CHICAGO’SFREEWEEKLYSINCE | DECEMBER INSIDESA ! IC’SB E IO A V RT L I AB W L H E RE P A O E T R S Y T ’ U R N T S I IN T O V I R U S E S A N D Y E A S T I N T O M U S I C B P D Plus THE SOON-TO-BE MAYORAL ALSO-RANS WORTH A CLOSER LOOK THIS WEEK CHICAGOREADER | DECEMBER | VOLUME NUMBER A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR BOYHOWDY did it get exciting ’round these parts last week! take to make Chicago everything it can be. Certainly, we here seek o ce has been exhilarating. Thank you! (We’ll say that a Our Public Newsroom with City Bureau kicked o last Thurs- at the Reader are ready to ask the hard questions whenever lot in the coming days.) day with a toast in our new Bronzeville o ce—which then led that process falters. In this issue, we started posing some of those hard questions to some of the smartest discussions I’ve had in this city about When I say “your alternative newsweekly,” I mean it: Liter- right away—to folks who may never even make it onto the how we can hold public o ce-seekers publicly accountable. I ally yours! It is free, and you can have one. It is one of the very ballot. In a smart piece by our own Maya Dukmasova, we track don’t mean “we” the press, the royal/generic we that might few alternative newsweeklies that remain in the country, and down a few mayoral hopefuls unlikely to survive the petition allow me to pass o platitudes about what should be done, in it is right here in Chicago. Some of you write for us, illustrate, challenge—but who raise issues vital to the city’s future. general, without ever really doing them. I mean we, the Read- take photographs, or contribute in other ways. With City Bu- We’ve got plenty of other great stu in the issue, of course, er. Your alternative newsweekly. The newspaper that asked reau’s help, we asked those of you who don’t to come in and and some news: it’s our last issue with creative director Vince you to come in and help us develop piercing questions to bring help shape our coverage. And now, folks are pitching in to our Cerasani, the man who’s kept our covers bold and eye-catching to our mayoral and aldermanic candidates. The paper that is fund-raiser, too. over the last year. He’ll be leaving to pursue other projects, and using those questions to shape our coverage—coverage you It’s the fi rst time the Reader’s ever done anything like this, we wish him the best of luck. It’s also our fi rst issue with print will later read. And perhaps use to guide your decisions in the and we didn’t know what to expect. But watching over 700 managing editor Sujay Kumar, who brings a background in voting booth. Whereupon maybe we will have some elected donors (at press time) drop a buck (or more) in our co ers to cultural and investigative reportage to your alternative news- o cials in o ce ready to do some of the hard work that it will ensure we can continue asking hard questions of those who weekly. —AE M POLITICS FEATURE Meet the Reverend Mayor Tycoon . and other mayoral candidates you may never otherwise hear about ART FEATURE BMD8 Poetry under the microscope A science lab that experiments with aesthetics— and life. BPD16 COMICS FEATURE Beauty under duress Movement studies of a woman with multiple sclerosis MUSIC FEATURE BAS H 12 What the 90s got right Wicker Park bar Dorian’s brings an important moment of Chicago cultural history into the present. BL G27 2 CHICAOREADER - DECEMBER ll HERE’S THE QUESTION: Can a community-centered TR IN THIS ISSUE - independent paper survive in @ CITYLIFE this environment? 04 StreetViewAteen’sboldsenseofstyle P TB catchesourreporter’seye E C AEM ME P SK 05 PublicServiceAnnouncementWarm ME D upfastwithavisittotheSegundoRuizBelvis KH CulturalCenterinHermosa DE KS C D VC 06 TransportationEverwonderwhyyou D P canstillgettoworka eraheavysnowfall? JR Greenfi eldlooksintoit C E AL ME PM AE JL THAT’S NEWS &POLITICS S W DI 07 Joravsky|PoliticsTherecentteachers’ BJ M S S W strikevictoryhasourcolumnistmusingon MD LG victoriespast SM E BW G D SK MLC FOOD&DRINK LC 14 RestaurantReviewAFilipinoCuban FLC UP TO YOU, eateryinRavenswoodcombinesunlikelytastes P F T AE andtraditionsdelightfully CS C D A E BD CLC ARTS&CULTURE MF I G 19 ComedySecondCity’snewshowdoesn’t A G J H risetothetop J HIH DJ 20 TheaterLaRutasharesthestoriesof MK S K MMBMSM CHICAGO. womenmissinginJuarez JRN M O 21 DanceStompmakesaninventiveand LP J PBS For the first time, we’re asking readers to inclusiveruckus KS DS K W AW chip in to show their support for the 21 TheaterThePlaythatGoesWrongturns ---------------------------------------------------------------- outspoileralertprettygoodintheend independent-once-again Chicago Reader. D D andtwoholidayshowsproducehilarity JD (And, if you do, we’ll even put your name in this andwonder D P very paper in January.) 23 BookSwapMayaDukmasovatradeslitrecs E&P withChicagoaninabsentiaMariamKaba K K 24 MoviesShopli ersoff ersafartooeven SM PF handedtaleoflifeunderduresstheAnimation S AR GIVE A BUCK: ShowofShowswon’tleaveyouinawe AM AR ChicagoReader.com/Backer LM-H MUSIC&NIGHTLIFE NS 30 InRotationCurrentmusicalobsessions CR M T P ofRacetraitor’sDanTraitorDecline’sFernX O M Declineandstaff erJamieLudwig SNL 31 ShowsofNotePreviewsofTobeNwigwe ---------------------------------------------------------------- CharlesRumbackQuartetIvyLabAdrian D C YoungeandAliShaheedMuhammadBob [email protected] Segerandothergreatconcertsthisweek! -- STMREADERLLC B P DRL CLASSIFIEDS T ER 36 Jobs S J S 36 Apartments&Spaces 36 Marketplace CCEB ---------------------------------------------------------------- 36 SavageLoveSomeholidayadvicefor R ISSN- STMR LLC puttingupwithjudgmentalfamilymembers SMS 38EarlyWarningsSystemofaDown CIL CupcakkeImogenHeapMyBrightest C©­CR Diamondandmoreupcomingshows P CIL 38 GossipWolfJoyrideRecordsleaves WANT TO DONATE VIA CHECK? A CR R Make checks payable to “Chicago Reader” and mail to: UkrainianVillagetheoriginalMannequin RR T ® MenreuniteandsoundartistJeff Kolarat Chicago Reader, Suite 102, 2930 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616. theShortCutsseries Include your mailing address, phone, and email—and please indicate if you are okay with us thanking you by name in the paper. ll DECEMBER - CHICAOREADER3 CITY LIFE Street View Waste not A teenager sports high fashion on a low budget. 310346_4.75_x_4.75.indd 1 9/12/18 12:13 PM FIND HUNDREDS OF READER-RECOMMENDED ISAGIALLORENZO “IFEELLIKE if I’m not disgusted with what I wore a year ago, then I’m not doing my job,” says high school RESTAURANTS senior Zoe Axelrod, who tries to err on the side of boldness. “If it isn’t going to make a statement, then it’s not worth wearing. Not every look I put together is ‘good,’ but it’ll certainly get your attention.” She EXCLUSIVE VIDEO FEATURES wasn’t always such a fashion enthusiast, though; up until around her freshman year, Axelrod favored basic items such as low-rise leggings and graphic tees. Her sartorial turning point came when she started fol- lowing fashion bloggers on Instagram and YouTube. “My current favorites are Beth Jones of B. Jones Style, AND SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY NEWS Tara Chandra, and Allison of Titi Alli. They all give me ideas of outfi ts to put together, but ultimately, my clothes are what inspire me,” says the avid thri er, whose personal style has been developed through “a lot of trial and error.” On the day she was photographed, she ended up missing her school bus because she CHICAGOREADER.COM/FOOD couldn’t fi gure out what to layer under her olive button-down—an XL pajama top she found at a thri store in Arlington Heights, her hometown. “The fabric was so beautiful I couldn’t pass it by,” she says. The 17-year- old ended up pairing her esteemed shirt with a turtleneck she got on sale at Target a couple of years ago, vintage frames that used to belong to her mom, earrings handed down from her grandma, a belt that used to be a Gryffi ndor tie from a Hermione costume, and a pair of ASOS platforms, her “pride and glory,” thri - ed at the Savers in Schaumburg for eight bucks. Axelrod highly recommends that store. “They have the biggest and most organized kids section, which is where I get most of my funky pieces,” she enthuses. The precocious and frugal style savant has another shopping tip: “If you want to save time, skim the aisles for the colors you think your closet needs more of.” —IG 4 CHICAOREADER - DECEMBER ll S RBC C W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL , - -, segundoruizbelvis.org. CITY LIFE Never THE miss a M E X I C A N show 1 9 6 7 again. celebrating 51 EARLY YEARSYEARS WARNINGS OPEN 7 days a week Find a concert, buy a until X- mas ticket, and sign up to get advance notice please☎ for of Chicago’s essential Extended just steps from the holiday hours Dempster “L” stop music shows at chicagoreader.com/early. 847-475-8665 COURTESYSEGUNDORUIZBELVISCULTURALCENTER 801 Dempster Evanston Public Service Announcement Segundo Ruiz Belvis DJ collective Soulphonetics will spin Afro-Caribbean music and Cultural Center local vendors will have wares A good place to warm up in the winter available for sale. (Reserve tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ By AE M santisimo-sancocho- tickets-53020563934) t had been over ten years since I’d visited this institution devoted to celebrating and Ipromoting Afro-Latin arts and culture in After School Matters to provide paid appren- Chicago. So when I wandered into the Hermo- ticeships to young adults to learn traditional sa space to vote last month at an ungodly early Puerto Rican bomba, Afro-Caribbean jazz, hour and was immediately greeted by live and music video production.