“Here and Not Here” is a Springfield Art Association-hosted exhibition that appropriately spans two of the SAA’s exhibition spaces – the M.G. Nelson Gallery and The DEMO Project. This contemporary art exhibit features large-scale, mixed-media installations by Kentucky-based artist Cody Arnall, sculptural work by Iowa’s Edward Kelley, plus digital and 3-D collages by Chicagoan Meagan […]
Chicago
Posted inFood & Drink
Contrast
Niche in St. Louis PHOTO COURTESY www.facebook.com/nichestl In June I ate a multi-course meal at Niche, one of St. Louis’ most highly acclaimed and innovative restaurants. Each course was beautifully presented, some components having been delicately placed with tweezers. Niche and its owner, Gerard Craft, and executive chef, Nate Hereford, are so committed to using […]
Posted inOpinion
Rauner continues to skirt responsibility
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is proving to be quite adept at skirting responsibility for the current Statehouse impasse and impending government shutdown. He has relentlessly painted himself as the good guy, even to the point of blatantly abandoning his previous stances. For instance, Rauner has righteously slammed the Democrats’ “unconstitutional” unbalanced budget, even though his […]
Posted inMusic
Arlin Peebles
Arlin Peebles has composed songs and played in bands (Cleanray, Young Loves) for nearly two decades and spent the last eight or so years working on songs that made it onto his first solo release, Some Big Mystery. Recorded “in rental homes, bedrooms and basements using everything from cassettes to computers,” while moving around the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Public service powerhouse
Abner Mikva On Thursday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m., the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library plays host to Abner Mikva, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 for a career of service spanning all three branches of government. The Chicago resident served in Congress from 1969-73 and again from 1975-79. He then served […]
Posted inOpinion
Back on the roads again
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER W. HOLMES – INSTAGRAM @CHIGUY79 It is unclear exactly where Illinois’ new CEO wants to take this state, but we have indications in his proposed budget how he would like us to get there. If approved, his budget would spend slightly more of the public’s money on motorcycle safety and on new […]
Posted inOpinion
The KBParty of Plutocratic Rule
Shouldn’t America have at least one major party that isn’t beholden to the corporate elite? Well don’t look now, but such a party has recently popped up, raring to roar into the 2016 presidential race. Called the KBParty, it has the funding, political network and expertise needed to bypass the establishment’s control of the election […]
Posted inMusic
Weather the weather
ClusterPluck drifts up from St. Louis to play Homespun Republic (formerly called Donnie’s Homespun) on Thurs., Feb. 26. Definitely the hot topic last week was the coldness in the air. I know making the trek out into the mighty Midwest tundra seems unbearable, but for heaven’s sake, is it really all that bad? What could […]
Posted inOpinion
Chicagoans are reclaiming their city
Chicago! City of broad shoulders. Plutocratic hog butcher. Toolmaker for progressive change. Stacker of the wheat of grassroots power, wheat separated from the chaff of corporate politicians. Stormy, husky, brawling. Planning, building, breaking, rebuilding. Under its wrist is the pulse, and under its ribs is the heart of the people. Laughing! Proud to be hog […]
Posted inMusic
The Tossers
The Tossers Boasting the largest population of Irish descendents in the Midwest, Chicago’s a good place to come from if your thing is playing Irish music. That’s exactly the case for The Tossers, a south side, Windy City, six-piece, punk-folk Celtic band featuring Tony “T.” Duggins (vocals, songwriting, mandolin), Rebecca Manthe (fiddle), Bones (drums), Peter […]
Posted inMusic
DJ Hish
This may be the first (and possibly the last) time an official record-spinning, mix-making, beat-inducing DJ makes our band spotlight. But DJ Hish does something different than most mixers out there: he mashes to country music. Born into a music-loving household in Pennsylvania, Hish grew up listening to classic country and rock, plus everything in […]
Posted inOpinion
Low-wage laborers deserve better
Months ago, Emanuel scheduled a vote on raising Chicago’s minimum wage for the week after the General Assembly’s annual fall veto session. After the election though, retailers, restaurant owners and other business groups agreed to an eventual $11 an hour statewide minimum wage but only if Chicago and other home rule municipalities were not allowed […]
