Friday, January 27, 2012
Posted
by Steve Bogira on
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 1:00 PM
I
posted earlier today about crooked aldermen—and some honorable ones—I have known of.
Here's a handy cheat sheet, published in 2009 by the political science department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, of corrupt aldermen in Chicago from 1973 through 2008. Thirty were convicted during that time, and two more were indicted but died before trial. In most instances, the corrupt acts began while they were aldermen.
You'll find them listed here in Appendix 1 of this report (page 14). There also are bios of each offender. Twenty-five of those convicted were products of the Democratic machine, three were Republicans, and only two were independents—Lawrence Bloom of the Fifth Ward, and Fred Hubbard of the Second Ward, who defected to the machine shortly after his election.
Tags: Variations on a Theme, aldermen, University of Illinois at Chicago, Fred Hubbard, Lawrence Bloom
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Posted
by Luca Cimarusti on
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Odd Obsession's Foreign Film Series is featuring a viewing of 1973's
Fantastic Planet this Saturday, January 28, at
the Whistler. Produced in both France and Czechoslovakia, this animated classic, based on the French novel
Oms en Serie, tells the story of a distant planet where humans are enslaved and exterminated by gigantic blue aliens. Along the way you witness an array of strange creatures, spooky alien meditation rituals, and a miniature human uprising.
The film's dull colors, disconnected voice-overs, and surreal imagery provides either the perfect cannabis companion or intense nightmare fodder or both, depending on what you're into. The viewing begins at 9 PM and is free.
You can view the trailer for Fantastic Planet after the jump.
Continue reading »
Tags: Fantastic Planet, Odd Obsession, the Whistler, Alain Goraguer, Video
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Posted
by Miles Raymer on
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Chicago political party rappers BBU are best known for high-tempo juke-rap cuts like their local club hit from a few years ago, "Chi Don't Dance," but on today's
12 O'Clock Track they go in on a funky slow-burn beat from local producer Tony Baines that will probably make a lot of grown-up backpacker-rap fans real happy. A new BBU album,
bell hooks, is out February 21.
Continue reading »
Tags: BBU, Jumpers, bell hooks, Tony Baines, Chicago, hip-hop, juke, Video
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Posted
by Leor Galil on
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 11:23 AM
On Saturday the Burlington will host
something billed as the debut of an "electronic percussive collective": Drum Machine Circle. That's not a band name—the event will consist of a bunch of people forming an ad hoc group and playing together, in the vein of the oft-maligned drum circle. They'll just be using drum machines instead of hand drums.
Experimental noise artist and Nihilist Records honcho Andy Ortmann, who organized the show, got the idea in the mid-90s, when he noticed an influx of people holding drum circles. He'd been collecting drum machines for years, and something clicked. "It just kind of made sense," he says. "Why isn't there an electronic drum circle?"
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Tags: Andy Ortmann, noise, experimental, drum circle, drum machine circle, the Burlington, Jeremiah Fisher, music
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Posted
by Peter Margasak on
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 10:00 AM
- Marcelo Camelo: Toque Dela
Like it or not, and even though it's almost February, I've got one more year-end list for you. If it helps, you can see it less as a list and more as a road map for this evening's episode of WBEZ's
Radio M. I'll join host Tony Sarabia for the full two hours, and we'll both play some of our favorite international music from 2011, both new and reissued. The show airs tonight from 9-11 PM on 91.5 FM. After the jump, my picks in both categories, many of which I'll spin tonight.
Continue reading »
Tags: Best of 2011, Radio M, WBEZ, Tony Sarabia, international music
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Posted
by J.R. Jones on
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 9:00 AM
The year's first masterpiece opens Friday.
A Separation, the fifth feature of Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi (
Fireworks Wednesday,
Beautiful City,
Dancing in the Dust), was nominated for an Oscar this week in the category of Best Foreign Film, but it's head and shoulders above
many of the
American movies
nominated for
Best Picture. Check out our
long review and make a beeline for this one.
Continue reading »
Tags: A Separation, Asghar Farhadi, Fireworks Wednesday, Beautiful City, Dancing in the Dust, Albert Nobbs, Glenn Close, Amador movie, Best of the Ottawa International Animation Festival 2011, Chicago Filmmakers, The Grey movie, Man on a Ledge, Sam Worthington, Ed Harris, Semper Fi, Marine Corps, Camp Lejeune, Tomboy movie, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay, The World of Z, Zbigniew Fiks, Michael Powell, Age of Consent, Doc Films, Robert Bresson, Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne, Gene Siskel Film Center, Delmer Daves, Dark Passage, Orson Welles, F for Fake, Block Museum of Art, Mikio Naruse, Flowing Mikio Naruse, Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist, University of Chicago Film Studies Center, Sergei Eisenstein, Ivan the Terrible, Sergio Leone, Once Upon a Time in the West, W.C. Fields, So's Your Old Man, Gregory La Cava, Stage Door, Portage Theater, Northwest Chicago Film Society, Charley Chase, His Wooden Wedding, Leo McCarey, Jay Warren, movies, Video
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Posted
by Steve Bogira on
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 8:00 AM
In my youth I developed a poor impression of aldermen, and not only from reading Mike Royko.
I grew up in the 23rd Ward, west of Midway Airport. My first alderman, or the first I can remember, was named Frank Kuta. I was 13 when he was elected, in 1967. He went to prison in 1974 for taking a bribe to fix a zoning matter, and for tax evasion. He'd accepted a $1,500 check from a builder in return for not opposing a zoning change—a check he'd neglected to report in his tax returns. "I consider myself guilty only of the sin of being a politician," he told the judge who sentenced him. He got six months.
In the 1971 election, before Kuta's extortion had been discovered, Joseph Potempa unseated him as our alderman. Potempa also went to prison in 1974—for taking a $3,000 bribe to fix a zoning matter, and for tax evasion. He told the sentencing judge he'd been naive and stupid. He got a year. The federal bureau of prisons was probably considering opening a wing for 23rd Ward aldermen.
Continue reading »
Tags: Variations on a Theme, aldermen, Mike Royko, Midway Airport, Frank Kuta, bribery, corruption, extortion, fixes, zoning, tax evasion, federal convictions, Joseph Potempa, Ridge Country Club, Donald Swinarski, Chicago Tribune, Bureau of Prisons, Fred Hubbard, Matthew Danaher, Casimir Staszcuk, Joseph Jambrone, Thomas Keane, Edward Scholl, Paul Wigoda, Richard J. Daley, Walter Burnett Jr., Mick Dumke, Catholic priest, city council, Francis X. Lawlor, Saint Rita, Rogers Park, David Orr, Mundelein College, independent aldermen, 1979 blizzard, Heartland Cafe, Harold Washington, acting mayor, Ed Vrdolyak, Cook County clerk, Dick Simpson, Leon Despres, William Cousins, Sammy Rayner, Bill Singer, Seymour Simon, Anna Langford, Martin Oberman
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Posted
by Ted Cox on
Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 5:48 PM
- Flickr
- Bud Selig: Say wha?
The White Sox seem determined to challenge their fans to enjoy 2012 right from the get-go. As if it weren't daring enough for Adam Dunn to attend
SoxFest this weekend at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, the Sox will kick things off Friday evening with a "State of the Game" seminar featuring Commissioner Bud Selig, not exactly a popular figure in any realm.
Continue reading »
Tags: White Sox, Adam Dunn, Bud Selig, Kenny Williams, Robin Ventura, SoxFest 2012
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Posted
by Ben Joravsky on
Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 5:01 PM
- Bobak Ha'Eri/Wikimedia Commons
- Tim Floyd. Thanks, coach!
As Mary Dempsey, the old library commissioner, walked out, and Brian Bannon, her replacement, walked in, I had a flashback to 1998.
That's when Tim Floyd replaced Phil Jackson as the coach of my beloved Chicago Bulls.
Before I go further—time out for an explanation for our more sports-challenged readers. We'll take it one step at a time, like it's a TIF explanation.
Continue reading »
Tags: Mary Dempsey, Chicago Public Library, Brian Bannon, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Wilmette, Sam Smith, David Halberstam, Jerry Krause, Jerry Reinsdorf, Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, Tim Floyd
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Posted
by Peter Margasak on
Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 4:04 PM
In March extraordinary flutist
Claire Chase, founder and director of
International Contemporary Ensemble, will release her second collection of solo performances,
Terrestre (New Focus).
I was a huge fan of her 2009 debut,
Aliento, and the new one looks equally tantalizing, with works by Kaija Saariaho, Franco Donatoni, Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, and Dai Fujikura (who wrote his piece,
Glacier, specifically for Chase). Yet the energetic flutist is already on to the next thing, and this Friday evening she'll give
a free concert at the Art Institute's Fullerton Hall with a totally different program.
Continue reading »
Tags: Claire Chase, International Contemporary Ensemble, Terrestre, Aliento, Marcos Balter, flute, contemporary classical music, Art Institute of Chicago
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