 PM; no performances Wed instantly condemned. McGough ends up with a staged experience invites audiences to learn djembe drum fun- their children under the guise of “survival tools.” 5/22 and 5/29, 7:30 PM, or Sun 6/2, 5 PM, Marriott opinion piece short on nuance and long on repeti- damentals by playing along to aff ordably licensed hits. Jordan Arredondo, who plays Basti, has a gentle Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire, 847-634- tive dialogue. Director Beth Wolf has assembled a As a concert and work of children’s theater, compo- presence. “You smell like something that has given 0200, marriotttheatre.com, $50-$65. strong cast, with careful, passionate performances from nents of it are pretty damn cool. Preshow, a projection up,” Rdeca tells him, a terrifying dare to measure up to Alice Wu as Katja and Matthew Schnitker as Trent. requesting audiences to “please wait to play your the bar of aggressiveness our society forces on men. Treading water But McGough doesn’t off er much beyond entry-lev- djembe until the show begins” went largely (and under- Director Devon de Mayo is at her best when teasing out Grinning From Fear to Fear at Second City e.t.c. el critiques of toxic male privilege and gender bias standably) ignored by the excited families in the house the charm and comedy in the destruction. Sequences doesn’t get funny till hour two. with a pinch of modest female self-empowerment. on Easter weekend a er each audience member was involving supporting actors playing a dog, cat, chickens, Like many contemporary playwrights, McGough seems greeted with a weighty, tantalizing drum on his or her and a mole are absolutely hilarious. However, the inten- Second City e.t.c.’s 43rd revue begins with the cast more interested in reassuring his audience that they’re seat. There’s an undeniable energy to the show from tionally light tone takes the air out of a few of the more paddling through the audience in a faux water ballet. It right-thinking progressives than in challenging any of minute one, a promise that West African djembe master brutal and dramatic moments of the play, including the spends the next hour trying to fi nd its footing. Written their assumptions. —J H N-P Fodé Moussa “Lavia” Camara makes good on once he wild and disquieting ending. —S F F and performed by Atra Asdou, E.J. Cameron, Mark C Through 5/18: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 really gets going. L R Through 5/25: Thu-Sat 8 Campbell, Andrew Knox, Laurel Krabacher, and Chuck PM; also Mon 5/13, 7:30; no performance Thu 4/25, But it’s inconceivable that Manuel and director PM, Sun 3 PM, Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn, 773- Norment and directed by Anneliese To , the two-hour Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, 773-733- West Hyler’s educational script, which is coated in a 649-3186, steeptheatre.com , $10-$38. production fi nishes strong, but is hobbled by too many 0540, redtheater.org , $22, $17 students.
18 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll R READER RECOMMENDED b ALL AGES N NEW F Get showtimes at chicagoreader.com/movies. FILM
Footloose LIZ LAUREN NOW PLAYING (1991), set over one Taipei school year in the early 60s, would fully warrant the subtitle “A Taiwanese Tragedy.” A The Big City powerful statement from Yang’s generation about what Satyajit Ray seems to lose all his grace and subtlety it means to be Taiwanese, superior even to his recent whenever he strays into “message” territory. This 1963 masterpiece Yi Yi, it has a novelistic richness of charac- fi lm, whose original title is Mahanagar, about a young ter, setting, and milieu unmatched by any other 90s fi lm wife who goes to work (selling knitting machines) over (a richness only partially apparent in its three-hour ver- the protests of her husband and his family, isn’t an sion). What Yang does with objects—a fl ashlight, a radio, exception. The plot is set up in a thin, simpleminded a tape recorder, a Japanese sword—resonates more way to prove that the wife was right—her husband is deeply than what most directors do with characters, soon fi red from his job as a bank clerk, and she must because along with an uncommon understanding of and Shakespeare for right now stirs up tension among the other characters, including support the family by herself. This is exactly the kind of sympathy for teenagers Yang has an exquisite eye for R Babes With Blades gives us a visceral, Desdemona’s father Brabantio (Michelle McKenzie- screenwriter’s trick that proves nothing at all; the real the troubled universe they inhabit. This is a fi lm about devastating Othello. Voigt) and her sad-boy discarded suitor Rodrigo (Rachel moral and social issues haven’t been confronted. With alienated identities in a country undergoing a profound Mock). Racism runs rampant, but Othello asserts what Anil Chatterji and Madhabie Mukherjee. In Bengali with existential crisis—a Rebel Without a Cause with much The line “Men should be what they seem” sounds so he’s earned, leaving Iago (Kathrynne Wolf) perfectly subtitles. —D K 131 min. 35mm archival print. Wed of the same nocturnal lyricism and cosmic despair. Not- contemporary, it’s hard to believe Shakespeare wrote it poised to tear his reputation and marriage down with 5/1, 7 and 9:30 PM. Univ. of Chicago Doc Films withstanding the masterpieces of Hou Hsiao-hsien, the more than 400 years ago. Yet in this Babes With Blades musings and whispers. Taiwanese new wave starts here. —J R - production of Othello, under the direction of Mignon We sit in the round watching chaos unfold. A beauti- The Bird With the Crystal 230 min. Thu 5/2, 5 PM. Univ. of Chicago Doc Films McPherson Stewart, nothing is as it seems. Though fully tiled fl oor supports a canopied platform with sheer set in the Shakespearean period, this production feels curtains that transforms the space from scene to scene. Plumage Dark Passage devastatingly of the moment. It’s one of the strongest, This world is both the characters’ and ours. Director Dario Argento’s undistinguished Italian thriller was an R An odd, atmospheric 1947 thriller with a San most visceral productions of Shakespeare running in Stewart and fi ght/intimacy designer Samantha Kaufman unexpected hit in 1970, thanks largely, one suspects, Francisco setting, adapted by writer-director Delmer this city now. juxtapose moments of tenderness and tension between to some violent scenes that were unusually graphic Daves from a David Goodis novel and starring Hum- In classic Babes With Blades style, all members of Othello and Desdemona, from the playful rejection of for their time. With Tony Musante and Suzy Kendall. In phrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. We hear but don’t see the cast are women or nonbinary. Thus, Othello is played a kiss to the unfortunate, gut-wrenching end. There Italian with subtitles. —D K 98 min. Fri 4/26-Sat Bogart for roughly the fi rst third of the movie, which by the stellar Brianna Buckley, who gives an astounding is hope, and then there is nothing. —Y Z 4/27, midnight. Music Box features the subjective camera (a la Lady in the Lake, performance, running the gamut from fi erce fl irt to M O Through 5/25: Thu-Sat 8 PM, but handled more successfully) as his character, who’s terrifying embodiment of toxic masculinity. Othello is a Sun 3 PM, Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard, 773- A Brighter Summer Day wrongly accused of murder, escapes from prison and lauded Moorish general who has won the heart of the 904-0391, babeswithblades.org, $28, $15 students R Bearing in mind Theodore Dreiser’s An Amer- undergoes plastic surgery, only to emerge looking like dutiful Desdemona (a distinguished Sarah Liz Bell). This and seniors. v ican Tragedy, this astonishing epic by Edward Yang . . . Humphrey Bogart, before setting out to clear B
April 27 – July 6
Free tours of the exhibition 60 West Walton Street Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 19 20 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 21 R READER RECOMMENDED b ALL AGES N NEW F
FILM Get showtimes at chicagoreader.com/movies. continued from 19 his name. The eff ective supporting cast includes Agnes Rafiki Moorehead, Bruce Bennett, Tom D’Andrea, and Cli on Lively but a little too on the nose, this Kenyan drama Young. —J R 107 min. 35mm. Sat delivers a straightforward lesson about antigay bigotry 4/27-Sun 4/28, 11:30 am Music Box in Africa. It concerns the romance between two teenage girls in Nairobi whose fathers are running against each NDogman other in a local election. They try to keep their love a In a dog-eat-dog world, even the runt of the litter has secret, knowing they would harm their fathers’ careers a breaking point. We learn this lesson in Dogman, the (and bring untold punishment upon themselves) if they story of Marcello (Marcello Fonte), a dog groomer who were to be exposed; a er a short period of happiness, tries to fi nd his way out from beneath the thumb of the their worst expectations come true. Cowriter-director neighborhood thug, Simone (Edoardo Pesce), who is Wanuri Kahiu elicits sensitive performances from the constantly forcing Marcello to participate in his latest cast, and her use of color is attractive as well. But it’s schemes. Marcello is almost immediately likable. He hard to escape the feeling that the fi lm is basically an loves animals, he loves his daughter. He’s built a humble extended public service announcement; Kahiu has few life for himself. He can soothe even the angriest snarling discernible goals apart from drawing attention to an dog. What he can’t soothe is Simone, his polar opposite, important subject. In English and subtitled Swahili —B the Goliath to his David. Where Marcello is small and S 82 min. Fri 4/26, 2 and 6:30 PM; Sat 4/27, 3:15 PM; mild-mannered, Simone is hulking and brutish. While Sun 4/28, 1:30 and 5:15 PM; Mon 4/29, 8 PM; Tue 4/30, 6 Marcello risks his life to save a dog, Simone spends PM; and Thu 5/2, 6 and 8:15 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center his time terrorizing the neighborhood and pummeling anyone who gets in his way. But Marcello’s unwavering NRed Joan gentle nature will also be his downfall. He gets roped This tony docudrama is loosely based on the life of deeper into Simone’s dangerous antics—until one day Dogman Melita Norwood, a British woman who smuggled state that rope snaps. Told through unfl inching shots in gray- secrets to the Soviets from the 1930s to the 1970s and ish hues, Matteo Garrone’s fi lm keeps viewers holding mentary—seconded by some of the trickiest editing guide his ideas, motifs, arguments, and counterargu- wasn’t exposed until 1999. Given the facts of Norwood’s their breath to the bitter end. In Italian with subtitles. anywhere—implies that authorship is a pretty dubious ments as if they were watchwords or mantras. A dense life, the fi lm would almost have to be interesting; it’s —N DL 103 min. Fri 4/26, 3:45 and 8:15 PM; notion anyway, a function of the even more dubious art and cryptic essay fi lm in the vein of his magnum opus, engaging on a narrative level, but that’s about all. Lind- Sat 4/27, 3 and 5 PM; Sun 4/28, 3:15 PM; Mon 4/29, 6 PM; market and its team of “experts.” Alternately superfi cial Histoire(s) du Cinéma (1988-’98), Godard’s 2018 feature, say Shapero’s script (adapted from a novel by Jennie Tue 4/30, 7:45 PM; Wed 5/1, 6 PM; and Thu 5/2, 6 PM. and profound, the fi lm also enlists the services of Oja The Image Book, also began as a title and abounds with Rooney) introduces a potentially interesting approach Gene Siskel Film Center Kodar, Welles’s principal collaborator a er the late 60s, quotations both carefully and randomly chosen. It’s a to the heroine, playing up her romanticism and indepen- as actor, erotic spectacle, and cowriter, and briefer fi lm that seems to be taking shape as you watch it—and dent spirit while keeping her political convictions ambig- NAn Elephant Sitting Still appearances by many other Welles cohorts. Michel in a sense, it is: Godard crams every moment with so uous. Yet Trevor Nunn’s generically handsome direction, Set over just one day but running almost four hours, Legrand supplied the wonderful score. —J much information that you can’t possibly take it all in at devoid of personal feeling, has the eff ect of paving over Hu Bo’s 2018 hyperrealist epic is the most audacious R 85 min. 35mm. Former Reader fi lm critic once. —B S 84 min. Sat 4/27, 7 and 9:30 PM; and any nuance there is to the writing. Every plot point and debut feature from mainland China since Wang Bing’s Jonathan Rosenbaum lectures at the Tuesday screening. Sun 4/28, 4:15 PM. Univ. of Chicago Doc Films every character insight gets delivered with the same nine-hour documentary West of the Tracks (2002). Like Fri 4/26, 6 PM; Sat 4/27, 5 PM; and Tue 4/30, 6 PM. Gene manufactured smoothness; the movie is naggingly bland Wang’s fi lm, it derives its power through the accumula- Siskel Film Center Madame X: An Absolute Ruler in the way one associates with “respectable” British tion of time and detail—Hu shoots nearly every scene, A charismatic and tyrannical pirate (Tabea Blumen- cinema. With Sophie Cookson, Tom Hughes, and Judi no matter how long, in a single take, making you feel Funny Face schein) entices a motley crew of bored women onto her Dench. —B S R, 101 min. At Century Centre. Visit weighed down in the characters’ lives. However ambi- R Writer Leonard Gershe, director Stanley ship with the promise of gold and love, but their cama- landmarktheatres.com for showtimes. tious, though, the writer-director-editor still had a long Donen, and producer Roger Edens take on French exis- raderie unravels as the passengers unleash their libidos. way to go in the fi ne art of characterization; you care tentialism in this colorful and sumptuous 1957 musical, This high-seas adventure (1977) marked the debut of La rupture about the subjects because they suff er so much, not set largely in Paris and starring Fred Astaire and Audrey German director Ulrike Ottinger, and like much of her R One of the key fi lms of the 70s, La rupture is because they’re particularly distinctive. Hu alternates Hepburn, with a dreamy Gershwin score. Although the work it’s a maddening mix of exotica, feminist rhetoric, Claude Chabrol’s most audacious experiment with nar- between four major characters: an old man about to be anti-intellectualism gets thick in spots, the visuals are postmodern humor, and allusions to literature and pop rative form—a modernist reworking of the melodrama thrown out of his home by his grown son; the old man’s consistently stylish. Astaire is a fashion photographer culture. Her stream-of-consciousness narrative style (1970). Stéphane Audran is innocence unprotected, a grandson, a bullied high school student who accident- (Richard Avedon supervised his photo sessions), Hep- recalls Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Andy War- wife and mother whose husband has gone mad under ally kills his tormentor; the bully’s older brother, who’s burn a Greenwich Village bookworm transformed into hol, and the theater of the absurd, yet her visuals are LSD, and who now has to suff er a bizarre plot spun by involved in the criminal underworld; and a female high a model (clothes by Givenchy), and Kay Thompson plays deliberately fl at and the acting (by her friends, including her father-in-law to recover custody of her child. The school student involved in a sexual relationship with an their fashion editor. The fi lm’s sophistication is compro- fi lmmaker Yvonne Rainer as an overwrought artist) is “rupture” of the title belongs to the narrative, which administrator. This gets more formally impressive as the mised by the rather dumb plot, but some of the num- strictly silent-movie pantomime. Intended as a political begins with clear black/white, good/evil distinctions story grows increasingly despairing, cannily seducing bers—especially “Think Pink” and “Bonjour Paris”—are allegory about the marginalization of women, the fi lm and then gradually self-destructs, breaking down into you into its pessimistic worldview. Sadly, we’ll never standouts. —J R 103 min. Preceded hasn’t aged well: at best it’s an aesthetic romp, at worst increasingly elliptical and imponderable fragments. know how Hu would have matured from here; he com- by a panel discussion led by fashion historian Nena Ivon. a precious game of dress-up. In German with subtitles. Highly recommended. In French with subtitles. —D mitted suicide a few months before the fi lm’s premiere. Thu 5/2, 7 PM. Music Box —TS 141 min. Wed 5/1, 8 PM. Comfort Station F K 124 min. 35mm. Mon 4/29, 7 PM. Univ. of Chicago In Mandarin with subtitles. —B S 234 min. Fri Doc Films 4/26, 2 PM; Sat 4/27, 7 PM; Sun 4/28, 1 PM; Mon 4/29, 6 The Image Book Phantom of the Paradise PM; and Wed 5/1, 6 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center R Even when they trade in quotations, the fi lms Brian De Palma’s Grand Guignol send-up and put-down The Thin Red Line of Jean-Luc Godard exude a sense of spontaneity. The of the rock business (1974), with a maimed musician R There’s less sense of period here and more F for Fake Swiss fi lmmaker has never been able to stay put on an (William Finley) haunting a concert hall operated by a feeling for terrain than in any other World War II movie R Orson Welles’s underrated 1973 essay fi lm— idea or story line for very long; his work always goes off malevolent mogul (Paul Williams). This was one of De that comes to mind. Terrence Malick’s strongest suits made from discarded documentary footage by Francois in unexpected directions or sprouts up non sequiturs. A Palma’s early eff orts, and its excesses can be chalked in his two previous features, Badlands (1973) and Days Reichenbach and new material from Welles—forms a possible explanation for the fi lms’ eccentric forms is that up to youthful enthusiasm—the ideas seem appealingly of Heaven (1978)—a painterly sense of composition kind of dialectic with Welles’s never-completed It’s All Godard has always embraced chance, coincidence, and audacious even when they misfi re, which is more o en and a bold and original use of off screen narration—are True. The main subjects are art forger Elmyr de Hory, arbitrary decisions as a core part of his creative practice. than not. Unfortunately, De Palma’s style failed to devel- enhanced in this 1998 feature, fi rst by a successful Cliff ord Irving, Howard Hughes, Pablo Picasso, Welles When he employs quotations (whether from written op beyond the superfi cial cleverness exercised here, wedding of ecology and narrative (which never quite himself, and the practice and meaning of deception. texts, movies, paintings, or musical compositions), he’ll even as his fi lms grew more pretentious. With Jessica happened in Days of Heaven) and second by the Despite some speculation that this fi lm was Welles’s o en do so because he simply likes how the sources Harper and Gerrit Graham. —D K 92 min. Thu notion of a collective hero, which permits the internal indirect reply to Pauline Kael’s bogus contention that look or sound. He also likes to name his fi lms before 5/2, 9:30 PM. Univ. of Chicago Doc Films monologues of many characters in turn. I haven’t read he didn’t write a word of Citizen Kane, his sly com- determining anything else about them, letting the titles the James Jones novel this is based on, which some feel
22 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll FILM
is his best, but Malick clearly is distancing the mate- Crossings, Harper Theater, Navy Pier IMAX, New 400, rial philosophically and poetically, muting the drama River East 21, Roosevelt Collection, 600 N. Michigan, periodically and turning it into reverie. This may have Webster Place 11 its occasional dull stretches, but in contrast to Saving Private Ryan it’s the work of a grown-up with something Buddy to say about the meaning and consequences of war. The Dutch fi lmmaker Heddy Honigmann directed this doc- fi ne cast includes Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, Jim Cavie- umentary about guide dogs and their owners. In Dutch zel, Ben Chaplin, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Elias with subtitles. 86 min. Fri 4/26, 7 and 9 PM; Sat 4/27, 3, 5, Koteas, Nick Nolte, John C. Reilly, and, in tiny parts, John 7, and 9 PM; Sun 4/28, 1, 3, 5, and 7 PM; and Mon 4/29-Thu Travolta and George Clooney. —J R 5/2, 7 and 9 PM. Facets Cinematheque R, 170 min. 35mm. Introduced and discussion led by a DePaul University faculty member. Tue 4/30, 7 PM. CHA/DePaul Spring Doc Film Music Box Premiere the delta force APR 26-29 AT 11 PM NThriller A program of four short documentaries made by female In Dallas Jackson’s directorial debut, teens living in the youth from CHA, in collaboration with DePaul’s School heart of South Central LA must face the consequences of Cinematic Arts. Sun 4/28, 1 PM. Chicago Cultural of a humiliating prank gone wrong. A boy (Jason Woods) Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater F is lured into a home and taunted by a group of children. When one tormenter goes too far, the boy reacts fast CineYouth Festival and thinks later. The result is deadly. Jackson’s, um, The Chicago International Film Festival’s annual thrilling story o en falls into the usual plot holes of clas- CineYouth Festival is a showcase of youth-produced sic horror tales—jump scares litter the fi lm, every dark fi lms from around the world in ten diff erent programs. corner has the potential to hide the villain—but the scare At Music Box Theatre. Visit chicagofi lmfestival.com/ factor is o en limited by the improbability of certain cineyouth for the full schedule. Fri 4/26-Sun 4/28. F scenarios. Take, for example, when a girl (Pepi Sonuga) not only develops a split personality but somehow The Delta Force THe Blues Brothers takes a famous R&B singer to a dance where he spon- Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin are the chiefs of a special APR 30 - MAY 2 AT 10:30 PM taneously performs. A strong theme intertwined into squad sent to the Middle East to rescue the passengers the fi lm’s plot, but abandoned early on, is the troubling of a hijacked jetliner. With Martin Balsam, George Ken- eff ects of growing up in an impoverished neighborhood nedy, Lainie Kazan, Robert Vaughn, and Shelley Winters; For showtimes and advance tickets, visit consumed by gang violence. Jackson’s storytelling does the director is Menahem Golan (Over the Brooklyn thelogantheatre.com allow for a rewarding twist, but one question lingers: Bridge). 1986. R, 125 min. Fri 4/26-Mon 4/29, 11 PM. Logan was justice served or does a debt remain to be paid? —A R 87 min. Now streaming on Netfl ix. Documenting the Archive A graduate student fi lm conference organized by PhD ALSO PLAYING candidates at the University of Chicago, focused on the EARLY WARNINGS various ways documentary fi lm and ideas about archives NAvengers: Endgame intersect, with a keynote lecture on Friday and a series NEVER MISS A SHOW AGAIN Anthony Russo and Joe Russo directed this sequel of panels on Saturday. Schedule at documentingthear- CHICAGOREADER.COM/EARLY to Avengers: Infi nity War (2018), in which the Marvel chive.wordpress.com. Fri 4/26, 5 PM and Sat 4/27, 9:30 Comics superheroes must regroup to try to undo AM. Univ. of Chicago Logan Center for the Arts F the damage to the universe in the earlier fi lm. With Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruff alo, Chris Hamburger Eyes Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don A short documentary about the San Francisco street
Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai photography magazine. Aaron Rose directed. Show- B Gurira, Bradley Cooper, and Josh Brolin. PG-13, 182 min. Block 37, ArcLight, Century Centre, Century 12 and Cin- eArts 6, Chatham 14, City North 14, Ford City, Galewood Avengers: Endgame
ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 23 FILM
Naila and the Uprising
continued from 23 Runner ing as part of an event that also includes a discussion of Chicago fi lmmaker Clare Cooney directed this short the music of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. dramatic thriller (2017) about a woman who sees Free admission, but registration required at eventbrite. something she shouldn’t have while out for a run. 12 min. com. Fri 4/26, 8 PM. The Hoxton Chicago F Showing on the curated YouTube channel Omeleto Hesburgh A documentary about the life and career of longtime Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait Notre Dame University president Theodore Hesburgh. Exiled Syrian fi lmmaker Ossama Mohammed and Wiam Patrick Creadon directed. 104 min. At Music Box The- Simav Bedirxan directed this 2014 French-Syrian doc- atre. Visit musicboxtheatre.com for showtimes. umentary about the Syrian Civil War. In Arabic with subtitles. 110 min. Mohammad attends the screening. Man on a Swing Preceded by an a capella performance by singer Noma Frank Perry directed this 1974 crime fi lm about a police Omran. Thu 5/2, 7 PM. Univ. of Chicago Logan Center chief investigating a killing in his small town who is for the Arts F off ered help by a psychic. With Cliff Robertson, Joel Grey, and Dorothy Tristan. PG, 110 min. Tue 4/30, 7 PM. Soufra Univ. of Chicago Doc Films A 2018 U.S.-Lebanese documentary about women entre- preneurs in Lebanon who start their own cooking and The Man Who Stole Banksy catering company. Thomas A. Morgan directed. In Marco Proserpio’s Italian-produced documentary Arabic with subtitles. Showing as part of the Palestine explores the events surrounding a wall-painting in American Film Festival. 73 min. Fri 4/26, 8 PM. Gene Bethlehem by Bansky, which off ended local Palestinians, Siskel Film Center including the owner of the wall, who sets out to remove and sell the work. 93 min. Wed 5/1, 8 PM. Gene Siskel The Truth: Lost at Sea Film Center Ritaf Audeh directed this Jordanian documentary about the 2010 Freedom Flotilla, an attempt to break the Israe- Naila and the Uprising li blockade of Gaza to bring in humanitarian support and Julia Bacha directed this partly-animated U.S./Palestin- which turned deadly when the Israeli military attacked ian hybrid documentary about Palestinian activist and the ships. In various languages with subtitles. Showing resistance fi ghter Naila Ayesh. In English and subtitled as part of the Palestine American Film Festival. 56 min. Arabic and Hebrew. 76 min. Showing as part of the Sun 4/28, 5:30 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Palestine American Film Festival. Thu 5/2, 8 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Two Plains & a Fancy Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn directed this trippy, Notes on an Appearance slacker comic western about three people (a painter, a Ricky D’Ambrose directed this mystery fi lm about the confi dence woman, and a French geologist) wandering disappearance of a young man and the vague clues le through the 1890s American west. 90 min. Fri 4/26, 6:30 behind. 60 min. Fri 4/26, 7:30 PM. Nightingale and 8:30 PM; Sat 4/27, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30, and 8:30 PM; Sun 4/28, 2:30, 4:30, and 6:30 PM; and Mon 4/29-Thu 5/2, Out of the Vault: How We Work 6:30 and 8:30 PM. Facets Cinematheque A program of three documentary fi lms from the Chicago Film Archives’ collection: JoAnn Elam’s Chocolate Cake UIC MFA Thesis Screening (c. 1973, 4 min.), Loretta Smith’s Where Did you Get That A program of work by MFA students at the University of Woman? (1982, 30 min.), and Jim Klein, Julia Reichert, Illinois-Chicago. Showing with fi lms by UIC alums Mary and Miles Mogulescu’s Union Maids (1976, 51 min.). 85 Helena Clark, Mike Gibisser, and Zachary Hutchinson. 51 min. Smith attends the screening. Sat 4/27, 7 PM. Chica- min. Sun 4/28, 7 PM. Filmfront F go Filmmakers What Walaa Wants Ploey Christy Garland directed this Canadian/Danish doc- Árni Ásgeirsson directed this animated Icelandic kids umentary about a 15-year-old girl who decides to join fi lm about a plover chick le behind in the Arctic when the Palestinian Security Forces. In Arabic with subtitles. its family migrates south for the winter. The English- Showing as part of the Palestine American Film Festival. language version features voice work by Jamie Oram, 89 min. Sat 4/27, 8 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Sean Astin, John Stamos, and Georgina Sutcliff e . 90 min. Mon 4/29, 4:30 PM. Music Box Windy City Horrorama A three-day festival of horror-fi lm features and shorts. At the Davis Theater. Fri 4/26-Sun 4/28. Full schedule at windycityhorrorama.com. v
24 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll Operation Hennessy digs a new channel for Chicago hip-hop
Keen-eyed rapper Qari hooks up with producer Green Sllime and opens the fl oodgates on his reservoir of irreverent old-school beats. By LG
Green Sllime and Qari (in plaid pants) outside Sllime’s apartment in Logan Square DAVON CLARK
n February 12, 2019, Qari Delaney to see. In March 2018, Bennett made a video old hardware, and he made most of Operation spent a candlelit evening smoking for Qari’s darkly twinkling 2017 single “Pants Hennessy on a discontinued Roland SP-404 a joint alone in his roommate’s From Japan,” and it racked up more than half sampler. Since late 2016, he’s also worked as jacuzzi tub with a lavender bath a million YouTube views in two weeks. The part of local promotion and video company bomb. To further set the mood, following month, Qari dropped the solo album 119 Productions to host 18 episodes of Sllime’s Othe 23-year-old Chicago rapper listened to No Time to Explain, whose tense but mellow Broke Ass Low Budget Show, a YouTube-based his own music: Operation Hennessy, his fi rst “Baghdadi” appeared on a list by New York talk show whose jarring cuts, fragmented full-length collaboration with local producer, Times music reporter Joe Coscarelli of the segments, and loose style refl ect his musical rapper, and DJ Green Sllime, which would dozen songs he’d listened to the most in 2018. aesthetic. He’s obviously a fan of Wu-Tang come out the next day. “It was honestly deeply Despite his successes, Qari has always felt Clan—during our interview at Sllime’s Logan meditative—I felt like I was in the ocean or anxious about releasing music—until Oper- Square apartment, Qari showed me the pro- A S S -Y some shit,” Qari says. “I was transported. It ation Hennessy. For the fi rst time, he says, he ducer’s Wu-branded nunchucks. A F Featuring Tomorrow Kings, was beautiful.” wasn’t worried about the quality of what he’d By his own count, Sllime has recorded hun- Psalm One, Green Sllime, Qari broke into the Chicago hip-hop scene made, only about whether it would fi nd its au- dreds if not thousands of songs, but unlike Encyclopedia Brown, Moodie in 2012, joining Supreme Regime, whose dience. The loose energy and raw production Qari he hasn’t released much—a loose single, Black, SCC, and DJ Elliven. small but dedicated following included Lyrical of Operation Hennessy have more in common a contribution to a local compilation, a beat on Fri 4/26, 9 PM, Tonic Room, 2447 N. Halsted, $10, 21+ Lemonade founder and in-demand videogra- with gritty 90s boom-bap than with contem- someone else’s mixtape. Operation Hennessy pher Cole Bennett. Since then, he’s become porary trends such as trap or Soundcloud rap. could change that, and at the very least it one of its most consistent players. Supreme “There are so many times where it was like, seems certain to kick o a longer partnership Regime split in 2013, but within a year Qari ‘Who in their right mind wants to hear this?’” with Qari. had cofounded underground supergroup Hurt Qari says. “This project meant eliminating anxieties,” Everybody , who got popular enough to sell out “I’d be like, ‘Me, me! I wanna hear this! This Qari says. “Pulling myself out of whatever Reggie’s Rock Club a few weeks before their is the shit I wanna hear,’” Sllime replies. Best fuckin’ terrible pit of despair I put myself in as own demise in 2016. known for his ongoing gig as touring DJ for an artist—always doubting myself and always Qari has been a solo artist ever since, and it Mick Jenkins (one of Chicago’s best recent tellin’ myself I’m no good at what I do.” looks like he’s building toward the big break rap exports), he’s been producing and rapping “The doubt is gone,” Sllime says. “That’s that Hurt Everybody didn’t last long enough for more than a decade. He’s got an a¬ nity for what it did for me too. It killed the doubt.” J ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 25 Est.Est.1954 1954 Celebrating over 6165 years of service service to Chicago! 1800 W. DIVISION continued from 25 I couldn’t have been killin’ that shit, ’cause I into being the most up on fashion, very image (773) 486-9862 played ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ like fi ve times—it conscious, his insertion in that was, ‘I don’t Come enjoy one of Operation Hennessy shows the was hot back then,” he says. give a fuck—I have been wearing this hoodie Chicago’s finest beer gardens! scene’s versatility. People get Within a few years, Sllime began earning for I don’t know how many days. I lost count.’” FEBRUARYSEPTEMBERJAAPRILNUARY 25 11...... 20 23 ...... MIKE DA DJVID SKID QUINN FLABBY FELTEN LICIOUS HOFFMAN SHOW 8PM caught up in just one specific money DJing dances at other schools and Sllime cared more about his work than about SEPTEMBERJAAPRILNUARY 26 12...... 21 .....WAGNER DEADLY AMERICAN& MORSEBUNGALOWS DRAFT FEBRUARYSEPTEMBER 22 24 .....THE ..... THEDADYRKNAMOS BARBRO OMAND MENBARRETT SHOW at bat and bar mitzvahs. Much of the local marketing it or himself, and that was one of JAAPRILNUARY 27 13...... THE POLKAHOLICS DJ SKID LICIOUS 10PM type of rap or maybe two SEPTEMBERJA NUARY 14...... 23 ....WHOLESOMERADIO LETTERBOMBWHITEWOLFSONICPRINCESSTONY DO DJRO NIGHTSARIO GROUP hip-hop scene was still o -limits to him due the things that drew Marshall to him. MURPHY THOMPSON 9:30PM specific types of rap coming JA NUARY 17...... UNIBROWMOJOJA 49MIE 6PMWAGNER & FRIENDS APRIL 28 MIKE ERIC FELTEN PETER SCHWARTZ to his age. “We couldn’t go up to the bars for “One funny time—he called me, it must’ve JA NUARY 18...... THE WHOLESOMERADIO RON MIKEAND RACHEL FELTON SHOW DJ NIGHT out of Chicago, and I think it FEBRUARYMAY 1 25 .....WHOLESOMERADIO MORSE & WAGNER 6PM DJ NIGHT SEPTEMBERJANUARY 19...... 24 .....RC BIG BAND SITU 7PMATION DAVID real,” he says. “We had to make other spaces been one or two in the morning,” Marshall CHICKENMAXLIELLIAM DOLPHIN 9PM ANNA just helped a lot for Qari and FEBRUARYMAY 2 26 .....RC BIRDGANGS SMILIN’ BIG BOBBY 9:30PMBAND AND 7PM THE CLEMTONES to perform, like open mikes.” On MySpace he says. “He was like, ‘I been doing acid. I talked JAMAYNUARY 4 20...... TITTY STRAY CITTY FIRST BOLTSWARD PROBLEMS DUDE OTTER SAME RIVER BAND, FROM DETROIT Sllime to show that they were FEBRUARYJAMAYNUARY 5 21...... 28 .....PETER THOMASTO CASANONY A MATECKI DO ROVASARIO BANDQUARTET GROUP 8PM connected with poet Nate Marshall, who’d to Jesus and he said that we gotta make rap SEPTEMBERJAMAYNUARY 6 22...... 26 .....PETER CHICAGO CASANOVA RC BIGSKYLINERS QUARTETBAND 7PM BIG BAND 7PM more than what they’d already MARCHSEPTEMBERJA NUARY 1...... SMILIN’ 24...... 27 .....DORIAN PROSPECTTA PETERJ BO FOUR CASONOBBY AND9PMVA THEQUARTET CLEMTONES begun hosting an open mike in Bronzeville and songs together.’” They recorded a few tracks, SEPTEMBERJAMAYNUARY 8 25...... 28 ..... TO URS ELIZABETH’S THE WICK CRAZY LITTLE THING shown Chicago. Qari’s a dope- MARCH 2...... ICE BULLY FEATURING PULPITBOX AND VITTORIO BIG HOUSE CARLI 9PM wanted a DJ for the series. and Marshall thinks one of them ended up JAMAYNUARY 9 26...... FLABBY THE HOFFMAN HEPKATS SHOW 8PM SEPTEMBERMAY 10 29 .....SOMEBODY’S THE TOURSSKIPPIN’ SINS ROCK ass lyricist. Sllime’s a dope-ass “When he fi rst started DJing for us, he was online. Sllime had also been recording raps MARCH 3...... CHIDITAROD FEATURING THOUGHTS JOE LANASADETECTING AND TARRINGTON MACHINES 10PM SEPTEMBERJAMAYNUARY 11 27...... 30 .....OFF KILLING THE VINE THE ME 4:30PM STRAY SMALLSBOLTS lyricist too, but he’s even colder very adamant that he was not a DJ—he was as part of a loose hip-hop collective called MARCHJANUARY 7...... 28...... JAMIE WHOLESOMERADIOWAGNER & FRIENDS DJ NIGHT NUCLEAR JAZZ QUARKTET 7:30PM on the beats. Them putting out like, ‘Nah nah nah, I’m not a DJ. I just got this Wiggidies Crew; it launched in 2004 and also EVERYOPENEVERY MIC TUESD TUESD HOSTEDAY (EXCEPT BY MIKE 2ND) 2ND) &ATAT MIKE8PM8PM OPENON TUESDAY MIC HOSTED EVENINGS BY JIMIJON (EXCEPT AMERICA 2ND) that project, it was like, “Yeah, DJing equipment,’” Marshall says. “He also included a budding videographer named Jack- we can do it.” had a million di erent names. He was always son Duncan. —producer-rapper SolarFive going through stage names—either the first “Every day after school—after we were one that I knew or the one that I knew him by done freestyling in the hallways—we’d go to best was ‘Enfa Red.’ And a lot of times we’d our homie Benny Nice’s crib and sort of ruin llime, 29, got his fi rst gig at 14, spinning introduce him at shows as ‘DJ I’m Really an his parents’ day and take over his basement,” records at a dance at the University of MC.’” Sllime worked Marshall’s open mike for Duncan says. “Sllime was an early MPC addict, SChicago Laboratory Schools (he gradu- a couple years and spun at others hosted by and we would sample pretty much anything. ated in 2008). He’d convinced people he could high schools, including Jones College Prep. We had really shitty keyboards and worn-out DJ, but he had to borrow turntables from a “He really is a man out of time, in terms of basses. It was a lot of organic sounds, but we cousin six years his senior. He didn’t own any hip-hop and our current day, and I think this made some really cool music out of it.” vinyl either, so he bought records from the is one of the reasons why me and him connect As the members of Wiggidies Crew began Virgin Megastore on the Magnificent Mile. so much,” Marshall says. “In a moment where moving away for college in 2007 and 2008, “In my mind I was killin’ that shit, but I know a lot of people were super into streetwear, they launched 119 Productions to catalog their solo recordings. “We would make these mix- tapes with us individually on them and drop big compilations o this 119 website—119 be- came a hub for all our music and art projects,” Duncan says. School wasn’t a big priority for Sllime. “I would show up to class without my back- pack—I just didn’t think about it,” he says. “I would wake up and come to school with no backpack, and I’d be sittin’ in class, like, ‘Fuck! I forgot it again!’ And then, ‘How did you do this again?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know!’ But somehow Imma ace the test. It’s freaky.” As graduation approached, he’d been hanging out with gang members and wasn’t seriously con- sidering college. “I was in tune with a bunch of muthafuckas—I was about to go one way with my life,” he says. But some unsolicited advice convinced him to give higher education a shot. “The gangsters said, ‘Howard is the shit—you should go to Howard. Don’t be a dumbass,’” he says. Sllime enrolled in Howard University in fall 2008. “Then junior year I got busted shippin’ some weed,” he says. He got three years of probation and left Howard in 2011. He returned Green Sllime and to Chicago and gave school another shot, this Qari fi rst met in 2012 time at DePaul. But Sllime bailed within a year at a studio Sllime to pursue music—in 2012 he teamed up with had cofounded in the Music Garage. rapper-producer SolarFive of beat-making DAVON CLARK collective OnGaud, and they opened a studio
26 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll ®
called the 406 in the Music Garage near Fulton Market. Among the early clients at their studio was the emerging crew Supreme Regime. It was the fi rst time Sllime met Qari.
We’re in such a weird fucking age, where people drop beautiful pieces of music and Friday create amazing art and people forget about that shit a week May 3 later—it’s like it didn’t happen. I Park West hope that doesn’t happen with them. I think they have pretty sizable fan bases to support Operation Hennessy, to enshrine it, and make it be as special as it’s gonna be to them. I think it’s a standout project of the year. This Friday & Saturday! I hope when people look back April 26-27 • Vic Theatre on this year, this era, this is something that is mentioned. —rapper-singer Rich Jones
used to meditate,” Qari says. “There’d be times where I’d be some- “I where with nothing, and feel like I had nothing, and feel like I was alone, and feel like no one cared about me. So I’d just close my eyes and breathe a little bit. And that became a habit and a practice.” During a deep medita- May 13 tion his junior year at Friedrich Von Steuben high school, he realized he wanted to give Vic Theatre music a serious shot. Qari grew up surrounded by music—his Friday, May 3 • Vic Theatre stepfather was a rap producer. “My earliest memories are, like, my stepfather making these dope-ass beats that were different,” he says. “They were manual and original. He wasn’t doing a lot of sampling.” Qari’s first experience making music was in seventh grade: he learned rhythm guitar, inspired by playing Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. But when he was 15, during his fresh- man year at Von Steuben, he discovered other people his age making rap songs. “I heard Kids These Days and Vic,” he says. “I was like, ‘Damn, kids make music? Young people make music?’” He met a senior, Will Is Chillin’, who invited Qari to his house in Logan Square to record a solo session. “He’ll tell people I helped him fi gure out how THE BEACHES to rap,” Will says. “But he knew how to rap way Saturday, May 11 SPECIAL GUESTS before—he came in rapping.” Even back then May 15 • Riviera Theatre Will could hear what was distinctive about Vic Theatre Qari. “His flow definitely went all over the place,” he says. “His whole vibe is real chill, for BUY someone so young.” TICKETS Will had a rudimentary setup. “He had AT fuckin’ FruityLoops, and he would make J ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 27 continued from 27 In fall 2013, Devin had started interning this is perfect for Qari, ’cause Qari got roots in N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG . . beats on FruityLoops and rap on them in for SolarFive at the 406, and Hurt Everybody the boom-bap stu .” FruityLoops,” Qari says. He doesn’t remember worked out of another studio in the Music Sllime would set aside certain instrumen- FRIDAY, APRIL PM his own early attempts fondly either. “The Garage. When the group took o , its members tals for specifi c rappers he knew, but he almost raps sound like a 15-year-old wrote ’em, but at would swing by the 406 during breaks in always tested out new material on Qari fi rst. Jonas Friddle the time, kids were like, ‘Oh man, I hear that their marathon sessions. Sllime and Qari had “Also, when it’s something I can’t fi t to nobody, Album Release Celebration for The Last Place to Go with special guest Sons of the Never Wrong song you dropped, kinda cool! You decent!’” already met, but now they began to develop Imma send it to him ’cause he gonna figure Though he won over lots of classmates with an appreciation for each other’s work. “I like something out,” Sllime says. SATURDAY, APRIL PM those recordings, his microcelebrity didn’t what he does,” Qari says. “We’re not bad at By fall 2017, Sllime and Qari had decided exactly create a community. “When I started what we do.” to make a record together. That September, Erwin Helfer / rapping, people started calling me Carl,” he “I was always like, ‘He can rap,’” Sllime says. Sllime sent Qari a somnambulant beat and Elsa Harris / says. “One of my homies started calling me “I always thought he was tight, before I knew then tweeted a two-minute laptop-shot video Pastor Donald Gay Carl, and then everybody started calling me him.” of him rapping over it—the fi rst public reveal In Szold Hall Carl—I never told anyone to call me Carl.” The of what eventually became the title track to name stuck for years. I love Operation Hennessy. . . . Operation Hennessy. Its name references The SUNDAY, APRIL PM Qari joined Supreme Regime his sophomore There’s a lot of old-school Life Aquatic, specifi cally Steve Zissou’s plan to year. His tenure barely overlapped with that of “borrow” equipment from an undersea lab be- Mary Flower In Szold Hall sensibility in how Sllime makes Smoko Ono, who’s since become one of Save stuff—I can hear, “Oh yeah, he longing to his rival, Alistair Hennessey. By that SUNDAY, APRIL PM Money’s most important beat makers—both chopped this on an MPC.” One point Qari and Sllime knew they were onto of them contributed to Supreme’s debut, of his heroes is Wu-Tang—I something big—they’d already completed Cheryl Wheeler In Szold Hall Sloane Peterson Oper- 2012’s . can hear that approach, that three other songs that would end up on Devin Smith, better known as producer ation Hennessy. Qari had performed a version WEDNESDAY, MAY PM meeting of analog and digital in Mulatto Beats, was also part of the group at of “Pony” on the fourth episode of Broke Ass From the Buena Vista Social Club the time. “It was kind of hectic, ’cause it was how the production is crafted, Low Budget Show, which came out in February Omara Portuondo four rappers and two producers,” he says. “We how things are moving from 2017. The fi nal recording includes the project’s Last Kiss / Ultimo Beso were getting some good opportunities—we song to song. And Qari can rap only guest rapper, Mick Jenkins. did a little stint, a college tour, with Kids These that ass off. “It was supposed to be my song,” Mick FRIDAY, MAY & :PM Days and Chance the Rapper. We did Madison —poet Nate Marshall says. “Sllime is a hoarder, low-key—that JUST ADDED! and all these shows, but Qari used to get in was one of the ones in the vault, and they Chick Corea & Béla Fleck trouble so much he would get grounded, so he were just like, ‘Yo, can we use this?’ I’m like, couldn’t even come.” ari and Sllime have spent so much time ‘Bro, yeah, whatever.’” Mick sees Operation SATURDAY, MAY :PM Supreme Regime fizzled out in summer working in studios that the weeks and Hennessy as a turning point for Sllime in 2013. By then Qari had fi nished his junior year Qmonths have blurred together. “Pretty particular. “It’s the beginning of an era,” Mick Michael J. Miles and quit high school, and his disappointed much 2014 to 2018 are all one year,” Qari says. says. “To me it seems like that fi rst window A Pete Seeger Centennial Celebration: Years of Protest! parents asked him to move out. “I slept in a “We lived the same day, over and over, for into . . . fi nally, he’s gotten to a place where garage one night. One night I slept in the park. four years straight,” Sllime says. “Maybe he’s ready to release music. I’m just excited SUNDAY, MAY PM One night I slept in my friend’s backyard,” he the same three days, because sometimes we for people to understand the type of artist says. “I was a teenager, though, so it’s like, would go to parties and shit.” that he actually is.” California Guitar Trio/ ‘Hey, can I sleep at your crib?’ ‘Sure!’ Maybe Mick Jenkins frequented the 406 to record Sllime turned that corner in large part Montreal Guitar Trio you’ll get a few days vacation at a friend’s with the OnGaud collective, who contributed because he clicks so well with Qari. In March In Szold Hall house and nobody knows you’re homeless. It to six songs on his 2014 breakthrough, The Wa- 2019, during a stopover in Sweden on Mick’s wasn’t, like, a proper homeless—I was a kid, so ter[s]. Mick got close to Sllime in that space. “I European tour, Sllime put together half a THURSDAY, MAY PM I felt free.” That same year, though, at age 17, came in the studio one day, and he was rockin’ dozen beats in his hotel room, using samples Willie Watson he learned he was going to be a father, so he the turntables,” Mick says. “I’m like, ‘Wait, you captured from the radio with a Teenage Engi- began to mend his relationships with his fami- DJ for real?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I DJed fi rst.’ I was neering OP-1 mini synthesizer. He played them FRIDAY, MAY & PM ly. He moved in with one of his grandmothers, like, ‘Why haven’t I been fucking around with for other rappers, but when no one bit, he and in 2014 he got his GED. this guy?’ Instantly, he was my DJ.” As Mick’s started to worry that he’d made something too Television On New Year’s Day 2014, Qari and Devin star rose, Sllime spent more and more time on odd. So he included some of them in a batch of launched Hurt Everybody with rapper-singer the road. eight songs he e-mailed Qari at the beginning ACROSS THE STREET IN SZOLD HALL N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL Frederick McCulloch-Burton, aka Supa Bwe. In June 2015, 119 Productions and Chicago of April. The next day, Qari sent back vocals The group soon consumed Qari’s life. “We creative agency FDC released the compilation he’d just recorded for one of Sllime’s favorite Pete Seeger Birthday Barn Dance Della Mae had a studio to ourselves, and we spent all of mixtape Chicago Sight ’n Sound: Part 2, which beats. “I woke up at 6:30 or 7 and wrote that our waking life in there,” he says. “I remem- includes the song “Ghosts,” a collaboration be- song in bed still,” Qari says. “I just wrote it, WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAY SERIES ber I would walk out of the studio, it’s night- tween Hurt Everybody and Sllime. After Hurt and I wrote it honestly.” FREE WEEKLY CONCERTS, LINCOLN SQUARE time. I would go back in, I would come back Everybody broke up in early 2016, Devin and “Some of the raps be like stream-of- The Bridge & Tornaveus out, it’s nighttime, and I had been in there Qari continued to collaborate, and they’d fre- consciousness—you feel like you open up a Two Islands of Gamelan: Chicago Balinese Gamelan for hours and hours and hours and hours.” quently work in close proximity to Sllime. “Me door and just peekin’ into thoughts rambling & Friends of the Gamelan Supa made sure they were productive. “I had and Sllime are always around each other mak- and racin’ and shit,” Sllime says. “It’s a perfect Freddy to be like a fuckin’ drill sergeant,” ing beats, so Qari’s always in the background fi t for my beat.” v OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG Qari says. “He taught me how to put my head freestyling,” Devin says. “Once they started down.” doing their thing, it was kind of like, ‘Oh yeah, @imLeor 28 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll Recommended and notable shows and critics’ insights for the week of April 25
b ALL AGES F MUSIC
live sets to form a cohesive, free-flowing groove THURSDAY25 that lands somewhere between improvisation and PICK OF THE WEEK composition—the tracks sound even more effort- Billy Bragg See Pick of the Week at le . See less and multicomponent than when they were also Friday and Saturday. 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, performed live. It’s a pretty brilliant approach Billy Bragg looks “One Step Forward, Two 2424 N. Lincoln, $45. 18+ for any improviser, and his newest album, last October’s Universal Beings (International Anthem), Steps Back” in a three-night Chicago stand confi rms McCraven as one of Chicago’s most excit- Guerilla Toss, Blacker Face, Good ing musical minds. Culled from sessions recorded Willsmith 8 PM, Sleeping Village, 3734 W. in New York, Chicago, London, and Los Angeles, Belmont, $15. 21+ the record’s 22 tracks melt one into the next, so that the frenetic nine-minute jam “Atlantic Black” Guerilla Toss are down with the Grateful Dead. can transition into the decelerated “Inner Flight” In an impassioned Facebook post from July 2015, can transition into the hazy, sauntering “Wise Man, the New York-based band threw laurels upon a Wiser Woman” without a hint of a seam. It’ll be group they called “the first ‘DIY’ band,” noting a rare treat to see him perform at the Empty Bottle. that the Dead used harsh noise in the 1960s and —K W brandished modular synthesizers throughout the ’70s. Like the Dead, Guerilla Toss combine a spirit of experimentation with a rugged DIY ethos and Terry Reid Railheart opens. 8 PM, SPACE, 1245 a penchant for lobbing undeniable hooks into Chicago Ave., Evanston, $18. b unsuspecting ears. Their newest album, 2018’s psychedelic stunner Twisted Crystal (DFA), demon- “There are only three things happening in England,” strates their singular outlook, oscillating between Aretha Franklin was quoted as saying in 1968. “The whimsy and profundity; at this show, the band will Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Terry Reid.” Few surely complement technical rigor with their knack have had careers as simultaneously high-fl ying and for improvisation. They’re sharing the bill with two underappreciated as Reid’s. One of rock’s great- Chicago groups, Good Willsmith and Blacker Face. est vocalists, he began singing as a teen with R&B Good Willsmith guitarist (and avowed Deadhead) bands, including Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers, who Doug Kaplan will contribute Jerry Garcia-infl uenced supported the Stones in 1966, leading Graham shredding to the textural singing, keyboards, and Nash to score them a record deal with Colum- electronics provided by bandmates Natalie Chami bia. Reid then signed with pop Svengali Mickie and Max Allison. And Afropunk quintet Blacker Most (Donovan, Herman’s Hermits) for two solo Face, while no strangers to the far-out, are one of albums and embarked on a U.S. tour with Cream the tightest bands this author has seen. Singers in 1968. Things got really heavy when Jimmy Page Jolene Whatevr and P.T. Bell are dynamic and pre- famously asked Reid to join his band the New Yard- cise but unafraid to tread into more caustic territo- birds. Already committed to opening a Stones tour, ry, providing additional bite to a night of forward- Reid recommended a singer from the Band of Joy, thinking sounds. —J R whom he’d recently seen play: Robert Plant. He also put in a good word for the group’s drummer, John Bonham. The New Yardbirds became Led Zeppe- M a k aya M cCraven Resavoir opens. 8:30 PM, lin, and Reid returned to the road with Fleetwood Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $15. 21+ Mac and Jethro Tull. He joined the Stones again on JACOB BLICKENSTAFF the tour that culminated in the disastrous Altamont B B By now, the distinctive methods with which jazz show in 1969, though he missed that particular date. Thu 4/25 through Sat 4/27, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $45. 18+ drummer Makaya McCraven composes albums are In 1969 Reid also turned down an offer to front well-known. Many of us learned about his prowess Deep Purple, and in his own work he began to dri as a producer from 2015’s In the Moment, an away from rock conventions—marking the beginning expansive double LP on which McCraven spliced of what many consider his career peak. Reid’s third together parts from more than two dozen of his solo album, 1973’s River, sold poorly at the time J WITH HIS INSTANTLY recognizable voice—stark, blustery, and heartfelt—Billy Bragg has always had a no-frills musical style. His innovativeness manifests mostly in his career path. Also a historian and lefty activist, for the past two decades Bragg has often worn all of his Makaya McCraven DAVID MARQUES hats at once, whether re-creating unfi nished Woody Guthrie songs in collaboration with Wilco, Natalie Merchant, and Guthrie’s daughter Nora; writing new lyrics for Beethoven’s Ode to Joy; mastering the Spotify playlist format as a sort of front porch; or collaborating with Joe Henry on an album of old-time railroad songs (recorded at train stations during a cross-country journey). Always surprising, never gimmicky, Bragg has also been an out- spoken anti-Brexit campaigner and the author of nonfi ction books such as The Progressive Patriot and Roots, Radicals and Rockers. (The latter, about the history and infl uence of ski¸ e, was adapted into a BBC documentary.) For his 2019 tour, titled “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back,” he’s playing three-night stands in select cities. The fi rst night is Bragg’s current set, spanning his career from the beginning through 2017’s Bridges Not Walls. The second set, focusing on the early years, draws from Bragg’s raw, punk-infl ected fi rst three albums, and the third set includes songs from his pop-tinged late-80s and early-90s albums Workers Playtime, Don’t Try This at Home, and William Bloke. —M K ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 29 MUSIC
continued from 29 ists can mature in a form that’s historically associ- but is now recognized as a genre-defying rural/psy- ated with youth. Rapper-producer Green Sllime is chedelic/jazz/folk/soul/Latin-tinged classic on par a powerful contributor to the local scene, though with Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. His next LP, the he’s best known for a supporting role—he’s served Graham Nash-produced Seed of Memory, was on a as Mick Jenkins’s live DJ for the past half decade. similar plane, but ABC Records fi led for bankruptcy But Sllime’s position as host of 119 Productions’ You- the week it was released and the album ended up Tube talk show Broke Ass Low Budget Show and his buried in time. Since then, the only new material grimy full-length with rapper Qari, February’s Oper- Reid has released has been 1979’s soul-rockin’ ation Hennessy, have brought him some overdue Rogue Waves and 1991’s new-wave-infl uenced The shine. Noisy Los Angeles rap group Moodie Black is Driver. His live appearances have been even more the lone nonlocal act on the bill—but, as All Smiles sporadic. The most recent time the 69-year-old has shown, Chicago has room in its heart for anyone Reid played Chicago was more than a decade ago— who has something to say. —LG so if you want to see a true legend, who in some parallel universe is doubtless as big as the rock stars he’s been associated with, this might be your last Billy Bragg See Pick of the Week, page 29. chance. —S K See also Thursday and Saturday. 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $45. 18+
FRIDAY26 Alice MErton Parker Bossley opens. 7:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake, sold out. b All Smiles Seven-year Anniversary and Finale Tomorrow Kings headline; Psalm Europe was way ahead of the United States with One, Green Sllime, Encyclopedia Brown, Moodie Alice Merton: Her 2016 single “No Roots” made it Black, SCC, and DJ Elliven open. For more on to number two on the German charts in 2017 and Green Sllime (and his collaborator Qari), see charted all over the continent—including in France, the story on page 25. 9 PM, Tonic Room, 2447 N. Italy, Belgium, and Poland—before finally hitting Halsted, $10. 21+ the American market hard last year. If you’ve heard the song’s opening riff and percussive chorus, you No other series has done as much to demonstrate know why the Germans call it an Ohrwurm: “I’ve got the breadth and depth of contemporary Chicago no roots / But my home was never on the ground.” hip-hop as All Smiles. Launched seven years ago Merton says she wrote “No Roots” while visiting her by rapper-singer Rich Jones, the intergenerational parents in England and realizing she didn’t feel at monthly showcase says goodbye tonight with a home anywhere. Born in Germany, Merton moved lineup that speaks to its long history of bringing with her family a dozen times while growing up— together locals from different cliques and eras. including to the U.S., Canada, and England—thanks Jones began All Smiles as a vehicle for his rap trio, to her Irish-born father’s occupation (and her par- SCC, which is now mostly defunct but makes a rare ents’ wanderlust). Along the way she began playing reunion appearance to open this show. Headliners piano and guitar, took singing lessons, and learned Tomorrow Kings (currently one DJ and seven MCs, songwriting, earning a degree from the Popakade- including the ferocious Lamon Manuel) are under- mie Baden-Württemberg, a German public music ground heroes who have inspired waves of local conservatory. Though Merton’s guitar-driven (and artists, Jones among them. Penultimate performer often autobiographical) songs and soaring vocals Psalm One has been one of the most celebrat- have garnered her comparisons to artists such as ed rappers in the city since she emerged in 2000, Florence & the Machine, record labels didn’t seem and Jones, now 31, saw her perform at the fi rst rap to know how to peg her music—so Merton and her show he attended, when he was just 15. Rapper- manager founded their own outfi t, Paper Plane, and producer Encyclopedia Brown, who cut his teeth issued “No Roots” as a single. She included the song in the battle scene in the 90s, has backed Psalm on on a fi ve-track EP in 2017 (a er signing with Mom + the turntables; his work with local label Machine Pop Music) as well as on her fi rst full-length album, Wash Music provides a road map for how rap art- Mint, which came out in January 2019. This year
LINCOLN2424 N LINCOLN AVE HALL SCHUBAS3159 N SOUTHPORT AVE
05.01 - DENGUE FEVER 05.28 - OPERATORS 05.01 - HARRY MACK 05.25 - THE JUNGLE GIANTS 05.02 - THE SCORE 06.01 - SKELETONWITCH 05.02 - SKATING POLLY 05.30 - OLLIE 05.03 - STRAND OF OAKS 0 6.13 - JR JR 05.03 - DELICATE STEVE 05.31 - AGES AND AGES 05.04 - BRUNO MAJOR 0 6.15 - CHARLY BLISS 05.05 - TIM ATLAS + RICH JONES 06.05 - SUZI WU 05.05 - PICTURE THIS 06.27 - NIGHT MOVES 05.09 - JUSTIN JESSO 0 6.12 - LULUC 05.07 - ICEAGE 06.29 - FM-84 0 5.11 - THAD 0 6.13 - RAJA KUMARI 05.08 - NICK WATERHOUSE 07.18-20 - MICHAEL CHE 0 5.12 - HENRY JAMISON 0 6.16 - ROONEY 05.09 - MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND 0 7.2 4 - TOM WALKER 0 5.16 - MOLLY BURCH 0 6.19 - FAYE WEBSTER 0 5.11 - TACOCAT 08.27 - ALEX LAHEY 0 5.18 - SEGO 06.24 - MIR FONTANE 0 5.12 - KEVIN GARRETT 0 9.15 - FONTAINES D.C. 05.23 - THE RAD TRADS 07.05 - DADDY LONG LEGS 05.22 - WEYES BLOOD 09.27 - BRENT COBB 05.24 - SHORTLY + SMALL TALKS 0 8.10 - VINCENT
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30 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard. MUSIC 3730 N. CLARK ST METROCHICAGO.COM @ METROCHICAGO
ingratiating melodies and exacting structures. Lau- renzi has assembled an eclectic array of jazz musi- cians, some of whom don’t play together in any LADY PARTS other setting, to realize these arrangements. Bassist THE DRUMS JUSTICE LEAGUE Matt Ulery and drummers Ryan Packard and Quin TANUKICHAN DO RE #METOO Kirchner add muscular syncopation to the Arapaho- WED MAY 01 THU MAY 09 inspired grooves. Guitarist Dave Miller and a horn section that includes bass clarinetist Jason Stein, alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, and trumpeter ON SALE FRIDAY ON SALE FRIDAY Chad McCullough transform Moondog’s brief, inter- locking themes into launching pads for open-ended improvisations that occasionally veer toward disso- THE GROWLERS nance (which the composer likely would not have THE MIDNIGHT FRI SEP 06 SUN SEP 15 countenanced) while amplifying their joyfulness. SAT SEP 07 This concert celebrates the release of Snaketime: The Music of Moondog (Astral Spirits), recorded at the Hungry Brain in 2018. Drummer Phil Sudderberg subs for an absent Packard. —B M
Alice Merton COURTESY OF ARTIST SATURDAY27 Billy Bragg See Pick of the Week, page 29. See also Thursday and Friday. 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, Merton, who’s still just 25, has watched her songs 2424 N. Lincoln, $45. 18+ climb the Billboard charts while she’s toured Europe and the U.S., including a recent stop at Coachella. Living out of suitcases comes naturally to a woman Crude S.S. Riotous, HenryxChinaski, and who now splits her time between Germany and Warfi lth open. 6:30 PM, Subterranean downstairs, England—a good thing for her, because it looks like 2011 W. North, $12. 17+ she’s got a lot of road le . —K L History has been so indiff erent to Swedish hardcore pioneers Crude S.S. (short for “Society System”) Snaketime: The Music of Moondog that when the trio’s own members get a little foggy Dustin Laurenzi leads a band featuring Matt on the details, it’s hard to find any evidence to Ulery, Phil Sudderberg, Quin Kirchner, Dave clear things up. The offi cial Facebook page for this Miller, Chad McCullough, Jason Stein, and Nick fi ercely subversive band—who made a kiss-off song Mazzarella. 9 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, about our money-grubbing society called “Destroy $10. 21+ Capitalism”—says the group formed in 1980, but ear- lier this month they began selling T-shirts embla- Even by New York City standards, Louis “Moondog” zoned with the words “Swedish HC since 1979.” Hardin (1916-1999) was a character. For a quarter (Meanwhile, Discogs says 1982.) Before dissolving century beginning in the late 1940s, his blind, hir- in the mid-80s, Crude S.S. released the crusty, feral sute form occupied a spot on Sixth Avenue. Some- 1985 EP Who’ll Survive and, perhaps most crucial- times he performed or sold his music, and other ly, contributed two songs to Cleanse the Bacte- times he just stood there, looking imposing in Viking ria, a 1985 compilation assembled by scene legend garb. His music included proto- minimalist orchestral Pushead that also features the likes of Corrosion pieces and short, intricate rounds that sounded of Conformity, 7 Seconds, and Poison Idea. Crude SMARTBARCHICAGO.COM like a glee club vocalizing over Native American S.S. has a wild, vicious, grimy sound (similar to infl u- rhythms, which Moondog had become enamored ential Swiss metal band Hellhammer), and because 3730 N CLARK ST | 21+ with as a child while visiting an Arapaho reserva- their material has barely been officially released, tion in Wyoming. Chicago tenor saxophonist Dustin it’s been bootlegged nonstop around the world for THURSDAY APR 25 Laurenzi (who leads Natural Language, cofounded decades—band members occasionally post on Face- DOC LINK AARON BROOKS Twin Talk, and plays with Bon Iver) was fi rst drawn book about recently discovered unoffi cial releases. TËSH / ZACK JOSEPH to Moondog’s quirks, but his interpretations of Fortunately, there are ways to acquire this music ALEJANDRO the composer’s music show deep respect for its legitimately, notably 2012’s Killing for Nothing J FRIDAY APR 26 VIRGIL ABLOH (DJ SET) HIJO PRÓDIGO You know what you need ... DASANI BOYS
for listening or SATURDAY APR 27 SHED These Things Take Time with LIVE MUSIC background for events URULU / B. HAYES Acoustic piano or synthesizer/keyboard AURORA HALAL SUNDAY APR 28 Classical, jazz, standards, and ’60s, ’70s and ’80s Queen! with ARIEL ZETINA DERRICK CARTER MICHAEL SERAFINI “ ... excellent, and his performance is joyous.” GARRETT DAVID -Chicago Magazine Friday May 3rd 3730 N Clark St 10PM 21+
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continued from 31 sure Erwin Helfer, now 83. He’s played with every- (Distortion), which brought Crude S.S.’s sometimes one from Mama Yancey to Michael Bloomfi eld while thrashy antifascist screeds all the way to Spotify. establishing his own reputation as one of the fi nest Tonight’s performance is part of a rare stateside blues pianists working. —J P tour, and though I hate that it still needs saying, I’m hoping they play “Nazi Go Home.” —LG Original Misfits Fear, Venom Inc., and Power Trip open. 7:30 PM, Allstate Arena, 6920 Erwin Helfer, Elsa Harris, Donald Gay Mannheim, Rosemont, $59.75-$174.75. b 7 PM, Szold Music and Dance Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4545 N. Lincoln, $22. b Hands-down the funniest moment of 2016 happened at Riot Fest, during the insanely hyped Local label the Sirens has long upheld the tradition reunion of Misfits members Glenn Danzig, Jerry of Chicago blues piano, and in the past decade Only, and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. In or so it’s begun exploring the neglected world the middle of an uncomfortably long stretch of of gospel piano as well. This show features three between-song banter, while the front man explained artists in the Sirens stable, two with new releases. how he thought the giant glowing pumpkins on Elsa Harris ’s I Thank God is a mostly instrumen- the stage were “cool as shit,” someone behind me tal collection of well-traveled church standards cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted featuring Harris on piano, Richard Gibbs on organ, at the top of his lungs, “Shut up, Danzig!” It was the and Curtis Fondren on drums. They sail through perfect encapsulation of how ridiculous the entire the likes of “Lord Don’t Move That Mountain” (orig- thing was: three men in their 50s and 60s, caked inally recorded by the late Inez Andrews, to whom in face paint, wrapped in pleather and mesh, who’d this release is dedicated), “Just a Closer Walk With spent the past three decades fighting with one Thee,” and “Down by the Riverside,” the absence another like children, were fi nally together in front of vocals emphasizing the quality of the musician- of thousands of rabid fans, and all Danzig could PORTRAITS IN ship. The lone vocal track, “Looking for Trouble,” is muster were comments about cool pumpkins and a bit of a shock; Harris sings with cocky authority, how his “fuckin’ zipper keeps falling down.” Luckily, RHYTHM, BLUES almost daring Satan to cross her path. Pastor Don- the original Misfi ts have one of the most gloriously ald Gay, by contrast, puts his vocals at the center of perfect discographies in the history of punk rock his new On a Glorious Day. Gay’s previous record- to lean on, so when they weren’t awkwardly ram- & BEYOND ing, also on the Sirens, was a joint eff ort with his sis- bling and looking goofy, the estranged bandmates— ter, pianist Geraldine Gay, who’s since passed on. reunited for the first time since 1983 and backed Donald is still with us, though, boasting a strong by former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo—could set of pipes, and he’s working with a full band rath- click back into their ragged glory days and play the er than a lone piano. (Two of his players are Gibbs favorites for a crowd screaming along to all of their and Fondren, also from Harris’s album.) Gay has one signature whoa-ohs. It was as beautiful and thrilling of those classic singing voices that resonates with- as it was hilarious. If you missed the reunion of the out seeming to shout, and adapting to a full rhythm Misfi ts at Riot Fest, you would be out of your mind section doesn’t faze him a bit—he cuts loose with- to miss this. It’ll be pure joy for any fan of classic out strain. The night ends with Chicago blues trea- punk. —L C TUESDAY30 Featuring Violinist Emily Reo Foxes in Fiction open. 9:30 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $8. 21+ MYKELE DEVILLE REGINA CARTER For 2013’s Olive Juice, Brooklyn singer- songwriter Emily Reo made detailed, intimate songs with what sounds like a small symphony of toy instruments powered by nine-volt batteries. She went even ABSOLUTELY NOT bigger with her third album, the new Only You Can See It (Carpark): though Reo has retained her home-recorded approach, she’s fleshed out a full-band sound while playing almost every note herself. The percussion thunders louder; heavy,
AVANTIST distorted guitar steps into the foreground; and her glimmering voice is multitracked in pristine layers USE THE CODE worthy of radio pop. This outsize sound under- scores Reo’s lyrical themes, which often address GANSER struggles bigger than any one person—though her “RSD” performances also suggest the small ways people THIS WEEK & can overcome day-to-day obstacles. When she sings GET 20% OFF about mansplaining on “Strawberry,” her clear-eyed YOUR ONLINE delivery almost makes you hope it’ll be eradicated FOR TICKETS VISIT CHICAGOSINFONIETTA.ORG OR CALL 312-284-1554 MEAT WAVE in a generation. —LG v
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32 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll CHICAGOSHOWSYOUSHOULDKNOWABOUTINTHEWEEKSTOCOME
b ALL AGES F EARLY WARNINGS WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK Lizzo 9/28, 8 PM, Aragon Never miss Ballroom, on sale Fri 4/26, a show again. noon, 17+ Jennifer Lopez 6/29, 8 PM, Sign up for the United Center b newsletter at Luna 10/12, 8 PM; 10/13, 8 PM, chicagoreader. GOSSIP Lincoln Hall Lust For Youth 10/26, 9:30 PM, com/early Sleeping Village WOLF Ian Maksin & Zaria 5/28, 8 PM, City Winery b V103's Summer Block Party A furry ear to the ground of Mattiel 5/4, 9:30 PM, Hideout with Jill Scott, Anthony Ham- Memory Lame: A Bad Song- ilton 7/13, 6 PM, Huntington the local music scene writers Night with Chris Col- Bank Pavilion b son, Miranda Winters, and Wandering Boys 5/2, 6 PM, IF YOU’RE LIKE Gossip Wolf, the words more 5/7, 9:30 PM, Hideout Hideout Matthew Milia, Julia Steiner, Wavves 7/28, 9 PM, Subterra- “folk festival” conjure up earnest imita- Paul Cherry (DJ set) 5/31, 9 nean, 17+ tors of Joan Baez and pre-electric Dylan. PM, Sleeping Village ZZ Top, Cheap Trick 9/7, 7 PM, Those artists are cool—but “I Gave My Minivan, Richard Pictures, Hollywood Casino Amphithe- Love a Cherry” is for smashing guitars BBSitters Club 6/17, 9 PM, atre, Tinley Park b Sleeping Village like John Belushi in Animal House. The Nav, Killy 6/6, 7:30 PM, House UPCOMING Maypole Folk Festival solves this prob- of Blues b Academy of Mexican Dance lem by booking diverse bills with the likes Lukas Nelson & Promise of and Music Cinco de Mayo the Real, Los Coast 9/26, 8 Fiesta 5/5, 2 PM, Thalia Hall of Chicago Afrobeat Project, the Golden Oleta Adams COURTESY OF ARTIST PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ b Horse Ranch Band, and the Golosa Rus- New Politics 6/22, 8 PM, Beat Acid Dad 5/14, 9 PM, Empty sian Choir. The fourth annual fest, at the Shawn Colvin 10/18, 8 PM, Gotobeds, Greys, Ethers 6/21, Kitchen b Bottle Empty Bottle all day Saturday, April 27, NEW Athenaeum Theatre b 9:30 PM, Sleeping Village Overkill, Death Angel, Moth- Adventure Club, Riot Ten, includes folkie Sam Amidon , the honky- Mindi Abair & the Cher, Nile Rodgers & Chic Great Grandpa 7/8, 8 PM, Beat ership 5/2, 7 PM, House of Tynan, Inzo 5/3, 9 PM, Aragon Boneshakers 8/16, 8 PM, City 11/27, 7:30 PM, United Center Kitchen, 17+ Blues, 17+ Ballroom, 18+ tonkin’ Western Elstons, Rami Gabriel’s Winery b b Growlers 9/6, 7:30 PM; 9/7, Parachute, Billy Raff oul 5/10, 8 Elastic Arts Second Annual Middle Eastern ensemble Arabic Xha- Acquaintances, Gnarboyz 6/8, Matt Corby 10/9, 7:30 PM, 7:30 PM, Metro, on sale Fri PM, House of Blues b Benefi t 5/31, 7 PM, Elastic b man, and the Girls of the Golden West— 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Park West, on sale Fri 4/26, 4/26, 10 AM b Pile, C.H.E.W., Blacker Face Damien Escobar 5/11, 7:30 PM, aka Marydee Reynolds, Amalea Tshilds, Oleta Adams 7/25, 8 PM, City 10 AM, 18+ Meagan Hickman, Shades, 5/31, 8 PM, Subterranean Park West, 18+ Winery b Chick Corea & Béla Fleck Sarah Marie Young 5/15, 7:30 Polo & Pan 9/17, 8 PM, Thalia Kevin Griffi n 5/9, 8 PM, and Elyse Bergman re-creating the music Dave Alvin 7/11, 8 PM, City 5/3, 7 and 9:30 PM, Maurer PM, Sleeping Village Hall, on sale Fri 4/26, 10 SPACE, Evanston b Reynolds’s great-aunt played in the 1930s. Winery b Hall, Old Town School of Folk I Am, Orthodox, Boundaries AM, 17+ Fareed Haque & KAIA String When Chicago R&B legend Andre Wil- Aly & AJ, Armors 5/5, 7 PM, Music b 6/19, 6:30 PM, Subterranean Pro Teens, Heaven Honey, Quartet 5/19, 1 PM, SPACE, liams died in March, Reader contributor House of Blues b Damned, X, Detroit Cobras b Fernando House 6/10, 8:30 Evanston b Anberlin 6/29, 7:30 PM; 6/30, 5/30, 8 PM, House of Blues, Christone "Kingfi sh" Ingram PM, Empty Bottle F Mayer Hawthorne (DJ set) James Porter eulogized him as an “erupt- 6:30 PM, House of Blues b 17+ 6/14, 11 PM, Schubas Allan Rayman 6/1, 9 PM, Sleep- 5/11, 2 PM, Virgin Hotel ing volcano”—Williams fi lled his decades- Animals As Leaders, Contor- Dead Sun, Grivo, Moss Jaw, Jack & Jack, Alec Bailey 5/3, ing Village Tim Hecker & the Konoyo long comeback with fiery performances tionist, Buke and Gase 5/16, 8 Kodakrome 5/19, 8 PM, Sub- 7:30 PM, House of Blues b Jessica Risker, Her Crooked Ensemble 5/14, 9 PM, Thalia and memorable stage banter. On Sunday, PM, House of Blues, 17+ terranean, 17+ Lyfe Jennings 7/13, 9 PM, Heart, Xiao Yao 6/9, 7:30 PM, Hall Ataris 6/18, 8 PM, Bottom Deadmau5, Lights 2/1/20, 7 House of Blues, 17+ Hideout Hellogoodbye, Hala 5/11, 8:30 April 28, the Hideout hosts a tribute to Lounge, 17+ PM, Navy Pier, 18+ Carly Rae Jepsen 7/9, 8 PM, Claire Rousay & Emily Beisel, PM, Chop Shop, 18+ Williams with his longtime backing band Mickey Avalon & Dirt Nasty Demob Happy 5/8, 7 PM, Chicago Theatre b Claire Rousay solo 5/6, 7:30 Holly Herndon 5/22, 8:30 PM, the Goldstars and guests such as Renaldo 6/21, 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, Cobra Lounge b Jinjer, Browning 10/22, 6:45 PM, Experimental Sound Thalia Hall, 17+ Domino, Bailey Dee, and members of Poi on sale Fri 4/26, 10 AM, 17+ Deanna Devore, Fay Ray, Cor- PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Studio b Higher Brothers 5/10, 8 PM, Sara Bareilles 10/15, 8 PM, doba 7/11, 8:30 PM, Sleeping Junofl o 6/1, 8 PM, Bottom Alejandro Sanz 8/28, 7:30 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Dog Pondering and the Mekons. The show United Center b Village Lounge b Rosemont Theater, Rosemont Hip Abduction, Roots of a benefi ts Englewood nonprofi t I Grow Chi- Bars of Gold 6/29, 9 PM, Beat DMX 5/4, 8 PM, House of Avi Kaplan 8/18, 7:30 PM, b Rebellion 5/3, 8 PM, Chop cago, and Porter will spin a DJ set. Kitchen, 17+ Blues b Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 4/26, Seaway, Free Throw, Heart Shop, 18+ This month Chicago dance producer BBMak 5/15, 9:30 PM, House of Dropkick Murphys, Clutch 10 AM b Attack Man, Young Culture Hoist Fest 5/26, 4 PM, Subter- Blues Back Porch Stage, 17+ 9/30, 6:45 PM, Aragon Khalid, Clairo 7/25, 7:30 PM, 5/5, 6 PM, Subterranean b ranean, 17+ Please launched his Issa Party label with Benny Sings 9/10, 8 PM, Sleep- Ballroom, 17+ United Center b Smoking Popes, Direct Hit!, Horse Feathers 5/30, 8 PM, Catch Me, an EP by Teklife’s Nate Boylan. ing Village Emarosa, Lizzy Farrall 6/7, Wiz Khalifa, French Montana Bad Cop Bad Cop, War on SPACE, Evanston b The footwork master applies his tense but Best Coast 6/11, 8:30 PM; 6/12, 8 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ 7/27, 6 PM, Hollywood Casino Women 5/11, 8 PM, Bottom Griffi n House 5/10, 8 PM, City celebratory style to other club sounds on 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle, on Falling in Reverse 5/12, Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, on Lounge, 17+ Winery b sale Fri 4/26, 10 AM 5:30 PM, House of Blues b sale Fri 4/26, 10 AM b Lucy Spraggan 6/25, 8 PM, Howie Day, Emma Charles its four songs—the eff ervescent title track Black Bear Combo, Les Vikq, Chris Forsyth & the Broken King Buff alo 9/27, 9 PM, Empty Schubas, on sale Fri 4/26, 10 5/16, 8 PM, City Winery b belongs on everybody’s summer house Hodges and Hodges 5/16, Mirrors Motel Band 7/13, 9:30 Bottle, on sale Fri 4/26, 10 AM AM, 18+ Hudson Taylor 5/25, 8 PM, Beat mix. The EP is available only via Bandcamp. 9:30 PM, Hideout PM, Hideout Klaus Johann Grobe, Vinyl Suicideboys, Shoreline Mafi a, Kitchen, 18+ Time fl ies—it’s been ten years since Chi- Bloodyminded, Aseethe, Gabby's World, Bellows 7/9, 8 Williams 5/2, 9 PM, Beat City Morgue, Germ, Night Hyde 5/19, 6 PM, Reggie's Rock Ikaray, Stander 5/25, 9:30 PM, Empty Bottle Kitchen Lovell, Trash Talk 8/16, 6 PM, Club, 17+ cago rap blog Ruby Hornet launched its PM, Sleeping Village Gasolina Party 5/17, 9 PM, Felix Kubin 5/30, 8:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom b Rad Trads 5/23, 9 PM, Schubas, Closed Sessions label with Curren$y’s Kath Bloom, Moon Bros. 5/2, House of Blues, 17+ Empty Bottle Thor, Knife of Simpson, Mexi- 18+ “Rapper Weed.” On Friday, April 26, 9:30 PM, Hideout Gesaff elstein 11/16, 9 PM, Zara Larsson, Astrid S 5/6, 7:30 can Werewolf 5/3, 8 PM, Live Railroad Earth 5/11, 8 PM, The Closed Sessions marks that milestone with Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die Aragon Ballroom, on sale Fri PM, House of Blues b Wire Lounge Vic, 18+ with Lester St. Louis/Jason 4/26, 10 AM, 18+ Greg Laswell 9/25, 8 PM, City Toad The Wet Sprocket 8/31, Kendrick Scott Oracle 5/2, the fi rst vinyl release of its 2010 compila- Ajemian/Chad Taylor 5/6, 7 Girls Rock! Chicago Camp Winery b 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ tion Closed Sessions Vol. 1 —a time capsule and 9:30 PM, Dorian's Carnival with White Mystery, Laundry Day 5/11, 6 PM, Sub- Fri 4/26, 10 AM, 17+ Sego, Nectar 5/18, 10 PM, of blog-era rap and late-aughts Chicago Brook and the Bluff , Jamie Half Gringa, Baby Money terranean b Katie Toupin 5/18, 7 PM, Schubas, 18+ hip-hop. —JRN LG Drake 5/4, 8 PM, Schubas, 18+ 5/19, 7 PM, Sleeping Village Lettuce, Ghost-Note 11/9, 8 Schubas, 18+ Shed, Aurora Halal, Ariel Zeti- Jim Campilongo Trio 9/5, 8 God Awful Small Aff airs, PM, Riviera Theatre, on sale T.S.O.L., Bollweevils, Mons, na 5/3, 10 PM, Smart Bar PM, Hungry Brain, on sale Fri Bernie & the Wolf, Lettering, Fri 4/26, 10 AM, 18+ Kreutzer Sonata 5/31, 7 PM, Zveri 5/31, 7 PM, Concord Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail 4/26, 10 AM Lili 6/2, 8:30 PM, Empty Listener, Birds In Row 5/4, 7 Reggie's Music Joint Music Hall, 17+ v [email protected]. Mary Chapin Carpenter & Bottle PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+ ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 33 OPINION
Most didn’t merely o er symbolic endorse- them? What if we reversed the spending ments, but drew on their membership to flow, divesting from the failed institution of GRASSROOTS throw down and speak up on behalf of the policing, and investing in the support systems demands of youth organizers. This alone is that can prevent crime and violence in the fi rst a massive shift, and a monumental political place? How #NoCopAcademy achievement. #NoCopAcademy helped illustrate aboli- #NoCopAcademy also developed new tion as common sense, and was a litmus test tactics to fight the machine. Organizers for “progressive” candidates’ true values. shook the machine canvassed 500 Garfield Park residents, then It challenged mainstream journalistic prac- released a report demonstrating the lack of tices—which treat policing, education, and The coalition lost the vote but changed the narrative support for the academy and outlining the housing as separate conversations—demon- on police spending. kinds of investments wanted in the neighbor- strating that a holistic approach to social and hood. When Black youth were barred from economic justice is the only answer to ending By B H comment at public hearings, they sued the systemic violence. Multiple aldermanic races city and won a settlement, forcing 34th Ward were won by candidates explicitly supporting alderman Carrie Austin, chair of the budget #NoCopAcademy, a signifi cant shift from just committee, to hold public comment at the next four years earlier when even progressive may- n March 13, Chicago’s City Council die-ins—all with the purpose of determining committee vote. They petitioned for govern- oral candidate Chuy Garcia ran on a platform voted 38 to 8, with two absten- their own messaging and distilling their own ment documents, and researched the fl ow of of 1,000 more cops. tions, to approve a contract with values. Dozens of teenagers developed into private money into aldermanic pockets. They There are more battles ahead before the mega-construction company experienced organizers over the course of led workshops for organizers and communi- city can complete its plans for this hugely AECOM for building an $85 million the year-and-a-half-long struggle, and were ties, educating many for the fi rst time on the unpopular project. The academy has yet to be Opolice and fi re training facility in the west side the backbone and unapologetic voice of the contours of local politics. built. AECOM, the contracted company, has a neighborhood of Garfi eld Park. The vote came campaign. These youth are well-trained, fi red After a rare defer-and-publish maneuver lengthy history of overspending and defraud- at the end of an 18-month campaign, initiated up, and poised to take on new battles in their delayed a vote on partial funding for the Cop ing governments. Temporary construction by a coalition ultimately supported by over respective corners of Chicago. Academy, Rahm Emanuel taunted organizers, jobs promised by Alderman Emma Mitts to 100 local grassroots organizations, called The multiracial and multigenerational telling the Sun-Times, “Between today and West Garfi eld Park residents have yet to mate- #NoCopAcademy. coalition brought together organizations that Friday . . . there’s not gonna be a vote change.” rialize. But more importantly, the deep bonds Directed by a core of Black youth, the mul- are often siloed in Chicago organizing. Com- By the end of the campaign, 12 different built by this broad coalition are also prepared tiracial, multigenerational cohort of research- munities that rarely interact—and have even aldermen abstained, deferred, or flat-out to support entirely new campaigns in a new ers, organizers, educators, and artists united historically been at odds—not only recog- voted against at least one of the proposals Chicago. disparate demographics, far-fl ung neighbor- nized the danger of the academy’s imminent for the academy—a stunning 24 percent of With a total of five incoming aldermen hoods, and diverse political ideologies in the construction, but the need to connect their City Council—and both candidates in the who are Democratic Socialists of America- demand that the city not further increase struggles to resist it. From Muslim youth’s mayoral runo opposed aspects of the project. endorsed, the City Council arriving in May spending on its police department—which is disruption of Rahm Emanuel’s Iftar dinner, to #NoCopAcademy studied the machine and will look drastically different than the ones already per capita one of the most well-funded Black leaders joining Organized Communities shook it thoroughly without playing by its preceding it. And as battles for rent control, in the nation—and instead repurpose those Against Deportations to head the #ChingaLa- rules. cops out of schools, and an emerging effort funds for resources that prevent violence, like Migra march in the Loop. From queer Asian Chicago organizers who have led the to stop Rahm Emanuel and his successor Lori high-quality public schools, a ordable hous- organization Invisible 2 Invincible bringing a national conversation on abolishing police Lightfoot from converting closed schools ing, and mental health care. #NoCopAcademy contingent to the Lunar New and prisons can attest that the message of into police training facilities all begin to take The #NoCopAcademy coalition failed to Year Parade, to young people from the south abolition has long been deemed too radical for shape, the city is facing a more mobilized and halt the city’s plans to pass the academy’s and west sides marching in Uptown against mainstream political discussions—even those united front opposing plans for militarization contract. But, like any grassroots campaign, 46th Ward alderman James Cappleman, chair facilitated by the left. A deep-seated belief in and displacement. the immediate call-to-action is only half the of the zoning committee, and uniting in the the indispensability of carceral institutions, #NoCopAcademy lost the final vote but battle, and only half of how we assess vic- fight against school closings across Black and concerns about what would replace changed the narrative on police spending and tory. It is as important to take inventory of neighborhoods. On the day of the budget com- them, have regularly drowned out the voices building long-term community safety. In so #NoCopAcademy’s long-term success as it is mittee’s fi nal vote on the academy, members of of communities with clear answers to these doing, they also won the hearts and minds of its short-term losses. Raise Your Hand IL and the Chicago Teachers quandaries. thousands who previously might have never #NoCopAcademy centered the voices of Union linked arms with Black and brown By jumping on the construction of the acad- imagined themselves fi ghting for the defund- those most impacted by our city’s cuts to ed- youth to block elevators at City Hall, while emy and highlighting the city’s hypocritical ing of a corrupt, disgraced, and death-making ucation and hyperspending on mass incarcer- west siders from Black Workers Matter spoke claims of being “broke” when it closed half institution. v ation—Black and brown young people. Youth out against the misuse of TIF funds meant for its mental health clinics and 49 public schools from the south and west sides, many of them their communities. only years prior, #NoCopAcademy provided a @radfagg Austin and West Garfi eld Park residents, host- One hundred and fi ve organizations from concrete example of the abolitionist politic in ed weekly meetings, wrote public statements, across the city stood together to state their action, asking: Why can’t Chicago fi nd money Benji Hart is an author, artist, and educator held press conferences, led train takeovers, support for the defunding of police and to heal and educate our communities, yet can living in Chicago, and an organizer with the attended trainings and workshops, organized the increased funding of social services. always find money to police and incarcerate #NoCopAcademy campaign. 34 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll Have a strong opinion or perspective you’d like to share? We invite you to send ideas to [email protected]. OPINION
in Eastern Europe. And they lobby incessantly So what does this have to do with the for these kind of increases, in Washington, in Reader? Alternative weeklies like the Reader NATO headquarters, and in Europe. are supported by the arts and by civic-minded Increased spending on weapons—Congress individuals. These publications have a history recently approved nearly $800 billion in de- of providing a home for journalists who tell INDEPENDENT MEDIA fense spending for 2020—means there will truth to power. be little money left over for programs like Investigative journalists who expose gov- Medicare-for-all, green new deal, or free col- ernment or corporate crimes often cannot Why the Reader is worth saving lege. All of this creates an existential peril be- fi nd a home in the corporate press. A recently cause we are risking nuclear accidents and the leaked memo exposed an actual policy at the The paper has provided a home to a long list of truth tellers. threat of war. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Washington Post that prohibited its employ- By L CG has placed us two minutes before midnight on ees from criticizing the Post’s advertisers or the Doomsday Clock. partners on social media. Julian Assange faces The Russiagate scam has also served the decades in prison primarily because he pub- interests of another major corporate sponsor lished truthful information about government of establishment news: Big Pharma and the crimes, the number one job of a free press. Yet, insurance industry. Few may even remember almost no one in the corporate press dares to that in 2016 the Democratic National Commit- speak out against this grave threat to press tee, fl ush with donations from the for-profi t freedom. health industry, rigged the primary election The Reader has provided a home to a long he embarrassing implosion of the dia’s endless obsession with a few Facebook to prevent the nomination of a “socialist” who list of truth tellers who took on powerful Russiagate story, following two ads purchased by Russians has made the U.S. promised to enact Medicare-for-all, some- interests. John Conroy helped expose the use years of wall-to-wall coverage in the a laughingstock to the hundreds of millions thing favored by a vast majority of Americans of torture by Chicago police commander Jon mainstream press, is yet another re- of people who live in countries where the U.S. but vehemently opposed by corporate donors. Burge and his detectives. Mick Dumke and minder why we can’t rely on corpo- has actually overthrown their democratically Had Sanders not been kneecapped by the Ben Joravsky helped expose how TIF money, Trate media to deliver the news. For two years, elected leaders and installed puppets who DNC, he might have won the nomination and earmarked for poor neighborhoods, was being corporate news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, serve American corporate interests. defeated Trump. But blaming the Russians used for rich ones. Steve Bogira wrote power- the New York Times, and the Washington The Russiagate scam is far deadlier than just for Trump’s election helps us forget the ful pieces highlighting inhumanity and neglect Post have peddled gossip and misinformation a case of news corporations peddling a phony role corporations play in undermining our in public housing on Chicago’s south side. about how Trump colluded with the Russians spy story to attract viewers and readers. The democracy. I am not suggesting that the Reader alone to steal the election. corporate owners of mainstream media pro- Public radio and TV are not the answer. will save journalism. But there aren’t many None of this coverage had anything to do mote confl ict and war for profi t. NBC is owned Despite noble intentions to provide a voice for viable alternatives to the corporate press and with the lives of most Americans, 80 percent by General Electric, a major defense contrac- groups in the community that may otherwise we ought to preserve them if we can. Besides, of whom live paycheck to paycheck; if they tor. And nearly every mainstream news outlet be unheard, Congress rejected calls to provide without the Reader, Black Sabbath might have health insurance, they can’t a ord to get is sponsored by the war industry. forward funding to protect public broadcast- come through town on another farewell tour sick and pay their deductible. One of the least awful things about Trump ing from political infl uence, and instead chose and I might never hear about it. v America’s mainline media is owned and was his promise to improve relations with to control the purse strings to keep public controlled by six corporations. It should come nuclear-armed Russia. But the arms in- broadcasters on a tight leash. Today, PBS and as no surprise that media outlets beholden to dustry—that largely directs foreign policy NPR rely more and more on corporate and Leonard C. Goodman is a Chicago crim- corporations do not always serve the needs of through campaign contributions to both billionaire cash to operate and filter what inal defense attorney and co-owner of ordinary people; nor are they e ective watch- Democrats and Republicans, paid lobbyists they play on their airwaves, so that they don’t the newly independent Reader. dogs of a political system fi nanced by the very and industry-funded think tanks—could not anger their wealthy backers. same corporate interests. allow tensions to decrease. Peace may be good The Russiagate affair consumed so much for the citizens of the earth, but it’s terrible for attention that MSNBC went almost a year business. From joy to heartache and without mentioning the war in Yemen, where It’s di¬ cult to convince hardworking Amer- Half-Price every feeling in between, the U.S. is actively helping the richest country icans to support trillion-dollar defense bud- Chicago theatre provides in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, destroy the poorest gets to protect us from the Taliban and ISIS. A exhilarating experiences that one, killing tens of thousands of Yemeni peo- scary enemy with an actual military is a neces- Theatre make audiences come alive. ple through its brutal bombing campaign and sity. Anti-Russia hysteria has already set o the famine that that campaign is causing. a new arms race. Every single nuclear-armed Book your Another story drowned out in the sea of country is building new weapons. NATO is Tickets next show today! Russiagate coverage is that the United States expanding up to Russia’s border—despite Stretch your dollars. Ignite your soul. is presently helping to overthrow the elected assurances given by the U.S. upon the unifi ca- powered by government of Venezuela in a brazen coup tion of Germany that this would not happen. attempt—and on behalf of U.S. corporate Defense contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Chicago’s best theatre deals: interests eager to exploit the nation’s oil re- Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon are HOTTIX.ORG sources. As Noam Chomsky observed, our me- making billions selling weapons to countries ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 35 OPINION
SAVAGE LOVE My best friend’s father likes young boy models Advice on what to do if you suspect someone’s sexually attracted to children By D S
: My best friend’s father is retired and pedophilia and sexual off ending. spends most of his day posting memes on But before we discuss your options and Facebook and Instagram. Recently, I realized responsibilities here, BFD, let’s get our terms he might not know how Instagram works. I straight: if by “young boy models” you mean noticed over the past week that he has been teenage boys past puberty but under the age following, liking, and commenting on a lot of of consent, then your friend’s father’s behav- Instagram pictures of young gay men. I don’t ior is icky and inappropriate—but it is not, by think he realizes that anyone who follows him itself, evidence that he’s a pedophile. can see that activity. At fi rst I was worried, “Clinically, pedophilia refers to attraction to not because he might be gay or bisexual, prepubescent children,” said Dr. Seto, “though but because he may still be “in the closet.” I know it’s still commonly used in public to He’s married and to my knowledge, if he is refer to attraction to anyone underage.” bisexual or gay, nobody knows. I thought Actually, the term “pedophile” gets tossed about warning him that his activity is public, around so indiscriminately these days that but then I saw more. Not only has he been some of my own readers have used it to liking pictures of younger-looking men, he’s describe people in their 40s or 50s who are also been liking and following accounts of attracted to (or fucking) grown men and very young boy models. Underage boys. I women in their 20s and 30s. For the record: don’t want to jump to conclusions, but the An attraction to younger/youngish adults evidence is there. So now I’ve gone from does not make someone a pedophile. wanting to warn this guy that he may be Dr. Seto estimates that just 1 percent of accidentally outing himself by not knowing men are in fact attracted to prepubescent how apps work to feeling morally obligated children. So depending on your point of view, to tell my friend that his dad is into dudes pedophilia is either exceedingly rare or alarm- and might be a pedophile. I can only imagine ingly common. the ramifi cations this news would have on “Attraction to underage teens—boys or him and his family. —BF ’D girls—is more common,” said Dr. Seto, “though it’s hard to estimate how common because it’s A: “I know many people wonder what to do a taboo subject. We get hints from the popu- if they suspect someone is sexually attracted larity of certain porn genres like ‘schoolgirl,’ to children,” said Dr. Michael Seto, director of ‘twink,’ ‘barely legal,’ and so on. We also have forensic rehabilitation research at the Royal a hint from how so many fashion models begin Ottawa Health Care Group and an expert on working in their teens.” But Dr. Seto emphasizes that sexual attrac- tion does not equal sexual behavior. “The Instagram follows and likes may indeed suggest an attraction to underage boys,” said Dr. Seto. “And it may even be pedophilia if the models are that young. But that doesn’t mean his friend’s father is going to do anything beyond following or liking.” Understanding what separates pedophiles who’ve sexually abused children from pedo- philes who’ve never inappropriately touched a child is an important focus of Dr. Seto’s REAL PEOPLE research, BFD, and his insights could inform REAL DESIRE your course of action. REAL FUN. “One thing we know is that people who are low in self-control are more likely to act on sexual as well as nonsexual impulses,” said please recycle Try FREE: 773-867-1235 Dr. Seto. “That low self-control shows up in More Local Numbers: 1-800-926-6000 other ways, including addictions, problems holding down a job, problems in adult rela- this paper tionships, unreliability, and criminal behavior. Ahora español Livelinks.com 18+ My hypothesis is that someone who doesn’t show these signs is unlikely to offend against
36 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll Chief Executive Officer, using Model-View-Controller Chinese immigrant families w/ JOBS Executive Vice President or architecture/design patterns & young children are connected Chief Financial Officer for a in multi-tier architecture with w/social services & assistance MARKETPLACE GENERAL financial services or insurance different components including that will improve their ability to GENERAL company. Must also ten UI, Controllers, & database assimilate & thrive. Chicago, The Chicago Reader, the years of experience with: a layer; (iii) JQuery, SVN, ANT, IL location. Multiple positions. BROADWAY, HOLLYWOOD OPINION city’s illustrious free weekly specialty non-standard auto Bamboo, JIRA, & AJAX; (iv) Send resume to: Chinese- MEMORABILIA. 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If transfers in FTP; & (vi) providing Fillmore St., Little Italy. though, which is illegal and problematic, or boxes to enormous touring you are interested in applying end-users with technical and shows, and a sharp attention for the career opportunity functional support. Must have 1 they might look at legal images of children— to detail. listed above, please e-mail yr. exp. w/Salesforce. Exp may REAL SERVICES like on social media—as a sexual outlet.” your resume to us at: be gained concurrently. Apply Significant experience with careers@myamericanalliance. to Huron by sending resumes ESTATE TIRED OF Viewing child pornography is hugely prob- Chicago Manual of Style a plus. com. Please reference Job: to: Cara Perlow, Huron, 550 W. RENTALS MISUNDERSTANDINGS? Weekly duties: PRES0319. Van Buren Street, Suite 1700, ENGLISH LESSONS! lematic because it creates demand for more Write long theater, dance, and Chicago, IL 60607. West Rogers Park, near ANOTHER CHANCE TO LIVE performing arts reviews and Personal Driver/ Assistant Peterson & Western. I can child pornography, which leads to more chil- where you can walk to beach, capsules needed. Candidates must be Salesforce Consulting help you reduce your accent, bus, red line and shops. Assign weekly theater, dance, driven to provide the highest Director - Chicago, IL: build your confidence & dren being abused. But even if no new child Awesome living room. Big and other performing arts levels of customer service, manage end-to-end solutions vocabulary, guide your writings bedrooms with walk in closets. porn were ever created, sharing images of reviews to freelancers and as well meet the following for cloud CRM applications & ease your conversations. $1500 with heat plus maintain freelance budget guidelines: Clean Driving / using Agile, SCRUM & SDLC; [email protected] the rape of a child is itself a violation of that patio,laundry and parking Edit work by freelancers Criminal Background Check, Lead workshops & document available. LEGAL NOTICE child. And while it may not be pleasant to Prepare reviews for publication, Extensive geographical technical requirements & both in print and online Call 773-275-3216. knowledge, Courteous with a designs; Manage technical Notice is hereby given, Work 1-2 copy editing shifts contemplate what might be going through a professional attitude, Must be delivery of integrations & pursuant to “An Act in relation per week Milwaukee, Wisconsin at least 20 years old. Excellent custom extensions with to the use of an Assumed pedophile’s mind when they look at innocent Coordinate payment of Charming 1892 duplex in income potential. Contact backend applications; develop Business Name in the conduct freelancers with bookkeeping Riverwest neighborhood. 2/1, images of children, it’s not against the law for [email protected] & plan data conversion or transaction of Business in Salary will be based on full d/r, sunny kitchen w/pantry, and analysis by performing the State,” has amended, that experience. Please send a full basement. Renter leases someone with a sexual interest in children to Senior Statistical data queries & procedures; a certification was registered resume, cover letter describing expire July. $195,500 – (414) Programmers / Elgin, IL: manage data conversions to by the undersigned with the dink around on Instagram. your vision for covering the 562-4101 – [email protected] Utilize industry standards, migrate history data to CRM County Clerk of Cook County city’s performing arts, and links “I’m required by law and professional ethics medical terminology, & clinical applications; design roadmaps on April 9th, 2019 Under the to at least three clips of stories trial methodologies & project for on premise & CRM Assumed Business Name you’ve written, and at least STUDIO to report [someone] if I believe an identifiable management skills within applications to create offerings; of VICKY’S BREAKFAST three clips of pieces you edited the Statistical programming manage implementation of with the business located at: child is at imminent risk,” said Dr. Seto. “This to careers@chicagoreader. function. Carry out Statistical analytics applications. Must Large studio near Warren 11216 S. MICHIGAN AVENUE, com. The Reader is committed mandatory reporting requirement is NOT programming using Unix have Bachelor’s degree in Park. 6804 N. Wolcott. CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60628. to creating a collaborative SAS, SAS Studio & SAS Grid, Management Information Hardwood floors. Laundry The true and real full name(s) environment that celebrates triggered simply by knowing whether some- & create CRF mapping & Systems, Computer Science, in building. Cats OK. $825/ and residence address of the the diversity of our staff. We dataset specifications & derive Engineering, or related IT month. Heat included. Available owner(s)/partner(s) is: RAFAEL one is sexually attracted to children. Instead, I are proud to be an equal CLASSIFIEDS analytical data from raw data. field & 7 yrs. exp. w/providing 5/1. (773) 761-4318. www. NEGRETE 11216 S. MICHIGAN opportunity employer. have to consider information like whether the Work from home rqd. Some roadmaps for migrating lakefrontmgt.com AVENUE, CHICAGO IL 60628 travel rqd. Send res to Gunjan legacy on premise platform (5/2) person has ever expressed fantasies or urges Cutting Edge Solutions Inc. to cloud platform for CRM The Options Clearing dba GCE Solutions Inc. 1408 applications built on SFDC BEDROOM Notice is hereby given, about a specific child, whether they work with Corporation (Chicago, E Empire St. Bloomington, IL & Siebel; delivering solutions pursuant to “An Act in relation IL), an equity derivatives 61701 for enterprise cloud CRM children regularly, whether they live with chil- Large one bedroom to the use of an Assumed clearing organization, seeks applications; planning, apartment near Morse Business Name in the conduct dren who are in their attraction category, or experienced professionals to Relativity (Chicago, IL) seeks designing & implementing data red-line. 6824 N. Wayne. or transaction of Business in fill the following openings in its Advanced Performance conversions by performing data whether they have ever engaged in suspicious JOBS Hardwood floors. Laundry in the State,” as amended, that Chicago office: Data Scientist Engineer to identify & queries with PL/SQL, TOAD, building. $995/month. Heat a certification was registered and Senior Quantitative communicate performance Oracle SQL DB, Informatica & behavior like direct messaging with a child.” included. Pets OK. Available by the undersigned with ADMINISTRATIVE Analyst. Apply online at www. baseline expectations/act Mulesoft; integrating between 6/1. Larger unit for $1025/ the County Clerk of Cook Does your friend’s dad work with under- theocc.com. No calls. EOE. as a subject matter expert two different systems with month, available 7/1. (773) 761- County. Registration Number: SALES & with regards to scalability/ backend applications including Y19001056 on April 9, 2019 age boys? Does he sometimes look after Make money giving away my 4318 www.lakefrontmgt.com performance/load & reliability Oracle EBS, billing & revenue Under the Assumed Business MARKETING audio stories on CD. of Relativity’s core products. systems & payment systems; underage boys—say, grandsons? Do they have Large one bedroom Name of APPLICATION MEN- AudioQuickie.com To apply, please email your implementing analytics apartment near Loyola Park. TOR with the business located sleepovers with friends at grandpa’s house? FOOD & DRINK resume to Recruiting@relativity. applications using OBIEE, at: 5007 SOUTH KEDVALE President 1341 W. Estes. Hardwood com, Please reference “JOB ID: Waive Analytics, salesforce AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60632 Has he ever behaved in an inappropriate man- American Liberty Services, fl oors. Laundry in building. Cats SPAS & SALONS 19-9011” in the subject line to reports & dashboards. 80% The true and real full name(s) Inc. OK. Available 5/1. $995/month ner around underage boys—e.g., inventing be considered. travel to unanticipated and residence address of the D/B/A American Alliance (heat included). (773) 761-4318. BIKE JOBS worksites throughout North owner(s)/partner(s) is: Owner/ Casualty Company www.lakefrontmgt.com reasons to be alone with them, offering them Senior Statistical America. Telecommuting Partner Full Name Complete Chicago, IL booze or drugs, or making suggestive com- GENERAL Programmers / Elgin, IL: allowed when not traveling. Address MICHAEL R NOWAK Utilize industry standards, Individuals may reside 5007 SOUTH KEDVALE AVE Direct and oversee the BEDROOM ments offline or online? medical terminology, & clinical anywhere in the US. Exp may CHICAGO, IL 60632, USA (5/9) organization’s financial and trial methodologies & project be gained concurrently. Apply You’re in an agonizing position, BFD. You budgetary activities, and management skills within to Huron by sending resumes Bronzeville 4 Brdm. Carpet essentially have to weigh the chance that your REAL analyze financial statements, the Statistical programming to: Cara Perlow, Huron, 550 W. floor. Near 51st and Wabash. sales reports and other function. Carry out Statistical Van Buren Street, Suite 1700, $1250 773-403-5836 friend’s dad would harm a child against the ESTATE performance indicators. programming using Unix Chicago, IL 60607. Review, and oversee the SAS, SAS Studio & SAS Grid, near certainty that telling your friend about preparation of statutory & create CRF mapping & Trader sought by IMC his father’s behavior would do irrevocable RENTALS financial statements, loss dataset specifications & derive Americas, Inc. in Chicago, development triangles, analytical data from raw data. IL to actively build & enhance harm to their relationship. FOR SALE reinsurance treaty exhibits, Work from home rqd. Some the quality of electronic trading loss and law exhibits and travel rqd. Send res to Gunjan strategies in partnership with In your shoes, I would err on the side of NON-RESIDENTIAL federal and state provision Cutting Edge Solutions Inc. a global team of traders, protecting even a hypothetical child. I would and deferred tax entries. dba GCE Solutions Inc. 1408 quantitative analysts & Support the CEO in ad hoc E Empire St. Bloomington, IL engineers to trade a range of say something to the dad, perhaps via direct ROOMATES analyses involving all financial 61701 financial instruments in a low- business-related topics such latency, proprietary trading & message (or anonymously), and I would also as working capital/financing Senior Associate - Chicago, market making envrmt. This say something to my friend. But I would needs, and department cost IL: Provide technical/functional position reqs a Bachelor’s MARKET- performance. Ensure the timely support, including addressing deg in mathematics, physics, emphasize what the best available research completion of both external bugs & work enhancements, for engg or related quantitative & and internal financial reports ECRT & EFACS. Develop design analytical field & 1 yr of exp in tells us about pedophilia: It’s not something a PLACE and compliance with regulation solutions for enhancements & proprietary trading. Must have person chooses, and most pedophiles never and laws. Lead the annual new product ideas. Manage some work exp with each of budgeting process through Bamboo, a continuous the following: 1) dvlpg market sexually abuse children. (And not everyone GOODS process management, tool integration tool which is used making strategies for European preparation, and target setting to build & deploy applications. index options; 2) coordinating who sexually abuses a child is a pedophile.) So SERVICES and developing a reliable cash Maintain communication with global teams to facilitate even if your best friend’s father is attracted flow projection and budgeting channel with clients to discuss 24-hour trading & decision- HEALTH & process. Review accounts solutions, plan implementation making for major U.S. funds to prepubescent boys, that doesn’t mean he payables and receivables, loans for upcoming builds & address including FX, U.S. Treasuries, WELLNESS payable and accrued interest, concerns. Develop custom SPX, & commodities; & 3) dvlpg would ever harm a child. Being held account- banking and loan arrangements components for internals volatility execution algorithms able by loved ones is one way pedophiles INSTRUCTION and agreements and approve project built on Salesforce. to identify effective hedges in agents balance monthly roll Conduct code review with various markets. Interested avoid offending. v MUSIC & ARTS forward. Raise outside capital peers to maintain the quality candidates should send resume to support the growth of the of code & mentor junior to: [email protected] NOTICES company’s operations. The developers. Must have a with “Trader” in subject line. Send letters to [email protected]. minimum requirement for Master’s in Computer Science, MESSAGES this position is a bachelor’s Computer Engineering, or Parent-Child Educator: Download the Savage Lovecast every degree in accounting or the related field & 3 yrs of exp. w/ Serve as point person for LEGAL NOTICES foreign academic equivalent. (i) defi ning project requirements social service agency’s Family Tuesday at thestranger.com. Must have ten (10) years of and developing estimates; Resource & Learning Center @fakedansavage ADULT SERVICES experience as President, (ii) developing applications team, ensuring that primarily ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 37 24 lumpenradio.com 7 coprosperity.org
38 CHICA O READER - APRIL ll LIVE MUSIC IN URBAN WINE COUNTRY 1200 W RANDOLPH ST, CHICAGO, IL 60607 | 312.733.WINE
UPCOMING SHOWS 5.17 SARA EVANS & THE BARKER FAMILY DON’T MISS... 5.16 Howie Day BAND - BLOODLINE TOUR 4.25-27 ERIC ROBERSON 5.24 RAHSAAN PATTERSON Nancy and Beth STARRING 5.6-7 5.19 Joan Osborne 4.28 CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC: 5.26 DEACON BLUES MEGAN MULLALLY AND STEPHANIE HUNT SINGS THE SONGS OF BOB DYLAN PINOT AND PIANO 5.30 ELVIN BISHOP’S BIG FUN TRIO 5.11 The Sugarhill Gang 4.29 BIG SUIT -TALKING HEADS 5.20 Joanne Shaw Taylor TRIBUTE 6.2 MORGAN JAMES 5.12-13 PJ MORTON - FEAT. THE AMOURS The Nils Lofgren Band 5.22-23 Roy Ayers 4.30 6.3 AL STEWART 5.1 JACK DEJOHNETTE, JOE 6.5 SONGS & STORIES WITH ART 5.14 Lizz Wright LOVANO, ESPERANZA SPALDING ALEXAKIS OF EVERCLEAR 5.25 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy & LEO GENOVESE 6.6 PRE-BLUES FEST BASH: CORKY 5.15 david bromberg Quintet HERB ALPERT & LANI HALL 5.31 Mason Jennings 5.4-5 SIEGEL’S CHAMBER BLUES, LYNNE JORDAN AND TORONZO CANNON 5.10 BURLESQUE NIGHT OUT 10:30 PM APR may MAY MAY 28 2 8 10
KEVIN EUBANKS DEL MCCOURY BAND MARIZA GRIFFIN HOUSE GROUP WITH MILE TWELVE ll APRIL - CHICA O READER 39 2019-20 SUBSCRIPTION SERIES
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SKYLINE PIANO WINTER CHAMBER ARTIST SERIES MUSIC FESTIVAL
Made possible by the generous support of Made possible by the generous support The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc. of the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation RICHARD GOODE October 18 JAMES EHNES AND ANDREW AWADAGIN PRATT January 25 ARMSTRONG NIKOLAI LUGANSKY February 8 January 10 and 12 PHILIPPE BIANCONI March 6 AIZURI QUARTET January 17 ANDREAS HAEFLIGER April 3 DUDOK QUARTET AMSTERDAM January 19 JOSÉ RAMÓN MÉNDEZ May 1 FACULTY AND GUESTS January 24 AMERICAN STRING QUARTET WITH STEPHANIE BLYTHE January 26
Richard Goode Aizuri Quartet
KEYBOARD CONVERSATIONS MANUEL SEGOVIA CLASSICAL BARRUECO with Jeffrey Siegel October 11 GUITAR SERIES BRASIL HAYDN AND MOZART: GUITAR DUO HUMOR AND HEARTACHE February 9 September 27 RAPHAËL WARM ROMANTIC MUSIC FROM FEUILLÂTRE THE COLD NORTH March 13 November 22 ROBERT BARTO MISTRESSES AND April 4 MASTERPIECES February 14 AN TRAN May 9 FASCINATIN’ RHYTHMS May 8
Jeffrey Siegel Brasil Guitar Duo
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