Print Issue of January 26, 2017 (Volume 46, Number 16)

C H I C A G O ’ S F R E E W E E K LY | K I C K I N G A S S S I N C E 1 9 7 1 | J A N U A R Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7

Politics Ameya Pawar’s fight against Rauner and Trump 11

Photo essay A candid portrait of life in resilient Chinatown 16

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EDITOR JAKE MALOOLEY CREATIVE DIRECTOR PAUL JOHN HIGGINS DEPUTY EDITOR, NEWS ROBIN AMER CULTURE EDITOR TAL ROSENBERG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DANIELLE A. SCRUGGS FILM EDITOR J.R. JONES MUSIC EDITOR PHILIP MONTORO ASSOCIATE EDITORS KATE SCHMIDT, KEVIN WARWICK, BRIANNA WELLEN SENIOR WRITERS MICHAEL MINER, MIKE SULA SENIOR THEATER CRITIC TONY ADLER STAFF WRITERS LEOR GALIL, DEANNA ISAACS, BEN JORAVSKY, AIMEE LEVITT, PETER MARGASAK, JULIA THIEL SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR RYAN SMITH GRAPHIC DESIGNER SUE KWONG MUSIC LISTINGS COORDINATOR LUCA CIMARUSTI EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CASSIDY RYAN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS NOAH BERLATSKY, DERRICK CLIFTON, MATT DE LA PEÑA, MAYA DUKMASOVA, ANNE FORD, ISA GIALLORENZO, JOHN GREENFIELD, JUSTIN HAYFORD, JACK HELBIG, DAN JAKES, BILL MEYER, J.R. NELSON, MARISSA OBERLANDER, LEAH PICKETT, DMITRY SAMAROV, DAVID WHITEIS, ALBERT WILLIAMS INTERNS AUSTIN BROWN, ISABEL OCHOA GOLD, RACHEL HINTON, JACK LADD, ABBEY SCHUBERT ---------------------------------------------------------------VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT NICKI STANULA VICE PRESIDENT OF NEW MEDIA GUADALUPE CARRANZA SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER EVANGELINE MILLER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES FABIO CAVALIERI, ARIANA DIAZ, BRIDGET KANE MARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER BRYAN BURDA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL JOHN DUNLEVY ADVERTISING COORDINATOR HERMINIA BATTAGLIA CLASSIFIEDS REPRESENTATIVE KRIS DODD ---------------------------------------------------------------DISTRIBUTION CONCERNS distributionissues@chicagoreader.com CHICAGO READER 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654 312-222-6920, CHICAGOREADER.COM ----------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTO ESSAYS

Fear and loathing in Washington, D.C.

Snapshots of the nation’s capital as Trump supporters and protesters descended for the presidential inauguration

BY JOEFF DAVIS 14

The photo series “Face Value” candidly depicts life in Armour Square and its surrounding areas.

BY JACOB YEUNG 16

IN THIS ISSUE 4 Agenda The fascinating play The Tempermentals, Shannon Noll’s Barron Trump: Up Past Bedtime, Viviane Sassen’s photography, the film Toni Erdmann, and more recommendations

CITY LIFE

7 Politics Inauguration day in Chicago’s most pro-Trump neighborhood

THE READER (ISSN 1096-6919) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY SUN-TIMES MEDIA, LLC, 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654. © 2016 SUN-TIMES MEDIA, LLC. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT CHICAGO, IL. POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO CHICAGO READER, 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654.

ON THE COVER: PHOTO BY JOEFF DAVIS. A “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” HAT IN AN ASH PILE OUTSIDE THE DEPLORABALL AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB IN WASHINGTON D.C., JANUARY 19, 2017.

FOR MORE OF DAVIS’S WORK, GO TO JOEFF.COM.

A candid portrait of a resilient Chinatown

11 Politics Alderman Ameya Pewar conjures FDR in his fight against Rauner and Trump.

12 Transportation A former CDOT chief says data-driven focus on crash hot spots could save lives and reduce racial profiling.

13 Identity and Culture Will the DOJ report help Rahm change?

ARTS & CULTURE

8 Space A charming Kenwood coach house in a land of mansions 10 Street View A Polish-American fashion blogger indebted to poetry

21 Theater Playwright Mickle Maher sets his sights on news anchor Jim Lehrer, again.

21 Theater Charles Busch performs in Chicago for the first time in 26 years.

22 Comedy Preach proclaims the gospel of spoken word and improv.

23 Lit Women and Children First starts a conversation about art and resisting the Trump administration.

24 Movies Michael Keaton stars as fast-food evangelist Ray Kroc in The Founder.

MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

27 In rotation Singer-songwriter Adam Gottlieb on an album to fortify fighters for justice, blues musician Andy Willis on Howlin’ Wolf, and more 28 Shows of note D.R.A.M., Cherry Glazerr, Wet Ink Ensemble, and more

FOOD & DRINK

35 Restaurant review: Elske Hygge

meets the midwest

37 Booze A rum that will make you say, ‘Oh, fuck, that’s delicious!’

CLASSIFIEDS

38 Jobs 38 Apartments & Spaces 39 Marketplace

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40 Straight Dope Why do we have to fill out a 1040 form?

41 Savage Love A fetishist’s problem with Trump’s alleged piss party 42 Early Warnings Slowdive, Chicago Blues Festival, GZA, Wilson Phillips, and other shows in the weeks to come 42 Gossip Wolf The Winter Block Party celebrates women in Chicago hip-hop, the eighth Chicago Psych Fest fogs up the Hideout, and more.

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 3

AGENDA R

READER RECOMMENDED

Send your events to agenda@chicagoreader.com

b ALL AGES

F in hatching plots to kill the rodents in abundant numbers. But when a squirrel gets in the house, Chester suddenly feels an all-consuming hatred for his father, realizing the old man wants to, um, kill the squirrel. Then, from nowhere, Dad says something horribly anti-Semitic—and that one statement is apparently enough to all but ruin Chester’s life. Under Jacob Harvey’s fleet direction, Will Allan as Chester is charming and engaging, if occasionally overenthusiastic. —JUSTIN HAYFORD Through 2/12: Wed-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2 and 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln, 773-4047336, greenhousetheater.org, $42-$48.

CONCE R T Saturday, February 4 at 7:30pm

The biggest night in Chicago music!

The Temperamentals o MICHAEL BROSILOW

THEATER

More at chicagoreader.com/ theater Blizzard ’67 In his 2012 play, Chicago R playwright Jon Steinhagen

Renée Fleming ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Classical

Shemekia Copeland CHICAGO

Blues

Michelle Williams ROCKFORD

Pop/R&B/Gospel

4 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

has written a powerful, claustrophobic drama about four white middle-aged company men who carpool to work every day in the late 1960s.

Recalling the work of Paddy Chayefsky and Rod Serling, Steinhagen builds his story slowly and deftly reveals each man’s foibles—one is in a loveless marriage, one is a loner, one is consumed by jealousy, one is a young opportunist – before forcing them to confront the void in their lives in the midst of a historic weather event. Ann Filmer’s direction is as nuanced and nicely paced as the script, as are all of the performances in this solid ensemble piece. —JACK HELBIG Through 3/4: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, 16th Street Theater, Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th, Berwyn, 708-7956704, 16thstreettheater.org, $18-$22.

Blues for an Alabama R Sky This contribution to the Harlem Renaissance Celebration in Hyde Park is a vibrant, thoroughly alive revival of Pearl Cleage’s 1995 period tragicomedy. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, three black tenants—a jazz singer, an openly gay costume designer, and a progressive family-planning

activist—carefully negotiate their burgeoning artistic and social voices amid the sobering realities of financial distress and traditionalism within the African-American community. Cleage’s script moves with the ease of a hangout comedy, and director Ron OJ Parson’s sprawling production addresses vast American turning points (northern migration, religious and societal definitions of womanhood, sexual liberation) without ever losing sight of the characters’ stories. —DAN JAKES Through 2/12: Wed-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 2:30 and 7:30 PM, Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis, 773-753-4472, courttheatre.org, $48-$68.

By Association Shepsu Aakhu’s new agitprop political thriller imagines the fallout experienced by the family and friends of an alleged terrorist—a Rogers Park teenager of Middle Eastern descent—after federal investigators and public sentiment turns against them in the immediate aftermath of a Chicago attack. Married to an immigrant from Ethiopia, Aakhu draws on personal experience as a husband and father to inspire a vivid, hyperlocalized, chilling scenario that recalls an unconscionable number of real-life migrant families post9/11. An overreliance on hotheaded-detective tropes and an exposition-dumping news anchor undercut some of the visceral stakes, but there are some subtle, deeply affecting moments from young actors Kejuan Darby and Abdu Hytrek. —DAN JAKES Through 2/26: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln, 773-4047336, mpaact.org, $28-$32.

Circumference of a Squirrel It shouldn’t be too difficult to portray a man so toxically anti-Semitic that his own son ultimately delights in his grisly death, but playwright John Walch bungles it. In this one-man show, Chester, the son, spends the first half hour quirkily detailing his father’s hatred of squirrels, and his own childhood delight

Diamond Dogs Adapted from a novella by the prolific sci-fi author Alastair Reynolds, this new drama from House Theatre is set in a distant universe during the 26th century, where a group of scientists and loners set out to uncover the mysteries of the “Blood Spire,” a tower of terror with a mind of its own.

As one might expect, there’s a lot of intricate minutia—physics and draggedout explanations in particular. But the dystopian backdrop is reliably entertaining and conspicuously frightening.

Premiering just one day after hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Chicago to march in the name of women’s rights, it was hard not to associate the chaos of the “Blood Spire” with the alternative facts coming from Trump Tower. Coincidental?

Probably. Topical? Undeniably. —MATT DE LA PEÑA Through 3/5: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, 773-769-3832, thehousetheatre. com, $15-$35.

A Disappearing Number Devised in 2007 by London’s Complicite ensemble, A Disappearing Number is a kind of helical mathematical romance. One strand of the helix follows Srinivasa Ramanujan, the Indian Einstein who pretty much gushed genius during the first two decades of the 20th century, revolutionizing pure mathematics while employed as a minor government clerk.

In 1913, Ramanujan sent some of his work to Cambridge don G.H. Hardy; Hardy was smitten and one of the great intellectual bromances began. Around their relationship spins the present-day, fictional amour between Ruth and Al, mathematician and finance guy respectively, who meet when Al happens into one of Ruth’s lectures. The two stories share parallel themes (love, loss, one partner’s struggle to comprehend the other) and are meant to cohere in Ruth’s fascination with Ramanujan. But, while director Nick Bowling and company exercise their usual rigor, smarts, and verve in staging this complex revival, the coherence never comes. The two tales just orbit each other into infinity.

—TONY ADLER Through 4/9: Wed-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, TimeLine Theatre Company, Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, Baird Hall Theatre, 615 W. Wellington, 773-281-8463, timelinetheatre. com, $28-$51.

The Hundred Dresses Sean Graney stages Ralph Covert and G. Riley Mills’s adaptation of Eleanor Estes’s 1944 children’s book, and the show has a lot going for it: strong acting, lively songs (by Andra Velis Simon), delightful costumes (designed by Samantha C. Jones), and even an important message (don’t bully). The only thing missing is a good story. Instead we are given half a story—a collection of otherwise likeable school-aged kids mock a newbie because she claims she has more than 100 dresses—which is somewhat diverting, but loses momentum almost from the moment the show starts. All concerned try to cover up the flaws with lots and lots of songs, and costume changes, and great acting, but nothing can hide the script’s underwhelming climax and disappointing conclusion.

—JACK HELBIG Through 2/12: Tue-Fri 10 AM, Sat 11 AM and 6 PM, Sun 11 AM and 2 PM, Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn, 312-337-6543, chicagochildrenstheatre.org/, $28-$39.

Psychonaut Librarians Sean Kelly’s new fantasy posits a magical “anyverse” (as opposed to the stupid old universe) that apparently connects to our world through the Chicago Public Library. Falling asleep there one evening, a librarian’s young daughter, Jane, finds her soul mate—a creature of indeterminate substance called Dewey—in that alternate dimension. But the evil Sandman blocks their (creepily presexual) union and dooms Jane to spend her next 20 years in that phobic lockdown called regular life. Though Kelly’s script throws off sparks of sly, strange comedy, its bouts of serious message making (“Our souls aren’t in our bodies, our bodies are in our souls, so what’s there to be

Jello o CARRIE MEYER/INSOMNIAC STUDIOS

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Best bets, recommendations, and notable arts and culture events for the week of January 26 For more of the best things to do every day of the week, go to chicagoreader. com/agenda.

afraid of?”) feel like excerpts from a Scientology kids’ show. Both the tale and Krissy Vanderwarker’s wildly erratic New Colony staging fall apart before their 80 minutes are up, despite the much-appreciated efforts of Morgan McNaught and Michael Peters to make something viable of their supporting roles. —TONY ADLER Through 2/12: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Den Theatre, 1329-1333 N. Milwaukee, 773-609-2336, thedentheatre. com, $20.

R

The Tempermentals Jon Marans’s fascinating 2009 off-Broadway hit—receiving its overdue Chicago premiere in a beautifully acted production from About Face Theatre— recounts a little-known episode in American history: the 1950 founding of Los Angeles’s Mattachine Society, a pioneering organization designed to “educate homosexuals and heterosexuals toward an ethical homosexual culture paralleling the cultures of the Negro, Mexican, and Jewish peoples” and to “assist gays who are victimized daily as a result of oppression.” Mattachine was literally a labor of love, led by Harry Hay, an American communist activist, and his partner Rudi Gernreich, a Jewish refugee from Hitler’s Austria who later became one of the most influential figures in the 1960s fashion world with his avant-garde designs (including unisex clothing and the thong bathing suit). Though Mattachine eventually splintered along lines of ideology (radical versus moderate) and purpose (activist versus social), it fostered a loose-knit regional network of “homophile” groups that paved the way for the Gay Liberation movement of the 1970s and today’s LGBTQ rights movement. Director Andrew Volkoff’s superb cast includes Kyle Hatley as the sometimes abrasive Hay, Lane Anthony Flores as the sly and elegant Gernreich, and Paul Fagen, Rob Lindley, and Alex Weisman in multiple supporting roles.

—ALBERT WILLIAMS Through 2/18: Wed-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, 773-975-8150, aboutfacetheatre.com/, $20-$40.

solo show. 1/26-4/1. Mon-Sat 10-5 (Thu till 8), Sun noon-5. 600 S. Michigan, 312-6635554, mocp.org.

65 Grand “Hydra,” sculptures and photographs by Danielle Rosen. Opening reception Fri 1/27, 6-9 PM. 1/27-3/4. 3252 W. North, 65grand.com.

Louie Anderson o COURTESY CITY WINERY

Barron Trump: Up Past BedR time Shannon Noll portrays Donald Trump’s son in a Pee-wee’s

Playhouse-style variety show. 1/28-2/4: Sat 9:30 PM, The Revival, 1160 E. 55th, 866-811-4111, the-revival.com, $5.

R

Drunk TED Talks Erik Adams, Sasha Geffen, Britt Julious, and Josh Terry present inebriated lectures on subjects including Billy Corgan, Mike Ditka, and the Reaganesque mysteries of Epcot. Thu 1/26, 8 PM, Whistler, 2421 N. Milwaukee, 773-227-3530, whistlerchicago.com.

Weinberg/Newton Gallery “House,” the gallery partners with social justice art collaborative Red Line Service for a group exhibition focusing on homelessness. Opening reception Fri 1/27, 5-8 PM. 1/27-3/25. Tue-Sat 10-5:30. 300 W. Superior, #203, 312-529-5090, d-weinberg. com.

LIT R

Lauren Higler The poet reads from her new collection, Lady Be Good. Thu 1/26, 6:30 PM, City Lit Books, 2523 N. Kedzie, 773-235-2523, citylitbooks. com.

Zone. Wed 2/1, 7 and 9:30 PM, Timothy O’Toole’s, 622 N. Fairbanks Ct., 312-6420700, timothyotooles.com, $10.

VISUAL ARTS

Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College “Umbra,” Dutch fashion photographer Viviane Sassen’s

Bill T. Jones o DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS

Bill T. Jones The HIV positive R artist, choreographer, dancer, theater director, and writer disucsses

his struggle with the disease alongside a presentation of presentation with video, readings, and photographs in association with “Art AIDS America.” Fri 1/27, 7 PM, DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Pl., 773947-0600, dusablemuseum.org.

DANCE

Jello The debut performance of R the experimental dance series.

Mon 1/30, 7:30 PM, Links Hall at Con-

stellation, 3111 N. Western, 773-281-0824, linkshall.org, $10.

COMEDY

Louie Anderson The recent R Emmy winner (for his role in FX’s Baskets) and veteran stand-up performs.

Sun 1/29, 5 PM, City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph, 312-733-9463, citywinery.com, $28-$35.

Chicago hosts a reading by writers Vu Tran, Tara Stringfellow, and RJ Eldridge.

Wed 2/1, 6:30 PM, City Lit Books, 2523 N. Kedzie, 773-235-2523, citylitbooks.com.

Zlumber Party The sixth annual R zine-making slumber party, with snacks, coffee, office supplies,

and friendship provided. Sat 1/28 9:30 PM-Sun 1/29 6 AM, Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North, 773-342-0910, quimbys. com.

as they salute legendary Chicago vocalists of every genre in an unforgettable multimedia concert experience.

John Prine

MOVIES

More at chicagoreader.com/ movies

Joey Villagomez The comedian R records two shows for his live album, Doing Mexican Through a White

DePaul Art Museum “Four Saints in Three Acts,” a group exhibition exploring the consequences of appropriating the iconography of saints. Featuring work by Andrea Büttner, Jeni Spota C., Devin Mays, Kehinde Wiley, Nate Young, and Rodrigo Lara Zendejas. 1/26-4/26.

Mon-Thu 11-5, Fri 11-7, Sat-Sun 12-5. “One Day This Kid Will Get Larger,” a group exhibition curated by Danny Orendorff addresses the HIV/AIDS pandemic. 1/264/2. Mon-Thu 11-5, Fri 11-7, Sat-Sun 12-5.

935 W. Fullerton, 773-325-7506, museums. depaul.edu.

Rhino x Six Points Reading To R celebrate the 40th anniversary of Rhino Poetry, the Poetry Center of

Don’t miss an incredible roster of artists, plus guests yet to be announced,

Viviane Sassen, Black Hole #01, 2014, on display as part of “Umbra” at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. o VIVIANE SASSEN/ MOCP

MAYWOOD

NEW REVIEWS Antarctica: Ice & Sky Eightytwo-year-old French glaciologist Claude Lorius is the subject of this immaculately produced but cold and plodding documentary about the devastating effects of climate change. Released in 2015 in France (where it closed the Cannes film festival), the film spans Lorius’s remarkable career—30 years ago he became the first scientist to prove man’s role in climate change—and checks in with him as he continues to gather evidence in the present. As he remarks, “I am now an old man, sad to see that history has proved him right.” Director Luc Jacquet struggles to dredge up the sort of emotion he delivered so easily in his Oscar-winning March of the Penguins (2005); it doesn’t help that voice actor Michel Paplinski speaks for Lorius most of the time, or that Jacquet’s glossy mix of archival footage feels more lofty than urgent.

In French with subtitles.

—LEAH PICKETT 89 min.

Fri 1/27, 2 and 6 PM; Sat 1/28, 3 and 7:45 PM; Sun 1/29, 5:15 PM; Mon 1/30, 6 PM; Tue 1/31, 7:45 PM; Wed 2/1, 6 and 7:45 PM; and Thu 2/2, 6 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center The Ardennes The fall guy for a heist gone wrong, Kenneth (Kevin Janssens) is released from prison after keeping silent for years about his two accomplices—his former girlfriend (Veerle Baetens) and his brother, Dave (Jeroen Perceval), who are now lovers. The premise for this Belgian crime thriller seems generic, but the tension escalates steadily as Dave tries to conceal his romance and Kenneth, a hair-trigger psycho, is reunited with an old cellmate (Jan Bijvoet) who lives in a dive outside a wildlife park. Robin Pront directed a script that he and Perceval adapted from W

Folk Singer/ Songwriter

Jessie Mueller CHICAGO

Broadway

AND MANY MORE!

C ONCE R T Tickets from $39 Renée LYRICOPERA.ORG Fleming ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 312.827.5600 Classical JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 5

BED BUGS can happen to anyone anywhere.

AGENDA B the latter’s play; amid the plot twists lies a tricky conundrum about the relative culpability of miscreants and their enablers. In Flemish and French with subtitles.

—ANDREA GRONVALL 93 min. Facets Cinematheque Evolution Creepy stuff from French director Lucile Hadžihalilović, who has collaborated as a writer and editor with her provocateur husband, Gaspar Noé (I Stand Alone), but whose own work owes more to the obscure art-house horror of David Lynch.

In a rocky region by the sea, a little boy comes to his mother with a fantastic tale of having found another boy drowned with a red starfish attached to his belly; eventually his obsession with the fish lands him in the hospital, where eerie nurses subject him and other little boys to sinister surgeries. Hadžihalilović maintains a dank, spectral mood, and she’s admirably disciplined in her slow revelation of what amounts to a gynocentric nightmare. The characters are so blank that she has trouble conjuring up any sort of dramatic resolution, but you may leave shuddering nonetheless.

In French with subtitles. —J.R. JONES 82 min. Fri 1/27, 2 and 6 PM; Sat 1/28, 4:45 PM; Sun 1/29, 3 PM; Mon 1/30, 7:45 PM; Tue 1/31, 6 PM; Wed 2/1, 6 PM; and Thu, 2/2, 8:30 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center

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Midsummer in Newtown In this well-intentioned documentary (2016), a New York theater director stages a children’s theater production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Newtown, Connecticut, one year after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. The premise is that art can help to heal a community, and while it certainly seems to lift the spirits of those involved, the movie is strangely innocuous. Filmmaker Lloyd Kramer (Liz & Dick) delivers powerful vignettes involving three families—two with children in the play, one mourning a child who died in the shooting—but shies away from such issues as the plague of gun violence and the rise of angry young men in America. Accounts of the shooting and its aftermath are counterbalanced with lighter moments in which the children rehearse, but the tonal shifts are often jarring. —LEAH PICKETT 80 min. Sun 1/29, 4:45 PM, and Thu 2/2, 7:45 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Split Three teenage girls are held captive in a grimy building somewhere by a madman with 23 personalities, but at least they aren’t trapped in a theater watching this exercise in tedium from vaunted master of surprise M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs). As the shaven-headed kidnapper, James McAvoy acts up a storm, trying out a collection

Toni Erdmann

of funny voices and pushing every scene to the verge of silliness; Haley Lu Richardson is easier to watch as the moody, levelheaded one among the girls, though Shyamalan has given her character a tasteless backstory involving sexual molestation. Most movies like this one induce suspense with a subplot in which someone searches for the missing persons, but Shyamalan doesn’t bother with that—he’s more interested in making a clinical psycho-thriller about dissociative identity disorder, though eventually he lets his story drift off into the supernatural. —J.R. JONES PG-13, 117 min. Cicero Showplace 14, Crown Village 18, Ford City, Showplace 14 Galewood Crossings Toni Erdmann Comedies R are supposed to be short, but this German farce by writer-

movie that one wonders if the content was determined by the availability of talking heads. Madeline Bernstein of the Los Angeles SPCA condemns animal abuse, after which Qumaru Nisa, one of the movie’s producers, makes a pitch for vegetarianism; in another segment, pop psychologist Aaron Kipnis and former FBI profiler Jim Clemente belabor the link between sociopathy and cruelty to animals, then former president Jimmy Carter proclaims poverty to be the root of civil war and terrorism. The documentary would have benefited from citing actual studies and news reports instead of relying on sweeping generalizations. Forest Whitaker narrates. —ANDREA GRONVALL 86 min. Fri 1/27, 7:45 PM, and Wed 2/1, 7:45 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center xXx: Return of Xander Cage Vin Diesel starred in the hit actioner xXx (2002), then lost out to Ice Cube for the sequel, xXx: State of the Union (2005); this delayed third installment returns the focus to Diesel as the title character, a reluctant U.S. spy who’d rather be skiing through the jungle or skateboarding off a cliff. When the military plucks him from self-imposed exile to retrieve a weapon called Pandora’s Box, he insists on running the show, recruiting a ragtag team of entertaining newcomers. This is only slightly less dumb and nonsensical than the previous films, but it teems with thrilling action sequences and rollicking stunt work from the middle-aged Diesel and martial artist Donnie Yen (and their doubles). D.J. Caruso directed; with Toni Collette, Ruby Rose, and Samuel L. Jackson. —LEAH PICKETT PG-13, 107 min. Cicero Showplace 14, Crown Village 18, Ford City, Showplace 14 Galewood Crossings

director Maren Ade succeeds by virtue of its endlessness—like its hero, an aging piano teacher and irrepressible joker, the movie keeps bugging you and bugging you until you can’t help but laugh. Winfried (Peter Simonischek) loves gags and goofy disguises, and his penchant for fun has alienated him from his grown daughter (Sandra Hüller), now a hard-charging business consultant. After his beloved dog dies, Winfried travels to Bucharest to spend a few weeks with the daughter and turns her neatly ordered world upside down, donning fake teeth and a black hippie wig and passing himself off to her associates as life coach Toni Erdmann. The premise may sound like a Garry Marshall sitcom episode, but father and daughter are so formidably matched and so genuinely angry with each other that their relationship never turns to mush. In English and subtitled German and Romanian. —J.R. JONES 162 min.

Fri 1/27-Thu 2/2, 1:30, 4:45, and 8 PM. Music Box

SPECIAL EVENTS

We Are One Originally titled “I Am You,” this documentary stresses our connection to each other and the planet, though director Kevin Mukherji undermines his theme with sloppy methodology and lazy thinking. So many subtopics have been shoehorned into the

Palace Film Festival This two-day festival presents shorts, features, and live performances from local, national, and international visual artists, musicians, and filmmakers.

For a full schedule visit palacefilmfest.com. Sat 1/28 and Sun 1/29, Thalia Hall v

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CITY LIFE Politics

Inauguration barhopping in Trumplandia

By MAYA DUKMASOVA

THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL election confirmed what most of us already knew: Chicago is a blue city in a red nation. But even within this blue island there are some red oases, chief among them Mount Greenwood, in the 19th Ward on the city’s far southwest side.

Days before the election the neighborhood drew attention after a white off-duty police officer shot and killed 25-year-old Joshua Beal, a black man from Indianapolis, who was reported to have been waving a gun.

In the wake of the shooting, Black Lives Matter staged protests in the heart of the neighborhood at 111th and Kedzie, and were met by furious locals—most of them white—who brandished pro-police signs and flags and hurled racist slurs.

On November 8, nearly 70 percent of the 19th Ward’s 54th precinct—bordered by 111th Street on the south, 109th on the north, Kedzie Avenue on the east, and Drake Avenue on the west—voted for Trump. It was the city’s most pro-Trump precinct. In the precincts around it, at least half of the votes cast were for Trump.

And so it was fitting to spend inauguration day in this corner of Chicago’s Trumplandia.

In 1992 Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns described Mount Greenwood as “an insular, Leave It to Beaver world where white people can live out entire lives without ever getting to know a black person, where people rarely venture beyond understood borders.” A quarter century later it doesn’t seem like much has changed.

I arrived in the neighborhood on inauguration day around 10 AM. A jaunt around the few blocks comprising the 54th precinct reveals modest brick homes

Regulars at Blackthorn Pub in Mount Greenwood o MAYA DUKMASOVA

decorated with Irish flags and “white sox country” signs. I spotted one solitary Trump-Pence campaign lawn sign across the street from a house with a propolice flag displaying the symbolic thin blue line that separates the public from anarchy. At Saint Christina Catholic school, white kids decked out in red-whiteand-black uniforms noisily filed in from recess.

Shortly after Trump gave his inaugural address, I hunkered down with a crew of early-bird regulars at Barraco’s, an Italian restaurant and bar steps away from the spot where Beal was shot. Kevin, a mustachioed 61-year-old retired semi-trailer truck salesman, was nursing a scotch with ice at the granite counter. “He gave a good speech,” Kevin said. “I thought it was great.”

Kevin admitted that he’s not sure what to expect from the Trump administration. “He may have great intentions, but he’s still dealing with this mess, he’s still dealing with Washington.” While Kevin said he never liked or voted for Obama, he described Michelle as a stellar first lady, and doubted that Melania could measure up.

It wasn’t long before conversation drifted to Beal’s shooting and racial tensions in Chicago. The bartender, a short white woman named Mary, admitted she didn’t vote for Trump. But she said that under Obama local race relations have taken a turn for the worse.

“What happened to the 80s and the 90s?” she asked.

“People were more accepting of each other. Nowadays black people look at white people, white people look at black people, and it’s like, ‘aaah,’” she said, producing a guttural dismissive sound. “I think it’s shitty.”

Mary and Kevin continued to discuss the Beal shooting. “I think most people just want to keep things low-key, they don’t want to start any trouble,” Mary said. “But people here are so tired of bullshit that when that happened, they were like ‘No, you’re not gonna turn it around and say it was a racial thing.’

[Beal] did something stupid.”

Kevin noted the city’s high levels of gun violence.

“Don’t bring it over to the nice neighborhoods,” Mary said. “Don’t come up and pop out some guns.

We don’t do that around here.”

Their shared sentiment was that Beal got what was coming to him.

“He pulls out a gun, starts waving a gun around— the cop shoots him,” Kevin said. “There was a white guy shot at a bar down the street here about a year ago. He pulled a gun out, cops shot him.”

“When you pull out a gun, people are gonna get testy. Doesn’t matter what color you are,” Mary said.

“You don’t pull out a gun. You just caused your own problems.”

Though Mount Greenwood is nearly 90 percent white and a working-class community with a high concentration of police and firefighters, not J

¥ Keep up to date on the go at chicagoreader.com/agenda.

SURE THINGS THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

¸ First B ites Bash The Chicago Restaurant Week kickoff hosts more than 60 Chicago restaurants offering tastings, along with cocktail, wine, and beer pairings.

Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio chef Sarah Grueneberg hosts. 5:30-8:30 PM, Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand, firstbitesbash.com, $125.

a S oxfest The Chicago White Sox annual fan festival provides three days of meetand-greets with current team members, coaches, and icons.

1/27-1/29: Fri 4-9 PM, Sat 9 AM-6 PM, Sun 9 AM-3 PM, Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan, hicago.whitesox.mlb.com, $40-$75.

× Winter Brew Local breweries—including 5 Rabbit, Dovetail, Half Acre, and Pipeworks—showcase their craft beers in the ballroom and skyline lounge of the German American Cultural Center, with food from the Northman.

2-10 PM, DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western, lincolnsquare.org/ winter-brew, $15.

Ú Fresh Ayers Bill Ayers and David Omotoso Stovall discuss, Born Out of Struggle: Critical Race Theory, School Creation, and the Politics of Interruption. 3 PM, Seminary Co-op Bookstore, 5751 W. Woodlawn, semcoop.com. F

; Ch inese New Year Kickoff The Chinese Fine Arts association hosts this new years performance with dance, music, and a showcase

by Beijing's Long Yun Kung Fu Troupe. For more Chinese New Year events see page TK. Noon, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 W. Washington, chinesefinearts.org. F

T Ch icago Vo ices Talk: Hip -Hop Chicago Voices hosts a panel talk on the city's impact on hip-hop music. Panelists include rapper Rhymefest and Amina Norman-Hawkins. 7 PM, Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark, chicagohistory.org. F

ò Ha ppy B irthday Langston Hughes An evening of Langston Hughes poetry read by Regina Taylor, J. Ivy, Terisa Griffin, and Jussie Smollett to celebrate the author and activist's 115th birthday. Portion of proceeds donated to Donda's House.

8 PM, City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph, citywinery.com, $35.

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 7

a video tour of Candace Ç Take Hunter and Arthur Wright’s coach

CITY LIFE Inauguration barhopping continued from 7 everyone in the area is celebrating Trump’s ascension.

Across the bar, Mike, a 31-year-old paramedic who works the night shift at an emergency room in south-suburban Harvey, was indignant when asked if he voted for Trump.

“Fuck, no, I didn’t vote for him!” he spat as he joined the conversation.

From the perspective of a health-care professional, Mike is worried about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and thinks that much of the pro-Trump fervor in Mount Greenwood can be chalked up to local “hillbilly” racism.

Though he was born and raised in the area, he pulled no punches when discussing his friends’ and neighbors’ political views.

“In this area, Obama’s like the fucking next coming of Satan, basically,” he said. “There’s a percentage of people that hate him because he is African-American, unfortunately, yes.

But I think a larger majority of people will say they feel like they paid more money for people to get insurance that they think they shouldn’t have to pay for. When the Affordable Care Act came out, so many people around here were fucking furious because our taxes did go up, like, a considerable amount.

Everyone thinks all they’re paying for is the ‘people over there,’ like, people in the hood.”

Mike added that “Obama phones” (actually a pre-Obama, nongovernmental program to provide free or low-cost cellular service to low-income households) also threw the local populace into a rage. “It was a huge contributor to why people were angry, and that’s what led them to vote the shit out of Trump.”

After finishing his beer, Mike offered to take me barhopping to meet other Mount Greenwood stalwarts. We took a short drive down the street to Hinky Dinks Pub, where Jim was nursing a bottle of beer at a Formica counter. The white-haired retired cop said he’s happy that there are few lawyers in Trump’s cabinet. “I think lawyers think more along the lines of what you cannot do. They’re always saying things that you can’t do,” Jim explained. “Whereas the average layman thinks along the lines of what you can do.” He said he’s looking forward to an administration with “more common sense.”

Holly, the bartender, talked about her son, a marine facing imminent deployment to Australia, Norway, or Iraq. (She’s hoping for Australia.) Once Mike found out that she and Jim voted for Trump, he didn’t hesitate in grilling them. But they all soon found common ground, talking about problems with

8 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

house at chicagoreader.com/space.

local schools.

One of Mike’s biggest concerns, as the father of a four-year-old daughter, is the lack of good public schools in the area, he says. He grew up going to private Catholic schools, as did most everyone else in the neighborhood, it seems. The cost of a local Catholic grammar school is a few thousand dollars, Mike said, while Mount Greenwood Elementary, a CPS school, has an extensive waiting list.

He explained that Catholic high schools are twice as expensive. For most Mount Greenwood parents, enrolling their kids in Morgan Park High School, which is majority black and lower income, is unthinkable.

A Hinky Dinks patron named Randy chimed in. As it turns out, he went to Morgan Park High in the 70s. His parents couldn’t afford Catholic school, he said, but he wouldn’t dare send his kids there today. He feels “fortunate” he’s been able to afford the tuition of a private school, so his kids could learn in what he called “a controlled environment.” “I gotta control their friends,” he said. “That’s what you pay your money for.”

Mike and I made a last stop at Blackthorn Pub, where a half dozen beefy white men sat around a polished wood bar. Mike ordered a beer and a shot of Jameson, and we got to talking with Rich, a Vietnam vet and a retired backhoe operator wearing brown ostrich-hide cowboy boots and a diamond stud in one ear. He described his political views as “a little bit to the right of Attila the Hun.” Rich expects the new administration to take better care of the troops and the veterans.

With Trump in the White House, “the military’s gonna be fine,” he said. “The man, as far as I’m concerned, is a miracle worker. How can you go wrong with a guy that has a wife that looks like that?”

Rich said now that Obama’s out of office, he’s planning to donate to 19th Ward alderman Matt O’Shea’s reelection campaign. “I said I would never give any money while Barack Obama was president,” he explained.

“Barack Obama was a Marxist. I don’t think he liked this country. And he was a Muslim.”

Eventually Mike had to say good-bye to catch some sleep before starting his shift at 7 PM. Rich advised that I get a job with Fox News instead of working for a “liberal rag” like the Reader. He also recommended that I move down to Mount Greenwood, which he described using one of Trump’s favorite superlatives. “It’s a great neighborhood.” v

ß @mdoukmas

Space

A charming art studio in the land of mansions

The Kenwood coach house of Candace Hunter and Arthur Wright has a rich artistic history.

A GREAT LENGTH of yard separates South Drexel Boulevard and the 125-year-old, brick-and-stucco coach house: part gingerbread cottage, part crumbling castle.

“We are on the very edge of Kenwood, a neighborhood that I like to call the land of mansions,” says Candace Hunter, a visual artist, collagist, and water rights activist, who shares one of the coach house’s four units with partner Arthur Wright, a fellow artist whose drawings and paintings are largely inspired by jazz music. “There are more mansions in Kenwood than any other neighborhood in the city, and it’s really full of incredible stories about Chicago.”

Muhammad Ali lived on Woodlawn, as did Elijah Muhammad, former leader of the Nation of Islam. The Max Adler residence and the Obama family home are located on nearby Greenwood.

Meanwhile, Hunter and Wright’s coach

house was once tucked behind the Mandel mansion, the family behind Mandel Brothers department store and the University of Chicago’s Mandel Hall. Hunter thinks the main house burned down sometime in the 1960s, but both it and the coach house have a rich artistic legacy. “I know lot of older jazz musicians who lived in [one or the other],“ she says. “Ken Chaney, the jazz pianist, had his grand piano in this space. Napoleon Jones-Henderson, the AfriCOBRA artist, had his studio in the ballroom of the main house.

A lot of folks have been here who have done great things.“ Hunter’s cousin eventually bought the property, and she moved in 17 years ago into a “cuter than cute” unit on the north side of the house where the actual coaches were kept. “At the time, I was not a working visual artist,” she says. “I just had really fabulous parties and really fabulous cookouts on

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the fabulous lawn.” It wasn’t until a few years later, when she decided to make art her fulltime vocation, that the coach house became both a studio and living space. Wright came on the scene in 2006 when they were introduced by a mutual friend. “I gravitated toward her because she was an artist who was really doing stuff,” he says. “She was really involved in the community and involved with shows and with other artists, and I was more quiet.”

Now every wall, surface, nook and cranny of the studio is brimming with their artwork, much of which engages with African-

American cultural history: abstract paintings by Wright responding to the music of Thelonious Monk; works from “One In a Million,’ his ongoing series of one million penand-ink drawings; colorful, large-scale collages from Hunter’s “Service” series, highlighting men and women who served the country whose stories are often forgotten; and various pieces from her touring show “Hooded Truths,’ exploring “the injustices heaped upon African-Americans from their first day setting foot on the shores of the new world.” “[The coach house] has its own ambiance,” says Wright, who adds that it’s often the sight of workshops and a stop on Diasporal Rhythm’s bike tours.

“It’s a showcase for collectors to come and look at the work,” Hunter says. “I don’t have a desire to hold onto our art. We want to make it and let it go out into the world into somebody else’s house.” v

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Poetry on the blog page “BE YOURSELF in whatever you do,” says Monika Latala of the fashion blog effiesdress.com. Effie, her alter ego, is a name she took from one of her favorite poems, “Here Is Little Effie’s Head”

by E.E. Cummings. “It’s about being fearless, not afraid to make a statement, and that’s what Effie helps me do in fashion.” After moving from Poland, Latala began blogging "because the need to share my looks became stronger than the fear of starting my own page," she says. “[Late, legendary New York Times fashion photographer] Bill Cunningham said, ‘Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life,’ and I totally agree with that." —ISA GIALLORENZO

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CITY LIFE Alderman Ameya Pawar o RICH HEIN/SUN-TIMES MEDIA

POLITICS

A new New Deal

Alderman Ameya Pawar conjures FDR in his fight against Rauner and Trump.

By BEN JORAVSKY

I

n search of relief from the grim, dog-eatdog politics of President Trump’s first days in office—oh, how will I survive four years of this?—I’ve gone back in time to revisit the good old days of FDR. Actually, it was 47th Ward alderman Ameya Pawar, a relative youngster at age 36, who reminded me about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s noble efforts to pull the country out of the Great Depression with social security, public works projects, and the other bedrocks of the New Deal.

Pawar contends that Illinois voters will positively respond to a theme of government as your friend. He says such declarations will help him win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and beat Governor Bruce Rauner in 2018.

Yes, folks, in the aftermath of Trump’s inauguration, it’s time to think about what’s next.

That means the midterm elections. The state primaries are about a year away. Lord knows Rauner’s thinking about them—the billionaire governor just contributed another $50 million

to his reelection campaign fund.

“I don’t have Rauner’s money—so I’ll have to outwork him,” Pawar says. “I believe we have to change the narrative in this state. Rauner’s told us that government is the enemy. Just like Trump, Rauner’s played on our differences, pitting one group against another. He’s got us fighting over scraps.”

If elected, Pawar says he’d spend more money on schools and finance public works projects throughout the state, putting people to work paving roads, and building parks, hospitals, and schools—whatever is needed.

“Rauner talks about all the money he has personally donated, but government can never be replaced by philanthropy,” Pawar says. “I applaud philanthropy, but it just can’t be rich people telling us who gets what. I say pay your fair share of taxes, and let’s get government to determine how it’s spent. We can’t have a sustainable system of contributions from rich people who then write it off on their taxes.”

To pay for his public works projects, Pawar says he’d immediately slap a 3 percent sur-

charge on the incomes of millionaires, and he’d push to pass a graduated income tax— which means an even bigger tax hike for the well-to-do.

As for the state’s pension crisis, he’d bring unions to the table. “If you can stop demonizing public employees, you can get them to the table,” he says. “But it’s not going to work by calling them corrupt and demanding concessions.”

To those who say such dreams are impossible, he invokes the spirit of FDR, who faced far tougher challenges when he was first elected in 1932, during the depths of the Great Depression.

“FDR created social security—his programs created the middle class,” Pawar says.

“He put together an impossible coalition of rural and urban people of different races and backgrounds.”

OK, this isn’t the Great Depression. But income inequality in America is the worst it’s been since then, according to a 2013 study from the Pew Research Center.

“People are suffering,” Pawar says. “People don’t vote for carnival barkers like Trump unless they’re suffering.”

Talk like that fires up a boomer like me, who was raised by parents who grew up during the Depression, worshipping FDR. Of course, this is not the first time I’ve been stirred by Pawar’s idealism. He first came to my attention in the summer of 2010 when the proprietor of my neighborhood bowling alley kept telling me about “this Pawar kid you gotta meet.”

At the time, Pawar was going door-to-door in the ward, telling voters it was time to rethink the way we finance local government, starting with the dreaded tax increment financing program. He wanted to “blow up” TIFs. It was music to my ears.

Once in office, however, he put aside such rebellious plans and became a fairly dependable ally of Mayor Rahm. And so, for at least a year after he was elected, we went at it, with me bugging him to take a stronger stand against Rahm and him telling me what so many other young elected officials—from former alderman Will Burns to state rep Christian Mitchell—have told me: You can’t fight the man.

As if Chicago politics was a 1970s Blaxploitation flick starring Pam Grier!

Instead, you cut your deals to get what you can—like Barack Obama did. In Pawar’s case, he dropped his calls for citywide TIF reform

so he could spend local TIF dollars on public schools in his ward.

My guess is Pawar and I will be arguing about his first years in office for a long, long time.

“There may have been things I’d do differently—especially with the early budget cuts,” he says. “But I’m proud of the money that we spent on neighborhood schools in the ward.”

As was the case in his first aldermanic campaign, Pawar has no significant endorsements.

In fact, his very candidacy is at odds with the conventional wisdom of house speaker Michael Madigan, the chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Apparently Madigan thinks that to beat a billionaire, you gotta run a billionaire. As such, he’s been covertly trying to talk J. B. Pritzker or Christopher Kennedy—scions to their

“People are suffering.

People don’t vote for carnival barkers like Trump unless they’re suffering.”

—47th Ward alderman Ameya Pawar

respective family fortunes—into challenging Rauner.

So far Pawar is the only Democrat to declare. Predictably the state’s Republican Party responded by denouncing Pawar as a tool of Madigan, even though they barely know each other. That’s their tactic, and they’re sticking with it.

Will Pawar succeed? If I had to bet money in Vegas, I’d say no candidate can win statewide on a platform calling for higher taxes—even if it’s just for the rich. But what do I know? I didn’t predict Pawar would win that first aldermanic campaign either.

If he pulls it off? Man, that would be an unexpected twist. Like Trump, Rauner’s the latest in a long line of Republicans who’ve been determined to destroy FDR’s legacy. It would only be fitting, therefore, if Pawar, a relatively unknown liberal alderman from the north side, could revive the principles of the New Deal to oust Rauner from office. v

ß @joravben JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 11

CITY LIFE Gabe Klein, second from right, with Mayor Emanuel and aldermen Ameya Pawer and Pat Dowell in 2012 o RICHARD A. CHAPMAN

TRANSPORTATION

The data drive

Ex-CDOT chief Gabe Klein says focusing on crash and crime hot spots could save lives and reduce racial profiling.

By JOHN GREENFIELD

J

anuary was a month of grim statistics. We finished off the year with 783 homicides, according to the Chicago Tribune’s most recent count. And last week, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Chicago Police Department disclosed that 113 people died in traffic crashes on our city streets last year, including 44 pedestrians and six bicyclists.

A preliminary analysis by the Department of Public Health found that residents facing economic hardship suffer crash fatalities at a rate nearly twice as high as those who don’t.

So traffic violence, like gun violence, is a social justice issue.

On top of all this, the U.S. Department of Justice released its report January 13 outlining widespread civil rights abuses stemming from the Chicago Police Department’s use of force.

The Chicago Department of Transportation has previously stated that traffic enforcement efforts related to the city’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate crash deaths will be concentrated in parts of town that are most impacted by serious and fatal collisions. These are largely the same

12 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

lower-income south- and west-side neighborhoods where most shootings take place. But, as the DOJ report outlines, these communities are already plagued by police abuses, so there’s the potential for an increase in traffic stops to make that problem worse.

As I considered these issues last week, I recalled an off-the-record conversation I had with former Chicago transportation commissioner Gabe Klein in August 2013, a few months before he resigned from the job. Klein has now granted me permission to talk about that discussion.

Our conversation took place during the thick of the backlash against the city’s automated enforcement program, including hostility from south- and west-side aldermen and their constituents who viewed the $100 traffic camera tickets as an unjust hardship. During our talk back then, Klein briefly discussed a law-enforcement approach based on the theory that curtailing truly dangerous driving in high-crime neighborhoods could also help prevent other serious crimes, including gun violence. This was among the reasons Klein

now says he pushed for the speed camera program, which debuted that summer.

Klein’s now a Washington, D.C.-based transportation consultant (and a board member of Streetsblog Chicago’s parent organization).

Free of the strictures of political life, he was willing to talk openly by phone last week about this strategy, which, as commissioner, he unsuccessfully petitioned the CPD to try.

Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety, as it’s called, was conceived by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice and outlined in a March 2014 report. This approach encourages officials to analyze the locations and times when crashes, crimes, and calls for service occur. Using this information, officials can identify “hot spots”—locations and times when serious incidents are likely to occur in the future.

The report advises police departments to target these problem areas with highly visible traffic enforcement efforts, such as posting officers at intersections or installing red light or speed cams, to deter various types of crimes.

Not only is this approach a more efficient use of police work hours, it also helps avoid profiling, according to the report.

Before he left town, Klein was in talks with the feds about piloting the model in Chicago, he says. But he also says there wasn’t a lot of interest from the police department, which is why the data-driven approach was never tried here.

“We didn’t have much luck because they were so focused on dealing with ‘serious’ crime, and there’s often a view that traffic policing is sort of the lowest form of policing and the police have ‘real’ problems to address,” he says.

Police spokesman Frank Giancamilli said he couldn’t immediately verify whether CDOT discussed the data-driven DDACTS model with the CPD while Klein was commissioner, and he wouldn’t comment on whether the police department is in favor of this approach. He instead referred me to remarks by police superintendent Eddie Johnson from a January 1 press conference in which Johnson identified “targeted, data-driven enforcement” as one of the “three pillars” of the department’s crime

strategy, along with addressing the flaws in sentencing guidelines for repeat gun offenders and better community engagement.

Asked whether CDOT currently endorses that federal policing model, spokesman Mike Claffey said the transportation department couldn’t comment on CPD strategy. Still, Claffey made clear that CDOT is broadly interested in approaches that factor in data.

“We’re committed to ramping up this data-driven approach through the Vision Zero program,” he said via e-mail.

While the feds’ data-driven strategy was never implemented in Chicago during his tenure, Klein thinks it should be now.

“There are direct correlations between [traffic violations] and more serious crime,” he says, “so a holistic approach needs to be taken on this front.”

Some transportation justice advocates urge caution before using increased traffic enforcement as a crime-fighting strategy, because zero-tolerance enforcement campaigns typically result in police disproportionately ticketing and jailing African-Americans and Latinos after traffic stops for minor offenses.

Klein calls concerns like these “very valid” and acknowledges that balancing Chicago’s need for safer streets with the legal and moral imperative to respect residents’ civil rights is a complex issue.

“The Chicago Police Department needs to reform itself, period,” he says. “If they keep doing things the way they’ve been doing them, [increased traffic enforcement] is not going to work.”

But Klein believes that if Chicago adopts the federal government’s place-and-time-based, data-driven enforcement strategy, it could make a positive difference on all fronts.

“That way the police are there as more of a friend of the community, being proactive rather than reactive,” he says.

After checking out the DDACTS report and discussing it with Klein, I’m convinced that the approach makes sense. Local leaders should give the model a second look in conjunction with the city’s Vision Zero efforts. While there were almost seven times as many homicides as crash fatalities in Chicago last year, this tactic could address both problems more effectively, while also making policing more just.

For his part, Klein says that although he’s in D.C., “I’m definitely rooting for Chicago.” v

John Greenfield edits the transportation news website Streetsblog Chicago. ß @greenfieldjohn

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Read Derrick Clifton’s columns throughout the week at chicagoreader.com.

CITY LIFE Rahm Emanuel o CHIP SOMODEVILLA/ GETTY IMAGES

IDENTITY & CULTURE

The man in the mirror Will the DOJ report help Rahm change?

By DERRICK CLIFTON

I

t’s no secret that, like countless other Chicagoans, I’ve been miffed with Mayor Rahm for quite some time now.

H is u nder m i n i n g of t he publ ic schools, his apparent deference to the city’s monied power elite, his initial reluctance to challenge Chicago’s culture of policing, and the alleged cover-up in the Laquan McDonald shooting have all but convinced me that “Mayor 1 Percent” is a fitting moniker for the former Washington operative.

And indeed I was among the many who called on him to resign in December 2015.

That month, when Emanuel tearfully apologized during a speech to the City Council about the McDonald shooting, I wasn’t buying his crocodile tears. He’s a politician, sure, but he’s no ordinary one. He has oratory prowess. He has charisma and nerve, if not some undue aggression. He can perform and posture for the cameras. He’s beyond obsessed with his public image.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was somewhat compelled by his prepared remarks at the Department of Justice press conference.

On January 13, he stood alongside outgoing U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch as she unearthed her bureau’s findings, and the “agreement in principle” to create a consent decree that would address the Chicago Police Department’s deficiencies and misdeeds.

A thorough investigation into the department, Lynch said, found that far too many of the city’s residents have not enjoyed “police protection that is lawful, responsive, and transparent.”

“It’s also bad for dedicated police officers trying to do their jobs safely and effectively,” she said in a statement.

But for Emanuel, who initially resisted any federal probe of Chicago’s policing problems, the long-awaited release of the DOJ report was an apparent day of reckoning—even more so than when the city’s Police Accountability Task Force issued its own scathing account last April.

At the DOJ presser, Emanuel said that any wrongdoing cited in the report can be “solved by what most Chicago police officers are doing right, and doing right every day.”

If the mayor wants true forgiveness, we need honesty. One-hundredpercent, unadulterated, unfettered honesty from here on out.

But he also argued that everyday citizens have a role to play.

“If we want Chicago to be a model for the nation,” he said, “each of us must choose to be a model in our own lives—a model toward those we protect and serve, a model toward those we love and cherish, and a model toward those we do not know or have not noticed.”

I’ll take that as his soft nod to racism, discriminatory behavior against marginalized

groups, and implicit bias. Yet neither he nor Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson ever named these issues explicitly in their prepared remarks.

But as the Tribune pointed out, that morning, at an interfaith breakfast to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Emanuel said, “Later today I’ll be standing with the attorney general as the Justice Department issues a report outlining the unequal treatment at the hands of the very people sworn to protect and serve us. It’s a sobering reminder that [King’s] work, our work, is not yet finished.”

So which Rahm is the real Rahm? The Rahm behind closed doors at a fund-raiser breakfast was a bit more full-throated with an audience filled with black Chicagoans. Yet when he spoke to the general public, he tap danced around the issue of race.

Thankfully, members of the press held his feet to the fire during the DOJ press event.

One reporter even asked the mayor if he felt he owed Chicago an apology in the wake of the report’s release.

And after pivoting here and there for a few moments, Emanuel finally answered the question, even as he rebuffed it.

“There’s a difference between holding people accountable and being cynical,” he said, adding that the latter approach “gets you nowhere.”

But the mayor has to understand that his handling of the McDonald shooting, his dealings with the police department, and his economic and social policies have worn thin the patience of Chicagoans, those who were so dissatisfied with him in 2015 that he became the first sitting Chicago mayor to ever face a runoff election.

If he wants true forgiveness, we need honesty—100 percent, unadulterated, unfettered honesty from here on out. No audience posturing. No publicity stunts. No taking credit from where its due, as some have accused him of doing at past press conferences (and arguably even at DOJ event, where he didn’t mention his initial reluctance toward an investigation as much as he emphasized how “swiftly” he wanted to implement changes).

If you want Chicago’s forgiveness, Mayor Rahm, you must earn it. Earn our forgiveness, and let your actions speak louder than your posturing. Until then, I’ll be peering down my glasses at you with a side-eye. v

ß @DerrickClifton JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 13

PHOTO ESSAY

Fear and loathing in Washington, D.C. Snapshots of the nation’s capital as Trump supporters and protesters descended for the presidential inauguration

By JOEFF DAVIS

Clockwise from top left: Trump supporter Vjekoslav Grgas outside the pro-Trump Deploraball at the National Press Club; a Trump ag is burned near Franklin Square; protesters outside Deploraball.

14 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

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Clockwise from top left: supporters flash their iPhones and protesters flash signs as Trump’s car drives through the inauguration parade; a man takes a rest on a roadway choked by demonstrators; protesters flood onto a highway following the inauguration ceremony; protesters lock arms at the gate to the inauguration site.

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 15

PHOTO ESSAY

A candid portrait of a resilient Chinatown The photo series “Face Value” candidly depicts life in Armour Square and its surrounding areas.

By JACOB YEUNG

M

y parents immigrated with my older sister to the United States from Hong Kong in 1981. Soon after, I was born in Flint, Michigan, where I spent most of my childhood. There were a handful of Chinese families in Flint, and it was a close-knit group at one point, but it wasn’t until I moved to Chicago in 2009 at the age of 27 that I was able to familiarize myself with a larger Chinese com-

16 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

munity. Chinatown became a place where I’d take my camera and capture the neighborhood as a curious outsider. I started my series of photographs, titled “Face Value: A Portrait of Chicago’s Chinatown” in 2013. Since then I’ve amassed a wide variety of candid portraits and urban landscapes, depicting the day-to-day lives of Chinese residents in Armour Square and its surrounding areas.

Armour Square’s Chinatown wasn’t the first Chinese settlement in Chicago. At the turn of the 20th century, earlier settlers lived downtown on Clark between Van Buren and Harrison. Then, due to high rent, crime, and discrimination, much of the Chinese population retreated from the Loop. The majority of Chinese Chicagoans followed one of two rival groups: the Hip Sing Association, which

resettled north in Argyle Park, and the On Leong Association, which resettled south in Armour Square. The latter resulted in the building of a new headquarters on Wentworth and Cermak. Attached to the headquarters were 30 apartments and 15 shops that catered to the Chinese community. Now, 104 years later, Armour Square and its surrounding area boasts the densest Chinese population in the

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CHINATOWN

Opposite: I took this picture because of the composition, but the frown on the man with the ironic juxtaposition of the “Three Happiness” sign in the background really makes this picture unique.

Left: A senior woman picks vegetables from a garden she tends between a parking lot, freighter train tracks, and the el. I’ve seen this woman out many times tending her garden and this was near the end of the harvesting season. Taken August 3, 2016.

Bottom: A compact disc hangs in a home garden to reflect the sun and scare away small animals. I spoke to the woman who owned this property and she let me know about a study done about urban gardens through the University of Illinois. This first-of-its-kind study was conducted throughout Pilsen and Armour Square.

midwest, and continues to grow while other Chinatowns across are shrinking due to gentrification. Affordable housing and a growing list of amenities has a large part to do with Armour Square’s success. But Chinatown also has a long history of strong civic leaders and organizations, which promote progress on behalf of the community.

Chinatown’s history of resilience has encouraged me to use photography to honor its legacy and advance Chinese-American visibility. I relate to the people of Chicago’s Chinatown because many of their struggles and successes are similar to my family’s. Many Chinese residents in Flint were restaurant workers, and they fostered my first sense of community. Working on this project has helped me discover a deeper understanding of Chinese communities and their way of life, one that nurtures harmony and order among the individual, family, and society.

My role as a Chinese-American artist has recently taken on newfound urgency. The United States has elected Donald Trump as president, and I can’t scroll through my news-

feed without reading some article that warns of impending conflict with China. I often wonder how this will affect the perception of my family and other Chinese-Americans who’ve struggled in America. The one thing I can do right now is to build bridges through art, connecting people through the universal language of photography.

I plan to continue this project and to no longer be an outsider. I recently received a grant through DCASE (funded by the Joyce Foundation), and I’ve used that opportunity to collaborate with the Chinese American Museum of Chicago on a portraiture and oral history project highlighting senior women who are connected to the Chinatown community. The Chicago Cultural Center will be featuring my work and the work of the other DCASE artists in residence in the late spring of 2017; I’m looking forward to that, but eventually I want to exhibit my work in Chinatown. I hope to empower other storytellers within the growing diversity of the United States, to redefine what it means to be American. v

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 17

CHINATOWN

Clockwise, from top left: Two kitchen workers eat lunch as the Chinese Lunar New Year Day Parade begins. This frame makes me think of all the people who can’t aord to celebrate equally and still have to work despite the festivities going on around them. Taken February 23, 2015.

A dragon dancer waits to perform in the Chinese Lunar New Year Day Parade, January 14, 2016.

The beginnings of a redevelopment plan at the intersection of Cermak and Wentworth, June 28, 2016.

Two teens read about the Chinese zodiac in Chinatown Square, November 15, 2015.

18 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

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Clockwise, from top left: In Ping Tom Park, a man casts his rod while ďŹ shing from the south branch of the Chicago River. Taken on August 19, 2016.

A woman practices qigong in Ping Tom Park.

The grace with which the woman moves is quite mesmerizing. This reminded me of my mom doing the same types of exercises in the living room when I was young. Taken June 24, 2015.

Sun Yat Sen Park was created in 1977, after the city of Chicago decided to build the Stevenson highway through Armour Square.

On nice days, you can always ďŹ nd men playing Chinese chess there. Taken August 16, 2016.

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 19

CHINATOWN

LAO SZE CHUAN RESTAURANT | $$ At the celebrated Szechuan restaurant, dishes arrive with dispatch despite the crush. Bony Szechuan rabbit, marinated in oil and black vinegar and sprinkled with sweet peanuts, was every bit as pungent as the spicy sliced beef and maw was frightening looking and chewily addictive. Pork hock home style, with a blanket of thick fat covering the tender, fall-apart meat, was drenched in a dark red chile sauce redolent of star anise; powerfully but not painfully seasoned lamb with cumin Xin Jang remains epiphanic. Ma po tofu was the silky heavyweight it always is, and the snacking potential of dishes like chile chicken (tiny deep-fried nuggets tossed with dark red dried chiles) and lightly battered whole chile smelts was fully realized. Other highlights on the endless menu include Spicy Chengdu Chicken, Jelly Fish Shanghai, smoked tea duck, Szechuan string beans, and the elaborate double-sided hot pots. —MIKE SULA 2172 S. Archer, 312-326-5040, chicagolaoszechuan. com. Lunch, dinner daily. Open late nightly till midnight.

MINGHIN CUISINE | $$ The first thing you notice is the glistening brown barbecued birds and pork bellies hanging behind glass in the kitchen. Chef Wu Ming’s Macaustyle roast pork belly is an utterly sybaritic dish. The rest of the sprawling menu yields consistently impressive preparations in bewildering variety. Live and otherwise fresh seafood can prepared to the diner’s choice. One night my table devoured a gorgeous whole red grouper steamed to optimum silkiness with garlic, ginger, and scallions. Beyond a long list of high-ticket chef’s recommendations, there’s a daunting list of appetizers—soups, barbecue, panfried dishes, hot pots, casseroles, noodles, vegetables. All of this is presented in an elegant environment with elaborately decorated private rooms. MingHin Cuisine sets a new bar for Cantonese—and Chinatown in general—in terms of style, service, and, most impor-

Chinese New Year events Parades and celebrations DePaul Chinese New Year Gala DePaul University hosts its ninth annual Lunar New Year celebration, featuring a buffet dinner and a variety of cultural performances.

Fri 1/27, 6-9 PM, DePaul University Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield, depaulchinesestudies.wordpress. com, free.

Snack Planet o JEFFREY MARINI

tantly, food. —MIKE SULA 2168 S. Archer, 312-808-1999, minghincuisine.com. Breakfast, lunch, dinner daily. Open late nightly till 2.

SNACK PLANET | $ A highlight of the basement food court in Chinatown’s Richland Center, Snack Planet has a long, glossy checklist menu offering an assortment of cold dishes, noodles, soups, sweets, and a surprisingly large array of “shashlik.” The last are 36 varieties of meats and vegetables to choose from, each order consisting of four or five little bites threaded onto thin wooden skewers and boiled in a roiling pot of spiced cooking oil, like a combination of hot pot and Japanese oden. The first taste was eye-opening: a quartet of perfectly cooked quail eggs with a soft, pillowy texture, infused with the slight but unmistakable buzz of Sichuan peppercorn. Sticks of pierced cocktail weenies, chunks of cauliflower, and bean curd sheets were nice too, and in total, a great value. Selections include lotus root, eggplant, wheat gluten, mushroom, and bok choy, and fleshier bits like meatballs, fish balls, chicken kidneys, shrimp, squid, and pig’s blood. What was truly revelatory was a sampling of the cold dishes: a large plastic takeout container of jellylike wood-ear mushrooms and a mound of matchsticked bamboo draped with slice after slice of tender beef shank smothered in the spicy, earthy black-bean chile sauce properly known as LaoGanMa. Another big “cold dish” called Nanshan spicy chicken had chopped

20 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

bits of bird bathing in vibrant chile oil, sprinkled with peanuts and cilantro. —MIKE SULA 2002 S. Wentworth, suite B5, 312-842-9290, snackplanetchicago.com. Lunch: Mon-Sat; dinner daily.

YAN BANG CAI | $$ This spot serves the food of Zigong, Sichuan’s third-largest city and an exemplar of the subregional cuisine known as xiaohebang, characterized by molten boiled meat stews and a taste profile described variously as spicy, heavy, rich, and salty. Yan Bang Cai’s chef hails from Zigong, and like most Chinatown cooks his repertoire is vast. But it’s easy to find the regional representations on his menu—just look for dishes tagged with the monikers “Salt Miner’s,” Salt Merchant’s,” or “Zigong style.” Most representative are the boiled or “poached” dishes, shreds of lamb, beef, fish, or pork submerged in violently red, oily brews along with vegetables such as cabbage and bean sprouts, dried red chiles, and Sichuan peppercorns. Zigong-style spicy fish is loaded with whole dried red chiles and Sichuan peppercorns—and delivers numbing, face-melting, ma la properties. There are still more terrific, assertively flavored dishes to be discovered, such as the Salt Miner’s eggplant, thick batons of lightly fried aubergines, which always seems to end up being the best thing on the table. —MIKE SULA 228 W. Cermak, 312-842-7818, yanbangcaichicago.com. Lunch, dinner daily. v

Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration Dance shows, art displays, and a performance by the China National Peking Opera at the Art Institute. Sat 1/28, 10:30 AM-4:30 PM, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan, 312-443-3600, artic.edu, free with museum admission.

Argyle Lunar New Year Parade The annual celebration features colorful lion dances, traditional Chinese music, and other festivities. The parade route begins under the Argyle Red Line stop, and will move east along Argyle, south along Sheridan, west along Ainslie, and north along Broadway before returning to Argyle. Sat 2/4, 1-2:30 PM, 773-878-1064, exploreuptown.org, free.

CAMOC New Year Celebration The Chinese-American Museum of Chicago plays host to a lion dance, a selection of traditional foods, arts and crafts, and author Richard Lo discussing his book New Year.

Sat 2/4, 2-4 PM, Chinese-American Museum of Chicago, 238 W. 23rd, ccamuseum.org, free for members, $5-$10 for non-members.

Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade A stream of lion and dragon dances, marching bands, and colorful floats travels through the streets of Chinatown for the annual Lunar New Year parade, attracting more than 30,000 spectators every year. The parade follows Wentworth Avenue from 24th Place to Cermak. Sun 2/5, noon-3 PM, 224-534-9034, chinatownspecialevents.com, free.

Neighborhoods of the World: China Dancers, musicians, artists, and vendors take over the Navy

o SUN-TIMES ARCHIVES

Must-visit restaurants

The menu price of a typical entree is indicated by dollar signs on the following scale: $ less than $10, $$ $10-$15, $$$ $15-$25, $$$$ $25-$30, $$$$$ more than $30

Pier Crystal Gardens for a festive afternoon celebration. Sun 2/12, noon-4 PM, Navy Pier Crystal Gardens, 600 E. Grand, chinesefinearts.org, free.

Food and drink Duck Duck Goat’s Annual Chinese New Year Party The inaugural pop-up party at Stephanie Izard’s West Loop Chinese restaurant kicks off the Year of the Rooster with assorted foods and drinks.

Mon 1/30, 6 PM, Duck Duck Goat, 1520 W. Fulton, 312-600-9601, duckduckgoatchicago.com, $100.

Dumpling Making Dinner Make your own dumpling dinner and learn the historical and cultural significance of the food at the Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute’s annual dinner. Admission includes a full traditional Chinese meal, including crab rangoon, Mongolian beef, and more. Sat 2/4, 3-4:30 PM, Hing Kee, 2140 S. Archer, 312-8421988, chicagocci.com, $35-$40.

Chinese New Year Brunch MingHin Cuisine in Chinatown hosts a celebratory brunch before the annual Lunar New Year Parade, including dim sum, shrimp dumplings, barbecue pork buns, and more. Sun 2/5, 10:30-11:30 AM, MingHin Cuisine, 2168 S. Archer, minghincuisine.com, $25-30.

Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Dinner This festive dinner celebrating the Lunar New Year features a traditional lion dance, a red envelope ceremony, and a variety of classic dishes, including braised ham hock, thousand island prawns, and more. Thu 2/9, 6-9 PM, Phoenix Restaurant, 2131 S. Archer, 312-326-5320, chicagochinatown.org, $75.

Music, film, and art Chinese Lunar New Year 2017 The Art Institute’s galleries feature traditional Chinese art installations while the museum cafe offers Chinese cuisine. Through Sat 2/11, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan, 312-443-3600, artic.edu, free with museum admission.

Chinese New Year Celebration Concert The Chicago Symphony Center showcases the vibrant history of Chinese music through the ages in a two-part celebration concert. The show begins with a performance by China’s Shaanxi Province Song and Dance Theatre National Orchestra, and closes with a presentation of The Butterfly Lovers violin concerto by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Chicago Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Robert Chen. Sun 1/29, 3 PM, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan, 312-294-3000, cso. org, $20-$75.

Jackie Chan’s Long Yun Kung Fu Troupe Jackie Chan’s handpicked kung fu troupe from Beijing combines bits of kung fu and traditional Chinese dance in the show 11 Warriors. Sat 2/4, 7:30 PM, Auditorium Theater, 50 E. Congress, 312-341-2300, auditoriumtheatre.org, $33-$155.

Arts and Culture Doc Fest The second installment of Asian PopUp Cinema’s Doc Fest features a total of seven documentaries celebrating Chinese music, art, dance, and history, including Seeking the Tibetan Melody and Fish Worship. Sun 2/5, 10:30 AM-4:30 PM, Claudia Cassidy Theater at Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312315-6393, asianpopupcinema. org, free.

The New Year’s Eve of Old Lee Asian Pop-Up Cinema screens the Chicago premiere of The New Year’s Eve of Old Lee, a Chinese film about a woman who returns to her father’s home in Beijing to celebrate the New Year with her own daughter, and the conflict that breaks out among them. Thu 2/9, 7 PM, Claudia Cassidy Theater at Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312-315-6393, asianpopupcinema.org, free. v

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READER RECOMMENDED

Colm O’Reilly and Brian Shaw in Jim Lehrer and the Theater and Its Double and Jim Lehrer’s Double o EVAN HANOVER

THEATER

Double jeopardy

By TONY ADLER

“A violent and concentrated action is a kind of lyricism: it summons up supernatural images, a bloodstream of images, a bleeding spurt of images in the poet’s head and in the spectator’s as well.” —ANTONIN ARTAUD IN THE THEATER AND ITS DOUBLE “What rough beast . . . ?” —W.B. YEATS

P

oor Jim Lehrer. Like those hapless souls in horror movies who somehow catch Satan’s eye, the distinguished former PBS news anchor has stumbled into Mickle Maher’s sights. A decade ago, in The Strangerer, Maher presented Lehrer as the moderator of a presidential debate between George Bush and John Kerry, only to have Bush try to kill him—“On the air,” Reader critic Albert Williams noted, “several times, using a knife, a handgun, a pillow, a bottle of cyanide, even a Balinese kris.”

Now 82 and retired, Lehrer still isn’t safe.

Maher’s ingenious, eccentric, quietly devastating new play—produced by Theater Oobleck and titled Jim Lehrer and the Theater and Its Double and Jim Lehrer’s Double, obviously with an eye to big-time merchandising possibilities—portrays Lehrer as a useless if impeccably dressed codger, shuffling around his stately old residence, keeping up morale by pretending to anchor reports about his

daily life. (“Good evening, from the small sitting room just off the foyer at the entrance of my spacious and casually furnished D.C. suburban home . . . ”) He even swivels in his chair every so often to face a nonexistent second camera as he tries to tease a few minutes of never-to-air time out of a questionnaire he’s received in anticipation of the local village council election.

Maher’s Lehrer comes across at first as the quintessence of loneliness. But he’s not completely solitary. Before long he’s joined by his housemate and amiable doppelganger, Jim Lehrer II—apparently not an imaginary construct but a flesh-and-blood person. Lehrer II certainly bleeds, anyway, making his entrance with a cut on his head, a torn suit, and a red-stained shirt. A playwright who’s just attended the premiere of his first staged script, this second Lehrer explains that he had to fight his way free of audience members bent on tearing him to bits in a fit of bacchic frenzy. Not exactly what Artaud meant by the Theater of Cruelty, but not so far off either.

Having tracked down the wandering Lehrer I and reminded him that they’re roomies, Lehrer II tries to help with the questionnaire—which has turned out to be an ethical minefield. But he’s still spooked. He can’t reason out what went wrong at the theater.

He worries that some obsessed patron of the arts managed to follow him home, even

though he covered his tracks by fleeing down a creek like the Tim Robbins character in The Shawshank Redemption. Lehrer II jumps at every noise. And sure enough . . .

But let’s not spoil it. Jim Lehrer and is as much a goof on gothic horror as anything else. Something does go bump in the night at the Lehrer manse.

That something, when it arrives, has nothing to do with, say, a homicidal orangutan. Yet it’s not entirely unlike a heart beating beneath floorboards. Think of it as the heart beating beneath the floorboards of our present political moment. Beneath the floorboards of homes and businesses, state houses and campaign headquarters and inaugural platforms all over the United States. Why does Maher have to go and pick on good-hearted, fair-minded, rational, scrupulous, courtly Jim Lehrer? Precisely because of his public virtues. Lehrer embodies that Enlightenment liberalism, that ideal of informed civic responsibility that’s supposed to make American democracy possible. Doddering now, broadcasting only to himself, he doesn’t hear the heartbeat. As someone in the play says, “New monsters have come. From under the mirror.” What we’re seeing here is less the treason of the intellectuals than their confused senescence. They look in Maher’s mirror and see a double they don’t recognize.

Even at 70 minutes, Jim Lehrer and has its longueurs as Maher—who’s scrupulous, like Lehrer—works out the implications of his conceit. It’s also heady with allusion.

But the opening passages are hilarious and the closing ones terrifying, thanks in large part to Colm O’Reilly and Brian Shaw, two extraordinary actors who have a long history of working with Maher. Maher himself is as good a playwright as any working in America today. He does small, smart, and edgy, though, so who knows if he’ll get the acknowledgment he deserves. Then again, we may need him in the near future, to identify those thump-thump beats we keep hearing. vR JIM LEHRER AND THE THEATER AND ITS DOUBLE AND JIM LEHRER’S DOUBLE Through 2/19: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, 773-897-5089, theateroobleck.com, $15 or donation.

ß @taadler

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Charles Busch o FREDERIC ARANDA

THEATER

Charles Busch performs in Chicago for the first time in 36 years

“WHAT THE PUBLIC criticizes in you, cultivate it,” Jean Cocteau once said. “It is you.”

Playwright, actor, and drag artist Charles Busch claims that this slogan “changed his life,” which comes as no surprise after viewing his flashy one-man cabaret act, That Girl, That Boy, playing in Chicago this weekend only. A reflection of Busch’s life and career, the show documents his struggles and triumphs in the theater, from his rocky beginnings to the premiere of his Broadway hit, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.

That Girl, That Boy dives into the early, formative years of Busch’s career, spent running from audition to audition at Northwestern University, only to find that he was “too androgynous” to clinch a single role. Upon recognizing the lack of space for an openly gay man in the Chicago theater scene during the 1970s, Busch decided to forge his own path as an up-and-coming drag icon—he wrote his own material, which blurred gender binaries and allowed him to play off of the same androgyny that had damned him before. The show explores these critical moments in Busch’s life through a series of hilarious anecdotes and passionate musical numbers.

The Tony-nominated, MAC-winning performer returns to Chicago for the first time since 1981 this week at the Broadway at the Pride Arts Center, where Busch will be joined on piano and vocals by his longtime musical director and friend, composer and actor Tom Judson. —ABBEY SCHUBERT R That Girl, That Boy Sat 1/29-Sun 1/30, 7:30 PM, The Broadway at Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, 800737-0984, pridefilmsandplays.com, $40, $75 for reserved seats.

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 21

HOUSE

ARTS & CULTURE

JAN 27 – MAR 25, 2017

OPENING RECEPTION FRI, JAN 27, 5 – 8 PM

Potluck-style opening event.

Bring libations and a dish to share.

Events are free and open to the public.

The exhibition House is in partnership with Red Line Service, an art collaborative that works with Chicagoans experiencing or concerned about homelessness to reframe art as a broad social justice endeavor.

Weinberg/Newton Gallery 300 W Superior Street, Suite 203 Chicago, IL 60654 o COURTESY PREACH

312 529 5090 weinbergnewtongallery.com Hours Mon – Sat 10 AM – 5 PM

COMEDY

Underrepresented performers combine spoken word and improv

By BRIANNA WELLEN

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Never miss a show again.

EARLY WARNINGS

chicagoreader.com/early 22 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

J Mendel and Terrence “T-Baby” Carey first performed as the improv group Preach in March 2016. The two comics met at iO, bonded over their spoken-word backgrounds, and decided to incorporate the art form into an experimental configuration— the audience makes a suggestion, Carey and Mendel turn it into a slam poem, and then turn the poem into a performance. The format was immediately successful, and since then the group has grown from two to seven members—all performers of color—and worked at comedy venues all across the city.

The latest milestone for Preach was the debut of their first sketch show, Uncomfortable, at Chicago Sketchfest earlier this month.

They’re reviving the revue, along with an improv set, for an upcoming fund-raiser benefiting the Metropolitan Tenants Organization.

Supporting the housing rights group is in line with Preach’s mission to use poetry and comedy to shine a light on larger issues facing people of color.

“This isn’t like a comedic endeavor to go ahead and raise us to a higher platform on just a comedic level,” Mendel says. “It’s more so to bring awareness to the fact that as minorities in comedy there is a message that we feel needs to be said, along with what we are laughing at.”

Spoken word is a good place to start, Mendel says, because it’s a medium that allows performers to be vulnerable and say exactly

what’s on their mind, ranging from personal problems at home to dismay at the city’s gentrification to experiences with the police. The scene that follows not only provides comic relief to potentially dark poems, but also gives context to the relevant issue. It’s easier to understand what someone is yelling about when they offer more insight into their point of view, Mendel says.

The rare combination of poetry and improv also crosses artistic boundaries, offering a more serious foundation for comedic scenes and giving the sometimes buttoned-up world of poetry some room to joke around. Mendel and the rest of Preach want to introduce the blend into communities that may not have been exposed to improv, including younger generations on the south and west sides of Chicago who often turn to rap and spoken word as a means of expression.

“Spoken word and slam have such a rep of being screamy and preachy, but it’s like, we can still be funny,” Mendel says. “I understand that emotions are running high right now, but there can still be joy—there can still be hope and a silver lining. It’s something we need to highlight as much as the pain that we feel.” v R PREACH, A COMEDIC BENEFIT FOR SERIOUS HOUSING JUSTICE Wed 2/1, 7:30 PM, Greenhouse Theater Center, 773404-7336, facebook.com/preachimprov, $16.

ß @BriannaWellen

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ARTS & CULTURE A Writers Resist event at Open Books o COURTESY WRITERS RESIST

LIT

In the face of Trump, Writers Resist

By JOHN WILMES

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ith the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, political upheaval has arrived; writers in Chicago, like many across America, wonder if they should address any other subject. On January 15, Writers Resist, a national network of authors and journalists driven to defend the ideals of a free, just, and compassionate democratic society, launched a concurrent series of events nationwide to foster communal strength in advance of president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. This day of resistant rhetoric looped in seemingly every literary collective in the city, including events at Open Books, Woman Made Gallery, Flor del Monte, Cafe Urbano, Bookends and Beginnings, and La Bruquena, with a concluding showcase in the evening at Cole’s Bar in Logan Square.

Some of the 16 writers at Cole’s, the site of a reading called Speak Up/Warm Up (curated by Curbside Splendor, MAKE Literary Magazine, Meekling Press, and Red Rover, in collabo-

ration with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association), summoned the words of quintessential voices throughout a long history of national pain: Toni Morrison, Harvey Milk, Lucille Clifton, Rosario Morales, Claudia Rankine, and Susan B. Anthony, to name a few. Others read from original work. All of the presenters, though, wrestled with the difficult task of selecting impactful words to properly describe the machinations of oppressive power that looms.

“I was asked to write an essay the day after the election, but I personally couldn’t distance myself enough to get it done,” said Reader contributor Britt Julious, one of the participants. “Everything felt too raw.” The work Julious read at the event was, like that of many of her peers, more poetic than the hasty, morally shaken think pieces that are abundant online. The Chicago chapter of Writers Resist aims to create lasting American literary contributions, like Morrison and the other cited inspirations, at a moment

when most working authors and journalists are urged to craft blunt reactions to viral ephemera. “I reject instances in which I am being asked to write about ‘the black death of the week’ because those reactionary think pieces often offer little substance,” Julious said. “They’re usually just a quick grab for clicks. Writing about these kind of subjects takes time and finessing and care and I try to only accept work that reflects that.”

Other readers, including Doro Boehme of the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and National Endowment for the Arts recipient Jami Nakamura Lin, committed their time onstage to recalling past horrors, domestically and abroad. Lin told the story of her ancestors who were subjugated to American internment camps, while Boehme read from the trial transcripts of White Rose, an intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany. “I do admit that I have been this frightened about the state of the world only once before: growing up in Germany through the end of the Cold War period,

situated dead center in the range of U.S. and Russian missiles,” Boehme said.

Lin’s larger ongoing project, a parabolic novel populated with Japanese folklore, responds to what happened to her family during World War II. “People wonder why I’m so obsessed with mythology, since they’re just made-up stories from long ago,” Lin said. “But myths are a reflection of a society’s fears, and myths are prevalent today. Look at our ‘postfactual’ society, filled with all this fake news.

What is fake news? Myths! We’re doing the exact same thing: creating stories to demonize people who are different, to prey on fear.”

One noticeable aspect of the lineup at Speak Up/Warm Up was a lack of white men.

The loaded term “identity politics” is one you won’t see embraced within this community.

“That term is mostly used derisively by those who think questions of identity should be amputated from whatever issue is at hand,” Lin said. Nathanael Jones, a playwright and poet at SAIC, said, “I don’t think I need to try and make my work or my life any more political than it already is.” Jones’s performance included a surreal vision of mobilized protest, imagining “every cubic inch of every police station and headquarters in Cook County, Illinois” fully occupied by black bodies.

This installment of Writers Resist was not without concrete calls to action. Before reading from Susan B. Anthony’s court transcripts, memoirist Zoe Zolbrod urged the audience to call their representatives about HB 40, a state-level bill that could greatly mitigate damage done to reproductive rights at the federal level. Juliet de Jesus Alejandre, a representative from the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, contended with the elephant in every Logan Square bar: gentrification. She clarified that the Bloomingdale Trail was a grassroots effort that was in the works for 15 years and acknowledged the threat of big-money development in the area, which would make a seemingly populist piece of infrastructure too expensive for its builders to live near. Writers rarely have the kind of tangible impact that such a landmark has on a city—Sunday’s strong, supportive turnout suggests they will be an invaluable source for Chicago during the next four years. v

ß @johnwilmeswords JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 23

THE FOUNDER ss

ARTS & CULTURE

Directed by John Lee Hancock. PG-13, 115 min.

For showtimes see chicagoreader.com.

LIT

The Conversation begins

By AIMEE LEVITT

Aleksandar Hemon; Eula Biss o BOCKOPIX (HEMON); JOHN STURDY

L

ast April the author Kim Brooks had a book launch party in Andersonville for her novel The Houseguest. There was a reading at Women & Children First and then drinks up the street at the Brixton, where people stayed chatting about books until 1 AM. Brooks and three other local writers, Zoe Zolbrod, Rebecca Makkai, and Aleksandar Hemon, wondered if there was a way to replicate the energy of that night and generate more interest in the city’s literary community.

They began planning a series of events with the owners of the bookstore and local bars.

Then the election happened.

Almost immediately, Sarah Hollenbeck, one of the owners of Women & Children First, noticed a change around the bookstore. One of the first events post-election was an author reading by Jessica Luther from her book Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape. “It was necessary information,” Hollenbeck says, “but it made us feel terrible. We had elected an accused rapist.

This was our life now. No one felt hopeful.”

At the end of November, the bookstore hosted its feminist craft circle. Sixty people showed up to knit bright pink pussyhats for protesters to wear at the January Women’s March on Washington and talk about why they were there. “It was a very different tone,” Hollenbeck says. “This was an event around an activity and community-building. The book event was around horrific reality that feels insurmountable. There needs to be a balance between learning and feeling inspired to tackle issues head-on.”

The four writers felt this need for balance as well and proposed a change to their reading series: instead of promoting individual

24 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

authors, they’d invite writers and community activists to discuss the intersection of books and politics. As Makkai puts it, “In other countries, writers and artists are considered public intellectuals. Here we often only talk publicly about our work, our process. But if there was ever a time for us to engage in important political conversation, this is it.”

The event, they decided, would be called The Conversation. Each month’s conversation will have a particular theme, accompanied by readings of short passages that relate to that theme. Afterwards, the readers and audience will migrate to a nearby bar or restaurant to continue talking.

The first month of the Conversation, however, will be a discussion between Hemon, Eula Biss, Coya Paz, and Monica Trinidad about using art to resist the new administration, followed by a gathering at Las Manos Gallery around the corner on Foster that will benefit the Chicago Literary Alliance. February’s discussion will center on civil disobedience and feature ACLU senior counsel Rebecca Glenberg and labor lawyer Tom Geoghagan.

“It’s been fascinating to watch the transformation,” Hollenbeck says. “We met at the Hopleaf for a planning meeting soon after the election. There was a deep sadness. We all cried several times. There was a sense of deep loss. But at the end of the night, Kim said this was the best she’d felt in weeks. She said, ‘There are people grieving alongside me, but we’re doing something about it.” v THE CONVERSATION: ART & RESISTANCE Thu 1/26, 7:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299, womenandchildrenfirst.com. F

ß @aimeelevitt

Michael Keaton in The Founder o NICOLA DOVE

MOVIES

Hallowed be thy cheese

By J.R. JONES

I

n a key scene from The Founder, a new drama about the making of McDonald’s, 52-year-old salesman Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) tries to persuade the McDonald brothers, Dick (Nick Offerman) and Mac (John Carroll Lynch), to let him franchise their revolutionary fast-food business across the nation. The brothers are small-time operators, content with their thriving restaurant in San Bernardino, California, but Kroc, an Arlington Park entrepreneur who’s been chasing business opportunities all his life, has a special feeling about McDonald’s. For years he’s been crisscrossing the country as exclusive sales agent for a newfangled multiple-milkshake mixer, and in every small town he sees a courthouse topped with a flag and a church topped with a steeple. To these he wants to add the brothers’ golden arches. “McDonald’s can be the new American church,” he tells Dick and Mac. “And it ain’t just open on Sunday, boys. It’s open seven days a week.”

With dialogue like that, The Founder often reminded me of The Master, Paul

Thomas Anderson’s thinly veiled biopic about L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology. Both movies are built around charismatic but morally dubious leaders, men who manipulated and mistreated everyone around them. In fact the early years of McDonald’s franchising, as portrayed in The Founder, share a good deal in common with Scientology: in both cases, people hoping for personal enrichment buy into a rigid set of values and pledge every waking hour to the endeavor. Yet The Founder is primarily a business story, and unlike The Master (which is built around a dense and mysterious performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman), it never pinpoints the personal qualities that might have enabled its protagonist to sweep people off their feet. As scripted by Robert D. Siegel and played

by Keaton, Kroc’s a greedy scoundrel, the repository for every bad feeling his empire has ever provoked.

Siegel, a former writer and editor for the Onion, zeroes in on the conflict between Kroc and the McDonald brothers and plays

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ARTS & CULTURE sss GOOD

ss AVERAGE

s POOR

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WORTHLESS

R

RSM

ssss EXCELLENT

www.BrewView.com 3145 N. Sheffield at Belmont it for hard-hearted laughs. Natives of New Hampshire, the McDonalds moved to southern California in the 1920s and managed a movie theater before opening a barbecue restaurant in 1940; eight years later they decided to shut down the business and rethink it from top to bottom, focusing on speed, efficiency, and quality control. They cut their menu back to the best-selling items, fired their carhops in favor of a walk-up window, and designed the perfect kitchen, chalking its floor plan on a tennis court and putting their workers through the motions to determine the most effective layout. The Founder re-creates all this in flashback as the brothers tell Kroc their story. He fully appreciates their genius, but his genius lies in replicating their model across the land. The Founder reveals how he succeeded, even as he outmaneuvered the brothers legally and won control of their idea and their name.

McDonald’s may not be a religion, but Kroc surely treated it as one. The Founder opens with numerous sequences of the dogged, heavy-drinking salesman going from one drive-in to another, annoyed with their litter, bad service, uneven food, and disreputable clientele of teenage hot-rodders. Once he’s got his hands on McDonald’s, he assembles a bible for franchisees that covers every aspect of the business, from food preparation to employee appearance to maintaining the facility (the grounds were to be swept up regularly, and jukeboxes, pay phones, and vending machines were all banned as sources of trouble). The brothers have gotten their burgers, fries, and shakes down to a science, and Kroc codifies all this to ensure a uniform product. A true zealot, he can’t roll up to his first McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines without scouring the parking lot for trash, and in one scene he shows up on a golf course to shake a half-eaten burger at two of his franchise owners and complain about their deviations from the formula.

Faith and family are naturally intertwined, and as The Founder demonstrates, Kroc sold McDonald’s as the ultimate family experience. “McDonald’s—is—family,” he tells his small staff, and in many cases this is literally true: spouses, Kroc discovers, make the best franchise owners, usually with the husband handling the kitchen operations and the wife keeping the books. Ironically, Kroc had a

tense relationship with his grown daughter, and as he wrote in his memoir, Grinding It Out, his discovery of McDonald’s turned his marriage into “a veritable Wagnerian opera of strife.” Siegel follows the slow dissolution of Kroc’s marriage to the easygoing Ethel (Laura Dern), who’s tired of never seeing him, and his secret courtship of Joan Smith (Linda Cardellini), whose husband, Rollie (Patrick Wilson), operates a McDonald’s franchise in Rapid City, South Dakota. Like the adulterous protagonist in The Master, Kroc chooses a lover from among his flock.

Smith captivates Kroc with her beauty and grace but also with her business acumen; knowing the high cost of a walk-in freezer for ice cream, she sells him on a new brand of powdered milkshake. Kroc loves the idea, but he’s made a fatal miscalculation in his deal with the McDonald brothers: he needs their permission in writing for any change in the restaurant operation. No sooner has their franchising deal begun than Dick McDonald begins to slow Kroc down, refusing to permit a sponsorship deal that will place a Coca-Cola logo at the bottom of every restaurant’s menu sign and withholding letters of permission for restaurants with basements, a necessity in colder regions where furnaces are required. A running gag has a furious Kroc hanging up on Dick at the end of every long-distance call; when Kroc proposes the shake mix to the brothers, Dick turns him down flat, insisting that McDonald’s milkshakes will have real milk in them, and finally hangs up on Kroc, cinching up his tie proudly.

There are plenty of business lessons in The Founder, and the most important one comes when Kroc, desperate for operating capital, meets Harry Sonneborn (B.J. Novak), a former vice president at Tastee-Freez who helps him straighten out the company’s finances. “You’re not in the burger business,” Sonneborn advises him. “You’re in the real estate business.” With Sonneborn’s help, Kroc forms the Franchise Realty Corporation, which buys real estate, constructs properties, and leases them to franchisees; eventually this company, legally separate from Kroc’s franchising partnership with the brothers, buys up almost every McDonald’s restaurant in America. In a stunning end run, Kroc acquires the San Bernardino lot where the brothers still operate their original J

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Get showtimes at chicagoreader.com/movies.

ARTS & CULTURE continued from 25 restaurant; when Dick McDonald phones him to ask what’s going on, Kroc tells him, “Your authority stops at the door and at the floor.”

Just to rub it in, he’s sent them a big box of milkshake mix.

These business maneuverings are pretty entertaining, but in the end The Founder must stand or fall as a character study, and the man onscreen is too unpleasant to have inspired so many people. Manic and perpetually exasperated, he’s less a fully defined personality than a graying version of the comic hustlers Keaton used to play in the 80s. Siegel, for his part, sums up Kroc’s spiritual life with an early scene in which the traveling salesman, settling down for the night in his hotel room, polishes off a half pint of Canadian Club while listening to a spoken-word LP about the power of persistence. The Founder is candid about Kroc’s drinking problem; he’s never without his flask, and his opening spiel about the wonders of the multimixer, delivered to the camera in close-up, is just a little bit woozy. In fact his drive to succeed is only another form of addiction.

Even if Keaton had brought a little more charm to the role, Kroc’s ruthlessness makes him a hard man to like. He takes advantage of Ethel, secretly mortgaging their home to help finance McDonald’s, then coldly dumps her to marry Joan. (In fact there was a second wife in between Ethel and Joan, and Kroc dumped

The Founder

her too.) When Mac McDonald, stressed by one of Kroc’s bullying phone calls, collapses of a diabetic seizure, Kroc flies out to LA and shows up in Mac’s hospital room with flowers—then presents the brothers with blank checks and asks how much they want to sever their ties with the business. They walked away with a million dollars each, though according to the end credits, Kroc reneged on a

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handshake deal to pay them 1 percent of the profits in perpetuity, which would be worth more than $100 million a year now. “Business is war,” Kroc tells the McDonalds at one point. “If my competitor were drowning, I’d walk over and put a hose right in his throat.”

Joan Kroc is a relatively flat character in The Founder, but in real life she demonstrated some of the humanity her husband lacked.

Theirs was a stormy marriage—in 1971 she filed for divorce and took out a restraining order against him—and according to Lisa Napoli’s biography Ray & Joan, her fruitless attempts to get him off the bottle led her to AlAnon and eventually inspired her to launch an alcohol-awareness campaign through their Kroc Foundation. After Ray Kroc died in 1984, Joan focused on giving his fortune away to charity—Napoli’s book includes an 11-page appendix of the millions and millions of dollars she donated during the next two decades to peace initiatives, AIDS treatment, addiction treatment, medical research, cultural organizations, hunger programs, and on and on. Her posthumous gifts included $225 million for National Public Radio and $1.5 billion for the Salvation Army. Too bad there aren’t more churches like that, and open seven days a week. v

ß @JR_Jones

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IN ROTATION

A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn.

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Howlin’ Wolf backstage in Washington, D.C., in 1970 o SUN-TIMES PRINT COLLECTION

A Conversation with Stewart Copeland of the Police 4/11 10pm show added! • Tinariwen with special guest Dengue Fever 4/19 Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares 4/19 World Music Wednesday: Extended Play Herencia de Timbiquí 5/19 Lucy Kaplansky VISIT OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG TO BUY TICKETS!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28 8PM Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's

John McEuen & Friends present Will the Circle Be Unbroken featuring Michael Miles, Jodee Lewis, and former members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

The cover of Ela Stiles’s Molten Metal

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29 10:30AM

Mavis Staples at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2011 o LAURA FEDELE

LEOR GALIL

Reader music critic

Singer-songwriter and poet

ADAM GOTTLIEB

ANDY WILLIS

Ela Stiles, Molten Metal I rag on year-end lists, but I’m always thankful for the annual “Top 30 Drone Records” post from experimental-music blog Anti-Gravity Bunny. The 2016 iteration introduced me to Sydney musician Ela Stiles (her cassette Black Metal is near the top of AGB’s list), and I promptly fell for an even more recent release: her mystical outre-pop record Molten Metal. Listening to its hypnotizing vocal overdubs, gnarled industrial percussion, and airy, washed-out synths became part of my daily routine. When I decided I wanted to do better than just stream it, I gladly spent more than $20 to have a copy shipped from Australia (more than the vinyl cost) so I could immerse myself deeper.

Mavis Staples, Livin’ on a High Note Everyone involved in social-justice struggle should listen to this 2016 album on a regular basis, for spiritual reasons. Listen to it when you need something uplifting. From the opening cut, “Take Us Back,” you’ll feel affirmed. (The song mentions Chicago too, which makes it especially touching for those of us who love and struggle in this city.) By the end of the record, I promise you’ll be ready for the daily war again. On “Action” Mavis sings, “What a terrifying time to raise our voices / But see I’m not left with many more choices.”

A poem: “The Night the Howlin’ Wolf Got Me,” Halloween 1972, Oakland, California Grasped my foot and held me. Shook me like a rag doll. Crying out to God. Then it shook me harder. Shook me until I knew I was in his hands—until I knew I was without power.

Washed in the fear of death, then reconciled to die anonymously. Shook the arrogance out like dust from a beaten rug. Chains will he break. Chains will he break. In the bottom.

Cast down.

The Riverman label I’ll often fall down a rabbit hole scouring the Internet for old privatepress records, and on a recent surfing expedition for info about the 1980 album Thin Ties by obscure folkie Stan Moeller, I stumbled upon South Korean label Riverman, who’d reissued it in 2009. Since the mid-2000s, Riverman has reissued a clutch of out-of-print American records, and I’ve found some interesting material by poking around its catalog— such as Peter Elizalde’s charming 1982 poprock album Winter Playground Mystery.

Lil Peep I haven’t made up my mind about this LA rapper, whose vocals make him sound like a third-stringer for the Used’s Bert McCracken. Pitchfork has called him “the future of emo,” but I’m curious to see how music outlets that have historically been allergic to anything remotely emo will approach him.

“The Moonshiner” Earlier in the fall, for a week or so I only listened to various versions of this song. I liked the ones by Charlie Parr, Redbird, and Bob Dylan a lot, but my favorite has always been the first version I ever heard, by my friend Fiona Chamness. The sweet, haunting melody, beautiful chord progression, and poetic yet conversational lyrics (which paint a rich character portrait of an alcoholic) inexplicably touched something way down inside me. The song’s origins are disputed—Irish or American. To me it seems deeply American, but even more deeply human.

Yes Yes, I mean Yes, the British progressive rock group that’s been active since 1968. I’ve always felt embarrassed about how much I love them, because I’m afraid others think they’re cheesy. Recently I was talking with my friend and bassist about how millennials generally seem to feel the same way. Maybe it’s time we all just admitted that this band is freaking awesome.

Blues musician

Hand me down my running shoes. And he descended into hell. Eternal separation from God. All night long. Nothing but a lonesome chill. Long way from home. Can’t sleep at all.

Fear of death. Evil goin’ on. But here, where the soul of man never dies. Taking the highway. Catch him before he goes. Immortal. For the slave is our brother. Oh howling night, the moon is brightly shining. Savior goes first to hell—comforts the tormented? Comforts the damned? How many more years have I got? How many more years will I let you dog me around? Like a rag in the pain of the city uncertain. We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, we have come treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered. You shaking? How many more years?

Only the blood make you whole. Tell me what in the world can be wrong? Tell me what in the world did I do wrong?

Why can’t you hear me cryin’?

A-why don’t ya hear me cryin’?

Oooo, whoo-hooo, whoo-hooo Whooo

Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players Kids' concert SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 8PM

James Hill & Anne Janelle

In Szold Hall

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 8PM

Catie Curtis

The Final Outing Tour with special guest Connor Garvey

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 5 & 8PM

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George Kahumoku, Jr., Nathan Aweau & Kawika Kahiapo Masters of Hawaiian Music

ACROSS THE STREET IN SZOLD HALL 4545 N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL

1/27 Global Dance Party: AfriCaribe 2/3 Global Dance Party: Chicago International Salsa Congress 2/10 Global Dance Party: Planeta Azul and the Passistas Samba Dancers 2/24 Global Dance Party: Volo Bogtrotters

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JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 27

MUSIC

Recommended and notable shows, and critics’ insights for the week of January 26 b

ALL AGES

F

PICK OF THE WEEK

Make no mistake, D.R.A.M. delights in his range as a pop artist

o COURTESY THE ARTIST

D.R.A.M., RIVER TIBER, NEBU KINIZA

Fri 1/27, 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, sold out. 18+

CHICAGOAN JAYAIRE WOODS’S 2016 mixtape Free the Fall features a curious misstep in a guest verse by his touring partner and labelmate Lil Yachty, who proclaims on “Man of the Year” that “I bring rappers back from the dead / ‘Broccoli’ went gold / Do I need to say the rest?”

Yachty had a successful year, no doubt, but he’s the person least responsible for the effervescent buoyancy of “Broccoli,” an irrepressible summer hit by Virginia pop artist D.R.A.M. (the guy also behind the 2015 viral hit “Cha Cha”), who performs the animated hook like a kid bounding up stairs, more delighted with his every passing word. D.R.A.M. dropped his Yachty collaboration en route to October’s Big Baby

28 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

D.R.A.M. (Atlantic), which sandwiches “Broccoli” between two other sweet and joyous hits, the ragtime rap “Cash Machine” and the gently humming R&B hit “Cute.” Throughout the album D.R.A.M. shows the range of a pop artist eager to juggle genres—it’s most obvious on “Sweet VA Breeze,” which proudly sports classic-soul sensibilities—but the triple play of “Cash Machine,” “Broccoli,” and “Cute” does the most to show his strengths as a musical personality. I’m hard-pressed to find anyone else who can coo in a falsetto about being a foodie and reference Pokémon in how he chooses a lady and still make the whole endeavor come off as charming as D.R.A.M. —LEOR GALIL

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THURSDAY26 Lemon Twigs Savoy Motel and Glyders open.

9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $10.

Long Island brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario are hardly the first precocious teenagers to fetishize the record collection of their parents, but as the Lemon Twigs they experiment with and channel those decades-old influences, eventually reinventing the sound to be both fresh and entertaining. On their recent debut album, Do Hollywood (4AD), the pair evoke the spirits of Harry Nilsson, Ray Davies, and Todd Rudgren, laying down fizzy melodies and hyperactive arrangements as reminsicent of the 70s as the ridiculously gaudy clothing and post-Bay City Rollers coif of 17-year-old Michael. Occasionally the brothers get too caught up in gilding the lily of their hooky creations, slathering on oversweetened quasi-orchestral flourishes, accelerating tempos as though they’re mainlining Coke, and indulging in some convoluted proggy excess (the bloated “As Long as We’re Together” is crushed under its own weight well before its seven-minute run). Still, those shortcomings ultimately seem minor; while the Lemon Twigs are still clearly in thrall to their forefathers, their craftsmanship and knack for pop hooks is too strong to dismiss. I’m eager to hear how these kids grow into their skin, but for now Do Hollywood is as good as any sugar rush provided by 2016.

—PETER MARGASAK

02.03 G JONES & FRIENDS 02.07 J BOOG

JO MERSA MARLEY / JEMERE MORGAN

02.08 US THE DUO – JUST LOVE TOUR HAILEY KNOX

SILVER WRAPPER PRESENTS

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A ‘TAKE TO THE SKIES’ TEN YEAR CELEBRATION SILVER WRAPPER PRESENTS

Luke Winslow-King Big Sadie opens. 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $12, $10 in advance.

With September’s I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always (Bloodshot) New Orleans singer Luke Winslow-King made a breakup record that doubles as therapy. On it he calls out his ex-wife and onetime band member vocalist Esther Rose by name while tracing the dissolution of their marriage— he also dedicates the record to her in the liner notes with a Zen-like resolve (“I wish you well”).

On “Change Your Mind” Winslow-King refers to the brief stint he spent in solitary confinement J

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JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 29

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SATURDAY, FEB 4 .............. ROCKING BILLY AND HIS WILD COYOTES SUNDAY, FEB 5 .................. FOOTBALL PARTY EVERY MONDAY AT 9PM ANDREW JANAK QUARTET EVERY TUESDAY AT 8PM OPEN MIC HOSTED BY JIMI JON AMERICA

on drug charges and how following his release he discovered his wife’s infidelities. And while other tunes chronicle their extended struggle to save the relationship, “Louisiana Blues”—which evokes the shape and tone of a Howlin’ Wolf song—veers into the novelistic as the narrator promises to obtain a gun because “I heard your other man got one.”

The blues has always been an important ingredient in Winslow-King’s music—colliding with bits of trad jazz, country pop, and R&B—but here it takes on a more prominent role, which feels fitting given the subject matter. Still, in the hands of his adept band the end result veers closer to Ry Cooder and Little Feat than Muddy Waters and Otis Rush.

—PETER MARGASAK

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elusive structures in looped and reverberant flurries that are as fleeting as the keyboard patterns she endlessly conjures. Most of the tape is soothing and unrepentantly pretty, but she doesn’t shy away from abstraction and dissonance, whether it’s the gently needling gurgles of “I’m Just Around,” which summons the creepy sprawl of early Throbbing Gristle, or the chopped-up pulsating electro-psychedelia of “I Am Why.” In performance the diminutive Chami nonchalantly pulls off these vignettes, toggling like a mad scientist between keyboards, a sprawl of pedals and effects, and a microphone—and still producing music of striking precision and airiness. TALsounds kicks off the opening night of the seventh annual Chicago Pysch Fest. —PETER MARGASAK

FRIDAY27

SATURDAY28

D.R.A.M. See Pick of the Week. River Tiber and Nebu Kiniza open. 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, sold out. 18+

Sarah Davachi 8 PM, Rebuild Foundation, Stony Island Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island, free with RSVP. b

TALsounds Post Animal headline; Spectralina, Diagonal, and TALsounds open. DJ Psychedalex spins. 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $12.

FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TOUR EVER

MAY 22 • AUDITORIUM THEATRE O NS A L E F R I JA N 2 7 AT 1 0A M

Get tickets online at ticketmaster.com The Auditorium Theatre Box Office or Phone: 800-745-3000 ®

30 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

Over the last couple of years Chicago’s Natalie Chami has cultivated an impressive facility at building fluid melodic shapes and structures from keyboards, electronics, and voice, a practice that’s not only been a key reason the trio Good Willsmith has evolved from jammy to focused, but also explains why her solo project TALsounds has become one of the most reliable and satisfying live acts in the city. In October she dropped her strongest recording yet with Lifter + Lighter (released by Hausu Mountain, the label operated

by Good Willsmith bandmates Doug Kaplan and Maxwell Allison), and it shows what makes her so compelling. Warm, aqueous synthesizer tones and oscillating electronic lines probe and harmonize in patient, shifting patterns as her often wordless vocals—clearly influenced by the liquid lyric quality of Bjork—ripple through those aforementioned

Over the last few years Canadian sound artist and composer Sarah Davachi has demonstrated a broad command of tools in her music, using a wide variety of instruments and synthesizers to arrive at a place where her sonorous long tones slowly undulate, coalesce, and resonate in gorgeous drones. Her aesthetic sensibility seems shaped largely by the exquisitely patient work of French electronic music composer Éliane Radigue, but Davachi has forged her own style, occasionally moving more rapidly and opting for compositions that reach their destinations in less time. Her November album Vergers (Important) was created primarily with an EMS Synthi 100, an early 70s analog synth of which only 40 were ever manufactured, though recordings of her voice and violin shade the hypnotic pieces as they float through space in luxurious fashion, casting a kind of sensual light. Another new album, called All My Circles Run (Students of Decay), turns to electronically manipulated acoustic instruments with results that are every bit as texture rich and mesmerizing even as shards of melody and harmony billow from each work; on “For Voice” sustained,

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TwentY One Pilots 7 PM, United Center, 1901 W. Madison, $39.50-$59.50. b Last year Rolling Stone called Ohio duo Twenty One Pilots “one of the hardest-to-categorize hit acts in years,” which more or less explains their appeal: they make music for audiences that would probably avoid the influences on which their sound is built. Twenty One Pilots make pop music for rockists, guitar rippers for poptimists who think rock is obsolete, dance music for people with two left feet, reggae for folks with no sense of rhythm, rap for highfalutin listeners who don’t think hiphop is music, baroque melodies for those who like their songs rough around the edges, Jock Jams for 98-pound weaklings, and Hawaiian-inflected strummings for mainlanders whose impression of the Aloha State consists of, well, aloha shirts. It’s no easy task to make sense of these divergent ideas, and Twenty One Pilots sometimes stumble on their way to channeling everything into a coherent, economical song. On “Lane Boy,” off 2015’s chart-top-

In the age of histrionic EDM it may seem quaint for an electronic group to use only analog equipment, but Xeno & Oaklander are critically lauded for their minimally ultramodern sound. As devotees of coldwave they take a no-nonsense approach to dance music—just dystopian hooks and polished tom arpeggios from their TR-606. Topiary, their 2016 release on Ghostly International, is a study in purposeful effects. Echoing Serge, Xeno & Oaklander pair their synths with clean bass as a rule—they’re too obsessed with calculation to risk dizzying their audience. And while their music isn’t as experimentally sparse as Detroit’s Adult (who perform tonight as part of the Palace Film Festival at Thalia Hall), they certainly don’t bog down their melodies with meandering mids; singer Liz Wendelbo’s voice is so free of reverb that you can make out her French accent even during a live performance. Inscrutable as they may seem, Xeno & Oaklander are still approachable enough to enjoy live in a warm-blooded setting. This performance is being spun as a Palace Film Festival afterparty. —MEAGAN FREDETTE

SUNDAY29

MAR 04

ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND

MAR 17

BY GREG PROOPS

THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE WORLD PROOPCAST

MAR 29

DELICATE STEVE

APR 09

TIMBER TIMBRE

APR 28

NEW

MILD HIGH CLUB

MAY 16

THE WEEKS

MAY 21

NEW

NEW

GREG GRAFFIN OF BAD RELIGION

NEW

Xeno & Oaklander Champagne Mirrors and Simulation open. 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $10.

FEB 14

TICKETS AT WWW.LH-ST.COM

LANDLADY

FEB 08

NEW

Few songs tunneled into my brain last year like “Told You I’d Be With the Guys,” a single that dropped in the fall to tease the excellent new Cherry Glazerr album Apocalipstick (Secretly Canadian). On the track singer Clementine Creevy, now at the ripe old age of 19, unleashes a slashing guitar lick that repeats over and over, creating tension via a hectoring stubbornness—“I was a lone wolf,” she sneers before the trio eases into a slinky, loping chorus that cools the tension, though not the narrator’s insouciant independence. Later Creevy noodles through a chill, slaloming guitar solo that conveys an icy, sleek indifference before the band closes out with a jackhammer ferocity. Nothing that follows is quite as electric, but there’s no mistaking the range, style, and grit of the band, which effectively converts the primitive garage-fueled grime of its 2014 debut album, Haxel Princess (Burger), into Technicolor splendor. Creevy’s gained confidence since then: she performs with purpose as her band mines 80s new wave on “Trash People” (where she blithely sings of wearing her underwear three days in a row), while on the moody, tender ballad “Nuclear Bomb” she expresses solidarity with alienation as she explodes with a sudden howl. Rounded out by drummer Tabor Allen and multi-instrumentalist Sasami Ashworth, Cherry Glazerr move easily between punk rock and pop, Creevy’s attitude infecting every note. As the year opens I don’t know if I’ve encountered a rock band with more raw potential. —PETER MARGASAK

JACOB COLLIER

LOVE OF EVERYTHING + RUST RING

LIVING BODY

MAR 07

NEW

Cherry Glazerr Slow Hollows and Lala Lala open. 7 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, sold out. b

ping Blurryface (Fueled by Ramen), front man Tyler Joseph sings about his desire to change tempos in the band’s music, which is about as exciting a topic for a pop tune as the actual description of watching paint dry, but a swarming drum ’n’ bass breakdown keeps things from completely falling apart.

Blurryface went platinum last year, and its vinyl version beat out Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool to become the top-selling LP of 2016, though I suspect some of that success is due to the nonalbum single “Heathens.” Inoffensive yet sinister, the song finds the meeting place between nu-metal and Coldplay, hitting all the right notes of dread and delight. It became omnipresent, an unexpected success that came out on the soundtrack for the disastrous Suicide Squad. (Maybe the executives who mangled the film wanted to replicate the mood of “Heathens”?) Even with their success Twenty One Pilots still look and feel as though they exist out of step with the mainstream. Then again, we’re living in a time when a wealthy white man from New York City stumbled into the White House by positing himself as an outsider, so perhaps Twenty One Pilots are today’s definitive rock band. —LEOR GALIL

INC. NO WORLD

MAR 13

THE OCEAN PARTY + SHANA FALANA

MAR 15

ALEX LAHEY

MAR 20

JAY SOM + THE COURTNEYS

MAR 24

VAGABON + PRETTY PRETTY

ALLISON CRUTCHFIELD AND THE FIZZ

MAR 31

AVEC SANS

APR 27

SUNJACKET

Wet Ink Ensemble 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $10. 18+ For years the constituents of Wet Ink Ensemble, which formed in 1998, have been playing here, either in other groups or in the diminutive Wet Ink Trio. In fact, two of its members, electronic musician Sam Pluta and saxophonist Alex Mincek, currently live and teach in Chicago, so it’s kind of astonishing that the ensemble’s full seven-piece lineup has never performed here before. Most of the pieces the group will play tonight are originals composed by members, who seem to have each other’s strengths in mind. “Doxa” (2014), J

THE FUNS

NEW

wordless vocalization overlap and curve to create haunting shapes, while on “For Piano” Satie-esque fragments are slowly subsumed by a buzzing drone that grows more serrated with every passing moment. For her Chicago debut—rescheduled from a sudden cancellation in November—Davachi will present a new work for analog synth, harmonium, and cellos that promises to explore the sonic properties of the Stony Island Arts Bank.

—PETER MARGASAK

MUSIC

NEW

Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard.

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 31

3855 N. LINCOLN

martyrslive.com

THU, 1/26

COLE DEGENOVA, LAYLA FRANKEL, B FORREST

MUSIC AFI o JIRO SCHNEIDER

FRI, 1/27

BANDS FOR BELL 14

FEATURING TEACHERS PET, BREAD & BUTTER, AIR THIS SIDE OF CAUTION, HURTIN KIND SAT, 1/28

BLACK MARKET BRASS, GENOME, GRAMPS THE VAMP MON, 1/30

SUBHI, KINGS OF THE LOBBY, THE UNKNOWN NEW TUE, 1/31

UNCOUTH, RED VIOLENT, PLAGUE OF CARCOSA WED, 2/1

TRIBUTOSAURUS BECOMES… TOM PETTY THU, 2/2 - 25 YEARS - ROCKABILLY OPEN MIC

BIG C JAMBOREE…WILD EARP & THE FREE FOR ALLS FRI, 2/3

GREAT MOMENTS IN VINYL

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which is on pianist Eric Wubbels’s recent CD Duos With Piano (Carrier), features a rain of radiant tones that matches by turn the sharp and sustained sounds of prepared piano and vibraphone.

Pluta’s “Broken Symmetries” (2012) contrasts Joshua Modney’s abrasive violin drone with hallucinatory electronic swells and jagged ensemble passages. Kate Soper’s “Cipher” (2012) is a dynamic voice-violin duet that breaks down and restores the meaning of texts by, among others, Sigmund Freud and Jenny Holzer. Saxophonist Alex Mincek will debut a new piece for the whole ensemble, “Harmonielehre” (2016-’17), named after Arnold Shoenberg’s 1911 book. And Wet Ink will also play the dense, constantly changing “Composition No. 116” (1984) by avant-garde jazz composer Anthony Braxton. —BILL MEYER

PERFORM BEGGARS BANQUET AND LET IT BLEED BY THE ROLLING STONES

MONDAY30

SAT, 2/4

Michael Vallera Matchess and Jeremiah Meece open. 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western. F

CRISP, FAT NIGHT, POLYSCI

please recycle this paper

Guitar forever.

32 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

It can be hard to keep up with the output of Chicago guitarist Michael Vallera, or at least not to feel confused by it. Over the years he’s relentlessly pushed his work in new directions: acoustic solo fingerstyle playing, punishing art-rock in Luggage, post-This Heat noise in Cleared, and any number of

excursions into drone. Last year Maar, his duo with Haptic’s Joseph Clayton Mills, dropped Absolute Delay (Umor Rex), a low-key cassette of richly textured noise and drone meditations that subtly hypnotized me with each new spin. But it seems that these days Vallera’s primary concern is the ambient sound on his impressive new solo album Vivid Flu (Denovali). Playing both heavily treated guitar and reverb-saturated piano—the washed-out “Late” includes electronic pulses that interrupt the reverie with darting tension—Vallera occasionally opts for a meditative vibe where sounds billow and mutate, while beyond the surface there’s quiet turbulence. Elsewhere the air is apprehensive from the outset: on “Pollen Blot” irregular beats and erratic synth tones are slowly subsumed by a dark, enveloping industrial hum, and “Drug” melds moody guitar arpeggios and stuttering drum-machine patterns, summoning a Lynchian aura of dread.

—PETER MARGASAK

TUESDAY31 AFI Chain Gang of 1974 and Souvenirs open.

7 PM, Riviera Theatre, 4750 N. Broadway, $28. b It’s been nearly 18 years since AFI released Black Sails in the Sunset, the opus in which the band began to devotedly spin a modern polished Danzig sound—rife with devil locks, hardcore solemnity, and melodic woooaahhh woooaahhh crescendos

Celebrating 60 Years of Making Music!

New adult group classes are now open! Browse our class schedules online at oldtownschool.org

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Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard.

MUSIC mainstream of radio rock even as they maintained the dark flamboyance that made them so magnetic. They’ve never reachieved the excellence and thunder of that record, but it’s not for want of trying. Their new self-titled record for Concord (also known as The Blood Album) very much sounds like an elder AFI—minus the unnecessary electro-symphonic and vocal-effect flourishes, but still with a strong focus on big choruses (“Still a Stranger”) and Havok’s bravado as he shifts from pensive to angsty to fed up like it’s all just part of the job (“So Beneath You”). And though the record feels limp and even derivative at times, there are tracks that sound so specifically AFI you’d have trouble mistaking them for anyone else (e.g., “White Offerings”).

—KEVIN WARWICK

WEDNESDAY1 Kremerata Baltica with Gidon Kremer 8 PM, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan, $24$88, $15 students. b

Kremerata Baltica o JAN DE CONINCK/COURTESY THE ARTIST

at every turn. Less hardcore punk than its breakneck predecessor Open Your Mouth and Shut Your Eyes, Black Sails was more thematic in character, ultimately defining the band’s brooding sound (and maybe your wardrobe if, like me, you were a senior

in high school at the time it dropped). Behind the gusto of their ever-subtly-morphing front man Davey Havok, AFI pushed ahead from there, eventually happening upon their major-label-debut, Sing the Sorrow, in 2003, which eased them into the

1200 W RANDOLPH ST, CHICAGO, IL 60607 | 312.733.WINE

Now 20 years old, Kremerata Baltica carries institutional heft, making its every move and repertoire choice significant. Though hardly alone in focusing attention on the music of late Polish-born Soviet composer Mieczysław Weinberg,

LOUIE ANDERSON

1.29

5PM & 7:30PM SHOWS

JUST ANNOUNCED

ON SALE AT NOON THURSDAY 1.26 ON SALE TO VINOFILE MEMBERS TUESDAY 1.24

2.13 | GREAT MOMENTS IN VINYL - MUSIC & WINE PAIRING 3.31 | CANDLEBOX - 10:30 PM SHOW ADDED 4.8 | AMEL LARRIEUX - 7 PM & 10 PM SHOWS 4.9 | CRYSTAL BOWERSOX 4.14-15 | MARC COHN 4.18 | TIMOTHY B. SCHMIT OF THE EAGLES 4.29 | ARSENIO HALL - 7PM & 10PM 5.6 | RAY WYLIE HUBBARD

don’t miss...

1.30 | COLIN HAY WAITING FOR MY REAL LIFE FILM SCREENING AND LIVE Q&A

12.18 2.7-8 STEPHEN Marty LYNCH MY OLD HEART TOUR Stuart & his Fabulous Superlatives

GEOFF TATE

the ensemble, formed by virtuosic Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer, has arguably done as much as anyone to expose Weinberg’s work, most of which was rarely heard outside of the Soviet Union during his lifetime—he died in 1996—and had largely fallen out of favor even there. On Friday, Kremerata Baltica releases the superb Mieczysław Weinberg: Chamber Symphonies, Piano Quartet (ECM), its second album since 2014 examining the composer’s work. Weinberg’s four lush, often brooding chamber symphonies were written between 1986 and 1992, relatively late in his career, with the first three developed from string quartets he’d composed much earlier; Kremerata Baltica will perform the last of the four on this evening’s program. The 1992 work drew from some of his later pieces—including his Gogol opera The Portrait and his Symphony no. 17—and it prominently features clarinet lines imbued with eastern-European folk melodies, gorgeously articulated on the recording by Mate Bekavac, who’ll fill the same role here. While Kremer’s group, which is composed of musicians from the Baltic states, often focuses on lesser-known composers from that region, the rest of tonight’s program veers toward familiar names: Pärt (“Fratres”), Tchaikovsky (Sérénade Mélancolique, op. 26), and Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition), as well as Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (“Serenade”).

—PETER MARGASAK v

UPCOMING SHOWS 1.31

LUKE WADE

2.1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANGSTON HUGHES:

2.5

LEFTOVER SALMON

2.6

ANTHONY DAVID

2.9

AN EVENING WITH HOLLY BOWLING

W/ SPECIAL GUEST MATT MCANDREW A CELEBRATION IN POETRY, PROSE AND SONG FEATURING: REGINA TAYLOR, J. IVY, TERISA GRIFFIN, JUSSIE SMOLLETT, LYNNE JORDAN & MALCOLM LONDON ACOUSTIC BRUNCH SHOW WITH DJ DUANE POWELL

MLBCJBB BCDCCC FHEIHGK

2 SHOWS PER NIGHT

2.12

(of Queensrÿche) THE WHOLE STORY “RYCHE” ACOUSTIC TOUR

2.14

VALENTINES DAY WITH SYLEENA JOHNSON

2.15

DOYLE BRAMHALL II

2.16

KRUGER BROTHERS

2.17

HEAD FOR THE HILLS

2.18

THE VERVE PIPE

W/ SPECIAL GUEST MICHAEL J. MILES W/ SPECIAL GUESTS COYOTE RIOT AN ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF THEIR PLATINUM ALBUM “VILLAINS”

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 33

34 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

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FOOD & DRINK

R

1350 W. Randolph 312-733-1314 elskerestaurant.com

Celeriac risotto; olive oil cake, cheesecake-like semifreddo, and jasmine frozen yogurt o DANIELLE A. SCRUGGS

NEW REVIEW

Hygge meets the midwest at Elske

Fine-dining power couple David and Anna Posey stake a claim on the lonely end of Randolph Street.

By MIKE SULA

T

he penultimate course among eight on the tasting menu at Elske is a forest-hued square of firm, chewy, sweet gelatinous matter, imbued with the cool flavors of fennel and mint. While it’s a perfectly refreshing intermezzo between the roasted brisket with creamed brussels sprouts and the vanilla ice cream with nicoise olive syrup, it looks a bit like Soylent Green, the processed food ration made from human remains that sustains overpopulated New York City in the 1973 dystopian science-fiction film of the same name.

Elske is the Scandinavian-sounding new restaurant from husband-and-wife chefs David and Anna Posey, he a former Blackbird

chef de cuisine, she a onetime Publican pastry chef. The name is Danish for “love,” and that at least psychically echoes cosmetic touches that evoke the concept of hygge (HOO-guh) or “coziness,” evident in the lovely minimalist glazed ceramics employed as serviceware and the roaring garden fire whose inviting woodsmoke beckons blocks away from less lonely reaches of Randolph. There’s a garden gnome creeping around too. The rest of the environment, with its clean, modern look, is more in line with a cold, minimal northern sensibility, as is the Soylent palate cleanser.

While Nordic style is a thing now, especially culinarily, and Posey’s mom is in fact Danish, any similarities to the old country don’t

ELSKE | $$$

extend much to the menu, which offers a relatively reasonable eight-course tasting for $80, and a separate a la carte menu of nine dishes or so, with no overlap. The Poseys have evoked the ever popular “casual fine dining” cliche to express their MO—a seasonal midwestern approach more than anything from Scandinavia.

At the moment that translates to an amusebouche in the form of a tea brewed from root vegetables that sit high atop the open kitchen’s wood-fired hearth for four days, ultimately producing a brew so intensely flavored it could pass for meat stock. If you’ve elected for the tasting menu, a dehydrated parsley chip follows, topped with a gob of cold creamed parsnips and a dollop of osetra cavi-

ar. A smooth duck liver tart is rich and creamy, though the salted ramps said to be incorporated therein don’t make their presence known.

Roasted leeks topped with a shell of melted and congealed bandaged cheddar is a powerfully umamic dish, while confit bass bathing in a richly sweet pool of squash broth is among Posey’s most luxurious and triumphant dishes. The aforementioned brisket is tough and undercooked and a bit of a letdown after all that, but somewhat redeemed by the creamed sprouts given texture with raw broccoli.

The a la carte menu offers more substantial portioning. Servers recommend three to four dishes per person, allowing a less structured approach, which could find you pairing up everything from delicate crispy fried skatewing with thick fennel puree to thick sections of octopus tentacle shrouded in raw radicchio leaves.

The heavier proteins on this menu don’t perform as nicely as some of the lighter ones.

A thick slab of lightly smoked coppa has a squishy, wet texture offset by crunchy sunchoke skins, while precisely portioned batons of lamb leg don’t quite harmonize with a wedge of smoked onion and sweet potato.

On the other hand, substantial chunks of juicy sweetbreads are improved by crunchy wedges of cabbage and sweet landmines of green grapes and golden raisins. Long, soft cylindrical salsify dumplings are draped in a creamy smoked oyster sauce that’s one of the more exotic things on this muted menu, balanced by bitter charred broccolini.

A thick omelet bedazzled with carrot coins and capers has a matrix of creamy scrambled eggs and confit chicken thigh, while the earthiness of a whole roasted maitake mushroom gets drenched tableside with a sweet pear cream. A brothy ersatz risotto is one of the most pleasantly surprising dishes, made up entirely of tiny batons of celeriac drizzled with crushed hazelnuts and black truffle shavings.

It’s a dish you can smell coming at you from across the room, yet for anyone expecting the creamy rice classic, it’s something of bait and switch. If you’re boycotting carbs, it seems designed for you—though you wouldn’t know that’s the case unless you asked.

David Posey’s initial menu is very much of the winter, all comforting textures and devoid of sharp spikes in acid or heat. Anna Posey’s desserts are similarly restrained in sweetness but perform memorably out of the box. For instance, the aforementioned vanilla ice cream doused in an olive syrup and J

JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 35

S P O N S O R E D

N E I G H B O R H O O D

C O N T E N T

Chicago has always been a city of distinct neighborhoods with their own sense of identity and tradition — and each with stand-out bars and restaurants that are worthy of a haul on the El or bucking up for parking. Explore some local faves here, then head out for a taste of the real thing!

ALIVEONE // LINCOLN PARK Wednesday: 1/2 price aliveOne signature cocktails

PHYLLIS’ MUSICAL INN // WICKER PARK Everyday: $3.75 Moosehead pints and $2.50 Hamms cans

REGGIES // SOUTH LOOP $5 Absolut & Bacardi Cocktails Every Day special

ALIVEONE .COM

7 7 3 . 4 8 6 .9 8 62

REGGIESLIVE.COM

EATALY, LA PIAZZA // RIVER NORTH Tues: 5-9 pm, $15 housemade beer + Margherita pizza alla pala

LINCOLN HALL // LINCOLN PARK All Lagunitas beers are $6

RED LINE TAP // ROGERS PARK $3 PBR drafts & well drinks, $5 wine, M-Su Happy Hour 5-7pm

E ATA LY . C O M / C H I C A G O

L H - S T. C O M

R E D L I N E TA P. C O M

FITZGERALDS // BERWYN Two Brothers Cane & Abel Red Rye Ale $5 pints

SCHUBAS // LAKEVIEW All Lagunitas beers are $5.50

MOTOR ROW BREWING // NEAR SOUTHSIDE Thu, Fri, Tue, Wed: Happy Hour noon-6pm, $2 off all beers

FITZGER ALDSNIGHTCLUB .COM

L H - S T. C O M

MOTORROWB REWI NG .COM

R I SV O EU R TNHO LRO TO HP

REGGIES // 2 1 0 9 S S TAT E // R E G G I E S L I V E .C O M

BAKED MAC ’N’ CHEESE

Reggies brings music fans’ ultimate dream to reality with a terrific bar and grill, kickin’ rock club, and a music lover’s record store! Their menu—from amazing jumbo wings to creative burgers and sandwiches—offers comfort food with bit of home in every bite. While you’re at it, don’t miss their just-like-grandma-made Baked Mac ’n’ Cheese with Reggies favorite creamy blend of gourmet cheeses. Complement your meal with a full bar selection of beers, wine, spirits, and liquors.

“Mac ’n’ cheese was awesome. Really cool rooftop deck . . .”

36 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

— DAN / GOOGLE

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Hundreds of bar suggestions are available at chicagoreader.com/barguide. Bottoms up!

FOOD & DRINK Lost Lake’s Paul McGee pours the Plantation OFTD Overproof Rum he helped create with a tiki dream team and one cocktail historian. o JULIA THIEL

BOOZE Omelet, carrot coins, capers, confit chicken thigh o DANIELLE A. SCRUGGS

continued from 35 mounted on a bed of pink grapefruit and cocoa nibs is redolent of an invisible olive essence so at home in its surroundings you’ll be reminded that it is, after all, a fruit. Olive appears again in the form of a soft cake tossed amid a sharp cheesecake-like semifreddo supporting a scoop of floral jasmine frozen yogurt. Thick Nutella-ish rye bread porridge is the understory for puffed amaranth, sorghum, and brown rice, as well as a hollowed quenelle of quince sorbet containing a pool of the fruit’s vinegar. A layer of blackcurrant jelly underlies parsnip cream and sunflower praline bound by thin chicory crisps.

The beverage program is overseen by Kyle Davidson, a Violet Hour OG whom Posey brought along from Blackbird. An abbreviated list of five cocktails is done proud by a dark, moody potion of smoky lapsang souchong tea, Punt e Mes vermouth, and gin infused with matsutake mushroom that tastes like it was distilled from the forest floor, while a sazerac’s inherent sweetness is tempered by a darkly flavored coffee-licorice syrup. The wine list is relatively brief for now, though the $45 pairing with the tasting menu hits all the right notes, beginning with a light sparkling wine to make the fish eggs feel at home, and ending on a rich, bitter digestif to send it all on its way without any arguments.

At Elske, line cooks serve their own plates.

These folks may not have the chirpy stage presence of your average improv-trained front-ofhouser, but the service underscores the informality the Poseys are going for. In that regard they’ve joined an ever-crowded field—even in their own neighborhood—of young fine-dining veterans attempting to present their art in less formal circumstances. With Elske the competition has only grown stiffer. v

ß @MikeSula

A rum that will make you say, ‘Oh, fuck, that’s delicious!’

By JULIA THIEL

T

here’s not too many times you see your face on a bottle and you’re still alive— it’s usually reserved for dead folks,” Lost Lake beverage director Paul McGee says.

Actually, he’s paraphrasing Maison Ferrand proprietor Alexander Gabriel, who invited McGee to collaborate on the creation of Plantation OFTD Overproof Rum (Plantation is produced by Maison Ferrand). But McGee seems to agree with the sentiment. The other five faces on the bottle belong to fellow tiki bar head honchos Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (Latitude 29), Martin Cate (Smuggler’s Cove), Paul McFayden (Trailer Happiness), and Scotty Schuder (Dirty Dick), along with cocktail historian and author David Wondrich.

It’s been more than a year and a half since Gabriel contacted the group of cocktail luminaries to ask if they’d join forces on Plantation’s next overproof rum. He wanted the input of the people who’d be using it, and tiki bars go through a lot of rum. After some discussion on an e-mail thread about what qualities each participant was looking for in a rum, McGee says, the group converged in New Orleans during the Tales of the Cocktail conference in July 2015 for a “secret meeting” in a back room at Arnaud’s French 75. Along with rums that Plantation had made, Gabriel brought along samples of historic overproof rums from as far back as the 1930s. “We weren’t trying to re-create something from the past,” McGee says, “but taking notes on what overproof Guyanese rum in the 1930s was like and what was missing in the [current] marketplace.”

Quite a few more e-mails and several months later, the group met again in Cognac,

France, where Maison Ferrand and Plantation’s offices are. This time Gabriel had come up with five blends of rum based on the previous conversations, but according to McGee, he and his comrades thought they were close but not quite right. The rum from each Caribbean country has defining characteristics, McGee says: Guyanese rum has

OFTD FLIP 1.5 OZ OFTD RUM 0.5 OZ DEMERARA SYRUP SPICED WITH CINNAMON, CLOVE, ALLSPICE, AND NUTMEG 0.25 OZ STUMPTOWN COLD-BREWED COFFEE ONE EGG NUTMEG AND CINNAMON (FOR GARNISH) Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake; add ice and shake again.

Double strain into a coupe glass and grate nutmeg and cinnamon on top. a richness and a little smokiness; Jamaica’s open fermentation process gives its rum “highly aromatic ripe fruit notes.”

The bartenders were leaning towards a blend of rums from the two countries, McGee says, but it was the cocktail historian who stumbled on the missing element while the group was touring the facility. “David Wondrich was like, ‘What’s in that vat over there?’ It was a really young Barbados rum, and it was kind of the binding element that brought the two rums together.” The

result was OFTD, which officially stands for Old-Fashioned Traditional Dark (or unofficially, Oh, Fuck, That’s Delicious) and weighs in at a hefty 69 percent alcohol, or 138 proof. Released last November, it’s widely available in the U.S., including Chicago.

Exactly what they were looking for is hard to describe, but, “I think we all like big, bold flavors when it comes to rum,” McGee says.

“A lot of overproof rums are just heat, very neutral, and not that interesting. What’s unique about this rum is that it stands up on its own.” One of the drinks McGee wanted to use the OFTD for at Lost Lake was the old-fashioned, a drink that’s just rum with a little sugar and bitters, which meant the rum had to be good enough to drink on its own.

“It’s kind of amazing that this kind of collaboration even happened,” McGee says.

He’s never heard of anything similar before.

“It’s one thing if it’s a one-off limited edition—we’ll do 100 cases, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. The fact that this is in their regular product line and will be available worldwide is pretty nuts.”

In the end, McGee put the rum in not only Lost Lake’s old-fashioned, but also two other drinks. You won’t find any of them listed on the menu, but McGee says the bartenders can make them anytime. One is a swizzle with lime juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, and a little absinthe; the other, which McGee created for December when Lost Lake transformed into Sippin’ Santa’s Surf Shack, is a flip, the recipe of which is below. v

ß @juliathiel JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 37

JOBS

SALES & MARKETING

TELE-FUNDRAISING: COLD CASH FOR WINTER American Veterans helping Veterans.

Felons need not apply per Illinois Attorney General regulations. Start ASAP, Call 312-256-5035

General Wight & Company is seeking a Project Engineer in Darien, IL with the following requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or Architectural Engineering or related field or foreign academic equivalent plus 2 years related experience. Prior experience must include: engage in designing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for various buildings under the direct supervision of a licensed professional engineer (2 yrs); utilize knowledge of the latest codes related to HVAC, including International Mechanical Code (IMC), International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), city of Chicago and other local building codes, and ASHRAE Standards 90.1, 62.1, 55, 15, 134 (2 yrs); select, design, model, and draft various HVAC systems to prepare construction documents using Revit, AutoCAD, TOPSS, and CAPS (2 yrs); perform energy and load modeling for various projects using TraneTrace and CarrierHAP as per American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) (2 yrs); engage in project work, design, and documentation of LEED related aspects to obtain a building LEED certification (2 yrs).

Enrolled Professional Engineer Intern license required. To apply, email resume to HR@wightco. com; subject line must reference S121890.

Ali Khan DDC PC, Aurora IL based dentistry services company requires following personnel: Position Title: Dentist Number of positions: Multiple Position duties: Diagnosing oral diseases. Promoting oral health and disease prevention. Creating treatment plans to maintain or re-

store the oral health of patients.

Interpreting x-rays and diagnostic tests. Ensuring the safe administration of anesthetics. Monitoring growth and development of the teeth and jaws. Performing surgical procedures on the teeth, bone and soft tissues of the oral cavity.

Education requirement: Candidate must have Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree or foreign equivalent. Must have valid IL dental license.

Mail resumes at: Ali Khan DDS PC, 3450 Montgomery Road, Ste#108, Aurora IL 60504.

BUSINESS VALUATION C O N S U L T A N T , Chicago.

Perform valuations, incl equity & debt securities, business enterprise, purchase price allocations, business unit/asset impairment valuations, litigation support.

Using appropriate valuation methodologies, build financial models, write valuation reports.

Participate in financial due diligence sessions w/ clients, interview sr mgmt teams, maintain client relationships.

Reqs: bach deg, 2 yrs exp. 40 h r/wk. Plse refer resume to Mazars USA LLP, Att. HR (Cohen), 135 W 50 St, NY, NY 10020.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR, Intercultural Montessori Foreign Language Immersion School, dba Intercultural Montessori Language School, in Chicago, IL. Participate in ongoing development of school’s programs to ensure students can develop & learn appropriately.

Research, evaluate, & prep recommendations on curriculum, instructional methods, & materials used in the classrooms.

Req: Bachelor’s in Psychology or related w/coursework focusing on childhood cognition & education models.

Email resume to businessoffi ce@intercultu ralm o ntesso ri. org.

MECHANIC’S HELPERS NEEDED. Must have valid driver’s

license, uniforms provided, opportunity for advancement. Southside Chicago. Call 773-247-6962.

DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR (DISASTER RECOVERY). Des./

build/test/implement/administer databases, disaster recovery systems, using Oracle technology, write Unix scripts for database & app monitoring. U.S. Bach or foreign equiv. (Engineering) req’d. 5 yrs. prog. responsible exp. in database field req’d. Must have 3 yrs’ exp. in pos’n(s) w/ a) design & build of disaster recovery systems using Oracle database technology & b) writing Unix shell scripts for database & app monitoring.

STATS LLC, Chicago, IL. Resumes to: Recruiting, STATS LLC, 203 North LaSalle St, 22nd floor, Chicago, IL 60601.

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER (MULT. POS.),

PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC, Chicago, IL. Provide end to end soln. offering incl. App. Dev. & Integ., App. Arch., User Exp. & Qual. Mgmt. & Testing. Req. Bach’s deg or foreign equiv. in Engg, Comp Sci, Comp Engg or rel. + 5 yrs post-bach’s, prog. rel. work exp.; OR a Master’s deg or foreign equiv. in Engg, Comp Sci, Comp Engg or rel. + 3 yrs rel. work exp. Travel up to 80% req. Apply by mail, referencing Job Code IL1088, Attn: HR SSC/Talent Management, 4040 W. Boy Scout Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607.

EDUCATION: ASSISTANT PRO-

FESSOR (Chicago, IL). Classroom teaching in the area of international relations, with an emphasis on international conflict, China, and East Asia; Conduct research, course preparation; review and grade assignments; providing advice to individual students as requested; supervise students research; prepare and submit research findings for publications. Ph.D. in Political Science or closely related field. Loyola University Chicago. Apply by mail to: Peter J. Schraeder, Chair, Department of Political Science, Loyola University, 1032 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60660.

VOC Media, LLC, a Chinese news website, www. chineseofchicago.com seeks a News Reporter cover newsworthy events among the Chinese immigrant communities at the greater Chicago area. Bachelor’s degree in Journalism is required. Send resume to ATTN:JOBS, 2109B S. China Place., Chicago, IL 60616.

EOE.

ACCOUNTING MANAGER, TRANSACTION SERVICES (MULT. POS.) ,

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chicago, IL. Advise clnts on complex acctng & reprtng matters such as IPOs & debt raisings. Req BS or foreign equiv in Acctng or rel + 5 yrs post-bach’s prog rel work exp; OR MS or foreign equiv in Acctng or rel + 3 yrs rel work exp. Must hv active US CPA or foreign equiv. Travel up to 60% req. Apply by mail, referencing Job Code IL1110, Attn: HR SSC/Talent Management, 4040 W. Boy Scout Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607.

CAPITAL ONE SEEKS a Software Engineer in Chicago Metro Area (multiple positions available) to perform technical design, development, modification, and implementation of computer applications using existing and emerging technology platforms. Requires a bach. + 3 yrs. of exp.

Must pass company’s assessment. See full req’s & apply onlin e:https://www.capitalonecareers. com/ Req # R17574.

CAPITAL ONE seeks a Software Engineer in Chicago Metro Area (multiple positions available) to perform technical design, development, modification, and implementation of computer applications using existing and emerging technology platforms. Requires a bach. + 3 yrs. of exp. Must pass company’s assessment. See full req’s & apply online:https://www. capitalonecareers.com/ Req # R17566.

Morningstar seeks Director of Software Engineering to oversee software dev. team. 4-8 wks t ravel/yr. BS in comp. sci. or quant. field req’d. 10 yrs exp. in commercial software dev. req’d.

Prior exp. in Agile, Object oriente d/functional prog. req’d. Add’l skills req’d (see website). Submit resume via employer website; ref. job ID REQ-004746.

NUTS ON CLARK POPCORN

stores HIRING FOR NEW LOCATION: Sales, cooks, stock, paid training.

Starts immediately when working with a team. Apply in person @ corp. office, 3830 N. Clark St. Chicago 9 am to 10 am Mon Thru Fri. Must bring ID’s to apply

WANTED. TRUCK MECHANICS. Overtime hours available.

Southside Chicago. Call 773-2476962.

REAL ESTATE RENTALS

STUDIO $500-$599 Chicago, Beverly/Cal Park/Blue Island Studio $575 & up, 1BR $665 & up, 2BR $885 & up. Heat, Appls, Balcony, Carpet, Laundry, Prkg.

708-388-0170

STUDIO $600-$699 LARGE STUDIO APARTMENT

near Metra. 1904 W Pratt. Cats OK. Laundry in building. $695/ month.

Heat included. Available 3/1. 773-7614318. www.lakefrontmgt.com

WEEKLY E-BLAST GET UP TO DATE. SIGN UP NOW.

7022 S. SHORE DRIVE Impecca-

near Warren Park and Metra, 6804 N Wolcott. Hardwood floors. Heat included. Laundry in building. Cats OK. $875/ month. Available 3/1. 773-7614318, www.lakefrontmgt.com

bly Clean Highrise STUDIOS, 1 & 2 BEDROOMS Facing Lake & Park.

Laundry & Security on Premises.

Parking & Apts. Are Subject to Availability. TOWNHOUSE APARTMENTS 773-288-1030

MIDWAY AREA/63RD KEDZIE Deluxe Studio 1 & 2 BRs. All

modern oak floors, appliances, Security system, on site maint. clean & quiet, Nr. transp. From $445. 773582-1985 (espanol)

6248 S. WESTERN: 1BR or 2BR apt starting at $650/mo, hrdwd flrs, oven/refrig incld. Sec 8 welc. 312208-1771, 708-674-7699 or 773-4269631.

7500 SOUTH SHORE Dr. Brand New Rehabbed Studio & 1BR Apts from $650.

Call 773-374-7777 for details.

6829 S. Perry.

Studio/1BR. $465-$520/mo.

1431 W. 78th St. 2BR. $605/mo.

HEAT INCL 773-955-5106

Hotel, 5316 S. Harper, maid, phone, cable ready, fridge, private facilities, laundry avail. Start at $160/wk Call 773-493-3500

STUDIO $900 AND OVER

Paulina, 1-2 Bedroom, $745-$795, Free heat. Call 773.916.0039

1 BR $800-$899 ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT

W. HUMBOLDT PK 900 sq ft 1/

BR, large kit, new appl FDR, oak floors, new windows & blinds $825/ mo + util 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com

1 BR $900-$1099 HOMEWOOD- Sunny 900sf 1BR Great Kitc, New Appls, Oak Flrs, A/C, Lndry & Storage, $995/mo Incls heat & prkg. 773.743.4141

1 BR $1100 AND OVER

CHICAGO, 3BR, Nr 111th & Indiana. Heat & appliances included, $950/mo + security.

Credit check req’d. Avail Feb 1st. Call 773-941-5979 CHICAGO - South Shore Large 1BR, $660/mo.

Free heat.

Near Transportation.

Section 8 Welcome. Call 708932-4582 û NO SEC DEP û

WINTER SPECIAL $500 Toward Rent Beautiful Studios 1, 2, 3 & 4 BR Sect. 8 Welc. Westside Loc, Must qualify. 773-287-4500 www.wjmngmt.com

CLEAN ROOM W/FRIDGE & micro, Near Oak Park, Food -4Less, Walmart, Walgreens, Buses & Metra, Laundry. $115/wk & up.

773-637-5957

Product Manager resp. for competitive analysis, strategy dev. + project mgmt., some domestic travel. BS in comp. sci. or related req’d. 5 yrs exp. in software dev./prod. mgmt req’d.

Add’l skills req’d (see website). Submit resume via website; ref. job ID REQ-004744.

FOOD & DRINK

AUBURN GRESHAM: 79TH &

CHICAGO, HYDE PARK Arms

MORNINGSTAR SEEKS TAS

THE LATEST ON YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANTS AND BARS

WINTER SPECIAL: STUDIOS starting at $499 incls utilities. 1BR $550, 2BR $599, 3BR $699. With approved credit. No Security Deposit for Sec 8 Tenants. South Shore & Southside. Call 312-4463333

1/2 MONTH FREE! Gorgeous

English Tudor courtyard building!

Kitchen has new granite counters and stainless steel appliances! 2 blocks to Irving Park “EL”!

Hdwd flrs, built-in bookshelves! Onsite lndry/storage.

4235 1/2 North Hermitage: $1,305.00 ht incl.

(773) 381-0150. www.theschirmfirm. com

CALUMET CITY - Comfortable 1 bedroom, heat, A/C, appliances & carpet included, $670/month + security, 708-957-2043

5302 W. HIRSCH, 1BR. Heat incl, $685/mo + dep. 121 N. Leclaire, 1BR Apt. Heat Incl. $685/mo + dep.

Avail Now! 773-251-6652

1/2 MONTH FREE rent! Fantastic

2 1/2 rm Ravenswood studio located 1 block from fabulous Winnemac Park!

Close to Metra and brown line too!

Lovely hdwd flrs, Great closet space!

On-site lndry/storage. 1948 West Winnemac- $970 ht incl.

(773) 381-0150. www.theschirmfirm. com

STUDIO OTHER LARGE SUNNY ROOM w/fridge & microwave. Near Oak Park, Green Line & Buses. 24 hr Desk, Parking Lot $101/week & Up. (773)378-8888

CHICAGO - HYDE PARK 5401 S. Ellis.

1BR. $535-$600/mo.

79TH

& WOODLAWN 2BR $775-$800 76th & Phillips 2BR $775-$800 Remodeled, Appliances avail. Free Heat. 312-286-5678 SECTION 8 WELCOME

Bronzeville 4950 S Prairie. 1BR. Heat, cooking gas, appl incl. $660 & up.

Call Zoro, 773-406-4841

CHICAGO W. SIDE 3859 W Maypole Rehabbed studios, $425/ mo, Utilities not included. 773-6170329, 773-533-2900 Newly updated, clean furnished rooms, located near buses & Metra, elevator, utilities included, $91/wk. $ 395/mo. 815-722-1212

Call 773-955-5106

NICE ROOM w/stove, fridge & bath Near Aldi, Walgreens, Beach, Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry. $130/wk & up. 773-275-4442

CROSSROADS HOTEL SRO SINGLE RMS Private bath, PHONE,

BIG ROOM with stove, fridge, bath & nice wood floors. Near Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry, Shopping. $121/wk + up. 773-561-4970

CABLE & MAIDS. 1 Block to Orange Line 5300 S. Pulaski 773-581-1188

WRIGLEYVILLE’S FINEST!

Newly remodeled! Kitchen has granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, dishwasher!

Lovely Hdwd flrs, dec. fireplace, 3 seasonal sunroom!

Close to “EL”, Wrigley Field, Jewel!

1251 West Waveland, 1/2 month free rent! $1485, tnt htd. (733) 381-0150. www. theschirmfirm.com

1 BR $700-$799

CHICAGOREADER.COM 38 CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 26, 2017

Ashland Hotel nice clean rms.

24 hr desk/maid/TV/laundry/air.

Low rates daily/weekly/monthly.

South Side. Call 773-376-5200

1 BR UNDER $700 WOW!! MUST SEE!

Newly Remodeled 1, 2, & 3 Bd Apts $650 & up. Chgo. So. & West side No SD, & 1 Mo. Free Rent w/aprvd Credit. Sect 8 & All Credit Welc. to Apply. (773) 412.1153 Wesley Rlty.

HUMBOLDT PARK. ONE

bedroom apartment for rent. Newly remodeled. Next door to food store. $800 per month plus security deposit. Near shopping area. Monica, 773-592-2989.

5701 W. WASHINGTON. 1BR Apt. $700/mo. Heat Incl. Parking available, appls incl, No Pets.

773-907-0302

AUSTIN AREA 1-2 BR apts, $750-1000, heat & appliances incld Section 8 OK, close to transportation 708-267-2875

1/2 MONTH FREE! Granite counters! Stainless steel appliances, dishwasher!

Stunning details throughout! Builtin bookshelves and china cabinet.

Lovely hdwd flrs. 2 blocks to Irving Park “EL”. $1305, heat incl, 4237 North Hermitage (773) 381-0150.www.theschirmfirm. com

l

l

RIVERDALE - NEWLY decor, 1 & 2BR, appls, heated, A/C, lndry, prkng, no pets, near Metra. Sec 8 ok. $675-$800. Call 630-4800638

CHICAGO -VICINITY 111TH/ King Dr xtra lrg 2BR, 1st flr, newly remod, Clean/quiet/well maint bldg. $800-$950/mo. Sect 8 ok 773-510-9290

77TH/LOWE. 2BR. $750 & up. 6 9th/Dante, 3BR. $850 & up. 71st/ Bennett. 2 & 3BR. $795 & up.

New renov. Sec 8 ok. 708-5031366

CHICAGO - 7630 S Emerald, 2BR, separate living & dining room $650/mo. 1 mo sec + 1 mo rent + all utils.

Call Dee 773-818-3340

SPACIOUS-SAFE 773-4235727. BRONZEVILLE, 3BR, heat included. Englewood, 1,2 & 3BR, heat incl. Dolton, 2BR, Gated Parking.

LOOKING TO MOVE ASAP?

1/2 MONTH FREE rent! FREE

COOKING GAS AND HEAT! Rarely available Ravenswood 1 bdrm located only 2 blocks from Metra, LA Fitness, Mariano’s! Lovely hdwd flrs, large sunfilled Living Room! Great closet space!

4918 North Wolcott: March 1. $1165 (773) 381-0150.www.theschirmfirm.com

1 BR OTHER APTS. FOR RENT PARK MGMT & INV. LTD. THE HAWK HAS ARRIVED!!!

OUR UNITS INCLUDE HEAT, HW & CG PLENTY OF PARKING 1BDR FROM $750.00 2BDR FROM $895.00 3 BDR/2 FULL BATH FROM $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000***

APTS. FOR RENT PARK MGMT & INV. LTD. OLD MAN WINTER IS HERE!!!

MOST UNITS INCLUDE..

HEAT & HOT WTR STUDIOS FROM $475.00 1BDR FROM $495.00 2BDR FROM $745.00 3 BDR/2 FULL BATH FROM $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000**

ROUND LAKE BEACH, IL Cedar Villas is accepting applications for subsidized 1BR apts. for seniors 62 years or older and the disabled.

Rent is based on 30% of annual income. For details, call us at 847-546-1899 ∫

Remodeled 1, 2 , 3 & 4 BR Apts.

Heat & Appls incl. Sec 8 OK. Call 773-593-4357

CHICAGO SOUTH SIDE Beautiful Studios, 1,2,3 & 4 BR’s, Sec 8 ok. $500 gift certificate for Sec 8 tenants. 773-287-9999/312-446-3333 CHICAGO - CLEAN, NEWLY remod, 1BR, 2nd floor Apt, oak flooring. Ready Now! 722 E. 89th St. FREE HEAT. 708-951-2889 SUBURBS, RENT TO OW N! Buy with No closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708868-2422 or visit www.nhba.com CHICAGO, RENT TO OWN! Buy with no closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708868-2422 or visit www.nhba.com

MOVE IN SPECIAL B4 the N of this MO. & MOVE IN 4 $99.00 (773) 874-3400 ACACIA SRO HOTEL Men Preferred! Rooms for Rent. Weekly & Monthly Rates. 312-421-4597

2 BR UNDER $900 room Apartments in Chicago Lawn within walking distance of Marquette Park. Free heat and gas!

Hardwood floors, laundry on site, parking in rear of building, stainless steel appliances. Call today to schedule a showing! 773-420-8570

10209 S. ST. Lawrence. 5.5 room, 2BR, 2nd flr Apt for rent. $875/mo. Tenant pays utils.

Mr. Kinnie, 773-264-8518

ONE OF THE BEST M & N MGMT, 1BR, 7727 Colfax ** 2 Lrg BR, 6754 Crandon ** 2 & 3BR, 2BA, 6216 Eberhart ** Completely rehabbed.

You deserve the best ** 773-9478572 or 312-613-4427

CHICAGO - BEVERLY, large 2 room Studio & 1BR Apts. Carpet, A/ C, laundry, near transportation, $650-$765/mo.

Call 773-2334939

LARGE 3BR $895 LARGE 1BR $725 Section 8 OK, free cooking gas, newly decorated, carpeted, stove/ fridge, laundry, elevator, NO APPLICATION FEE 1-773-919-7102 or 312-802-7301

2BR apts 7747-51 South Stewart $650-$700/mo. 1st and last month rent req. heat incl.

773-547-9697

SOUTHSIDE, COZY

2 bedroom apartment. Available now! Seniors welcome. $800/month + security.

Call: 773.213.1705.

AUGUSTA/ SPRINGFIELD Large 2 Bedroom Apartment. $750/month, tenant pays utilities.

Call 312-401-3799

CHICAGO, NEWLY DECORATED 2BR Apartment, hardwood floors, blinds, $650/mo.

Call 773-617-2909

CHICAGO

7600 S Essex 2BR $599, 3BR $699, 4BR $799 w/apprvd credit, no sec dep. Sect 8 Ok! 773287-9999 /312-446-3333

SECTION 8 WELCOME! 7414 S.

Vernon 2BR, 1st flr, remod, hdwd flrs, appl incl, laundry on site. $800 & up. Call Zoro 773-406-4841

4221 N ELSTON Ave., Remodeled 2 Bedroom, $800. Call Lana 773-764-8681.

2 BR $900-$1099 110TH & VERNON. Large 2BR,

Quiet Building w/ many long term tenants, Heat/appls, Laundry Rm, $925/mo no sec/appl fee, 312-388-3845

2 BR $1100-$1299 CHATHAM BEAUTIFUL REMOD 2 & 3BR, hdwd flrs,

custom cabinets, avail now. $1100$1200/mo + sec. 773-905-8487 Sec 8 Ok

Calumet, 3BR, 2BA, $1250/mo. No Sec Dep. Sec 8 ok. 773-684-1166

2 BR $1300-$1499 SKOKIE: 2BR, 1100sqft, SS appl, granite ct, oak flrs, ac, lndry, $1325 incls ht/pkg/storage. 773743-4141 www.urbanequities. com

OVER

7651 S DREXEL , 1st fl, 3BR, liv rm, kitch., newly remodeled, ceramic tiles, heat not incl, $1100/ mo plus 1 mo sec 708-474-6520 SECTION 8 WELCOME

3BR, hdwd flrs, appliances included, 5434 S Marshfield, $900/month plus 1 month security 773-457-8440

CHICAGO 6405 S Wolcott. 3BR,

1BA, newly remodeled, tenant pays utilities, $800/month + $450 Move-In Fee. Call 773-494-9727

CHICAGO, 1138 N. Waller, 3BR, 1st floor, newly decorated, hdwd floors throughout. $950/mo. Section 8 welcome. 630-915-2755 CALUMET CITY, 3BR, 2 full BA, fully rehab w/gorgeous finishes w/ hdwd floors, appls incl., porch, Sec 8 OK. $1100/mo Call 510-735-7171

3 BR OR MORE $1200-$1499

8943 S. ADA. Safe, secure 23BR, separate heating, school & metra 1 blk away, $875$1200/mo.

Section 8 welcome. Call 708-465-6573 CALUMET CITY - 2BR Apt, heat & appliances included, off street parking. No smokin g/no pets. Section 8 welcome. Call 630-220-7914 FREE HEAT nr 74th/The Dan Ryan on 73rd/Harvard Ave. NO SEC or 1 MO FREE, if qualified!, Small, Quiet 2BR. 773-895-7247 8947 S. COTTAGE Grove, Unit

3C. 3rd flr, 2BR Apt. Ten htd, lndry / appls incl. Credit check $700 mo + $350 move in fee 773-721-8817

CHICAGO, 3 BDRM apartment, tenant pays heat, Section 8 approved, totally rehabbed, 773-580-4630 AVAIL IMMED renov 2BR apt. Nr Univ of Chgo. Lrg kit, washer/ dryer in unit, storage, wood flrs.

Tenant pays utils. 773-629-0314.

3 BR OR MORE UNDER $1200 NEW 2 & 3 BR Apartments in

Lawndale. Stainless appliances, wood floors & more! Sec 8 Welcome. 708-612-4022

68th/Hermitage

2BR. $725. 3BR, $825. 68th/ Emerald, 3BR. $800. 63rd/May. 3BR. $900 heat incl. 65th/Aberdeen. 7BR, 2BA House. $1175. 847-977-3552

DOLTON, JUST REMODELED, 3BR House, 1BA, new appliances, Section 8 ok. $1100/ month.

Call 773-651-6182

CHICAGO 5842 S. Shields, Unit 1, 3BR, 1BA, newly refurbished,new carpet, 1st flr, no pets, fridge, stove. $800 + utils.

773-752-8328

2 BR $1500 AND

CHICAGO 5246 S. HERMITAGE: 2BR bsmt $400. 2BR 1st floor, $525. 3BR, 2nd floor, $625.

1.5 mo sec req’d. 708-574-4085.

3 BR OR MORE OTHER

7543 S. PHILLIPS, Luxury Apts, 3BR, 2 full BA, ground unit. Amenities incl: walk in closet, storage, appl & granite counter tops.

Handicap access. Sect 8 ok.

New Pisgah Properties, 708-7330365

WASHINGTON PARK -

5636 King Dr. Single Rooms for rent from $390, $450, to $510 a month.

Call 773-359-7744

MARKETPLACE

GOODS

86TH & JUSTINE , Newly remodeled, 5BR, 2BA, hardwood floors, appliances incl. Near trans. Sec 8 Welcome 773-4303100

quette 3bd, wood flrs & carpet.

Laundry facility & security cameras on site. 708-466-9632 $1300 Free Flat Screen w/ voucher

Stunning

SPACIOUS 3BR, 2ND floor, 1.

5BA, living room, dining room, hdwd flrs, near quiet Austin neighborhood. Sect 8 Welc. Ike, 630-440-8299

FULL BODY MASSAGE. hotel, house calls welcome $90

AKC ST. BERNARD puppies available. Health Guarateed. $12000. For more visit vonduewerhaus.com. Call/ text 217-370-7669.

5BR

Masterpiece,

LASALLE/102ND 4BR,2BA BRICK house! Section 8 Welcome!

European trained and certified therapists specializing in deep tissue, Swedish, and relaxation massage. Incalls. 773-552-7525. Lic. #227008861.

Hardwood flrs, appliance incuded, basement, gated, parking, 773-2602631

SEC 8 WELCOME DIXMOOR 14225 S. Lincoln.

4BR, 2BA, quiet block, near school, driveway, huge backyard. $1200/mo. 773-501-0503 COUNTRY CLUB HILLS vic of 183RD/Cicero.

4BR, 1.5BA $1400. Ranch Style, 2 car gar.

708-369-5187 1436 S TRUMBULL, 3BR $1300/ month, no security deposit. New rem. Hrdwd flrs, lndy.Sec system in bldg .Section 8 Wel 708-308-1788 SECTION 8 WELCOME. NO SECURITY DEPOSIT. 1701 W 59th, 4BR, 2BA house, appliances included, $1300/mo. 708-288-4510

3 BR OR MORE $1500-$1799 MARQUETTE PARK 7313 S Artesian, beaut rehab 3BR/2BA house, granite ctrs, SS appls, whirlpl tub, fin bsmt, 2-car gar. $1600. 708-288-4510

ADULT SERVICES

UKRAINIAN MASSAGE. CALLS in/ out. Chicago and sub-

CHICAGO SOUTHSIDE, Newly remodeled 3BR/2BA with appls & w/d Also, newly remod 2BR with appls. Call 773-908-8791

urbs. Hotels. 1250 S Michigan Avenue. Appointments. 773-616-6969.

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FOR A HEALTHY mind and body.

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Brick home, rent to own. $1450/mo + Pulaski 3 bedrooms. appl. included. 1 month security required.

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used. Large selection of professional high quality massage equipment at a very low price. Visit us at www. bestmassage.com or call us, 773764-6542.

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CHICAGO, 5 large bedrooms, 2 full bath, good neighborhood, 10117 S. LaSalle St.. Section 8 welcome. Call 847-520-3760

FOR SALE: 2004 Cadillac DeVille

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KUBOTA RTV 900 Utility Vehicle with snow plow, hard top, work lights, hours 469, $2,600 CALL: 7732349004

Rogers Park – 1700 W Juneway 312-593-1677. 3-4 bedrooms from $1175 Free heat. No deposit

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NOTICES JEFFERSON PARK SUNDAY

Market- farmers market & craft fair January 29 -Copernicus Center Annex 5216 W. Lawrence Ave. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. music by: Frankie’s People (Frankie Diaz) - food by Tamales Express Cash Bar more info: http://www.jeffersonparksundaymarket.com/

FOR SALE WE BUY HOUSES CASH 757-236-0998

non-residential SELF-STORAGE CENTERS. T W O locations to serve you. All

BUSINESS OPS

units fully heated and humidity controlled with ac available. North: Knox Avenue.

773-685-6868.

South: Pershing Avenue. 773-523-6868.

utils incl, 5126 W. Madison shared BA & Kit, sec dep neg.

Vets Welcome 773-988-5579

CLASSICS WANTED ANY CLASSIC CARS IN ANY CONDITION. ’20S, ’30S, ’40S, ’50S, ’60S & ’70S. HOTRODS & EXOTICS! TOP DOLLAR PAID! COLLECTOR. CALL JAMES, 630-201-8122

START A CAREER providing a major service to people while developing a healthy income. Call Emanuel Mackey at 773-504-5217 and you too can become a licensed Insurance Agent and Financial Planner. Enter this exciting career path for a rewarding lifestyle—one that helps others with making important financial decisions. Become an expert in the financial world, have fun and make money.

There is a fee involved. $150 to join; $60 for a one-day training; $175 State Licensing Test These fees do not need to be paid at one time

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roommates SOUTH SHORE, Senior

Discount. Male preferred. Furnished rooms, shared kitchen & bath, $545/ mo. & up. Utilities included.

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WEST SIDE - Rooms. $425/mo.

ONLY $2123 1995 Kubota B1750

4x4, 20 HP, 570 hours, very well maintained. Text or Call 414-395-5740

CALUMET CITY, 3BR, 2BA, 2 car gar., fully rehab w/ gorgeous finishes & hdwd flrs.

Beautiful backyard.

Sect 8 ok. $1175/mo. 510-735-7171

SOUTHSIDE NEWLY REMOD.

70th & Aberdeen. Studio $475. 2BR $695 & 3BR $795 + 1 mo rent & 1 mo sec. Heat incl. Call 773-651-8673

CHICAGO, KING & 73RD ST., Beautiful 2BR Apt. Newer rehab, new cabinets, $800/mo + heat.

MUST SEE! Call Irma, 847-9874850

2207 E 87TH ST: 2BR, new bldg, across from Chicago Voc H. S., lndry, hdwd flrs, $875 incls gas, heat & prkg, 708-308-1509 or 773493-3500

Subsidized 2 and 3 bedroom apt waiting list. Rent is based on 30% of annual income for qualified applicants. Contact us at 847-546-1899 for details

73RD & DORCHESTER, 2BR, refrig, $1150/mo, gas incl; 119th &

BRAND NEW KITCHEN in WrigCALUMET CITY 158TH & PAXTON SANDRIDGE APTS 1 & 2 BEDROOM UNITS MODELS OPEN M-F, 9AM-5:30PM *** 708-841-5450 ***

BEAUTIFUL NEW APT! 6150 S. Vernon, 4BDRM 743 E. 72nd St, 2BDRM 8129 S. Ingleside, 2BDRM 7649 S. Phillips Ave 1, 2 & 4BDRM Stainless Steel!! Appliances!!

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CHICAGO, PRINCETON PARK HOMES. Spacious 2-3 BR Townhomes, Inclu: Prvt entry, full bsmt, lndry hook-ups. Ample prkg. Close to trans & schls. Starts at $844/ mo.

LANSING - 18346 Torrence Ave. 1 w w w . p p k h o m e s . com;773-264-3005 Bedroom Apartment, $650/mo. Heat & Water included.

ROUND LAKE BEACH, IL Cedar No pets. Call 708-895-4794 Villas is accepting applications for

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SEC 8 WELCOME. Modern 2BR, hdwd flrs, will accept 1BR vouchure. $700/mo. No Sec Dep for vouchure holders. 773-895-9495

2 BR OTHER

leyville 2 bdrm! Granite counters, stainless steel appliances, dishwasher!

Close to “EL”, Wrigley Field, Jewel!

Formal Dining Room, large Kitchen pantry, hdwd flrs! 1251 West Waveland: 1/2 month free! $1595, tnt htd. (773) 381-0150. www.theschirmfirm.com

SECTION 8 WELCOME. No Security Deposit. 7721 S Peoria, 3BR apt, appls incl. $1050/mo.

708-288-4510

3BRS. JACKSON & Laramie.

Cermak & Pulaski, nr trans. $900$1100 + sec. Tenant pays utils, laundry hookup. 847.720.9010

JANUARY 26, 2017 | CHICAGO READER 39

STRAIGHT DOPE

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40 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

A : “There’s no reason the IRS can’t send

Americans pre-filled tax forms to verify,” one presidential hopeful insisted in 2007. Well, apparently there was some reason, because that same guy spent the last eight years in the Oval Office and you’ll still be fumbling with a 1040 sometime between now and April 15. Circumstances partially excuse Barack Obama’s failure to deliver on his promise that “millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes,” what with the economy collapsing shortly before he took office. But there’s a simpler explanation for why this idea hasn’t prevailed in D.C.: Enough money has been spent to stop it from happening.

If you’re paid strictly in wages and, like nearly 70 percent of Americans, you claim the standard deduction rather than itemizing, you’re familiar with the drill: You get a W-2 from your employer listing what you were paid and how much tax was withheld. Next (unless you shell out for pro prep) you fill in some blanks, do some math, squint at a tax table, sign your name, drop the form in the mail, and worry that you screwed it up. And you very well may have—the IRS finds more than two million mistakes every year. These are spotted easily enough, because the IRS got the very same W-2 figures, did the same math, and filled out the same form.

Sure enough, an alternative system, known as return-free filing, already exists in such forward-thinking locales as Denmark, Sweden, and Spain, where the government basically does just what you propose. They send out a bill for taxes due—or a refund of overpayment—for the recipient to approve.

Even here in the U.S., you don’t have to compute your property taxes yourself, so why can’t you just kick back and wait for the IRS to figure out your income tax? In 2009, the Taxpayer Advocate Service of the IRS told Congress that Obama’s proposal was “not feasible at this time.” The government receives the necessary information too late in tax season, they claimed, so a return-free system would delay refunds and anger impatient taxpayers.

You’d figure typical deficit-hawk conservatives would be happy to save the money the IRS wastes every year confronting the American taxpayer’s inability to subtract correctly.

And in fact Ronald Reagan himself endorsed

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return-free filing in 1985. But small-government zealot Grover Norquist and his group Americans for Tax Reform oppose efforts to streamline the filing system, preferring reforms that “enhance voluntary compliance.” The more likely reason for the resistance is that the proposed setup would make the tax “simplification” Norquist favors—lopping off upper tax brackets, mainly—a much harder sell. If you’re trying to paint U.S. taxation as hopelessly burdensome, the last thing you want to see is the IRS transformed into an agency that just mails Americans a refund check every year.

Meanwhile, special-interest groups are trying to shoot down return-free pilot plans. In 2005, California adopted a program called ReadyReturn, which allows qualified residents to opt for a pre-completed tax return.

The state estimates that the new process has saved millions a year in prep fees and about a half a million in government administrative costs, and taxpayers who’ve used the service are overwhelmingly pleased. Thing is, not many Californians take advantage of it— in 2012, only 90,000 out of the approximately one million eligible—and officials complain they’ve had a hard time getting the word out.

That’s because software manufacturer Intuit, the maker of the prep app TurboTax, wants it that way: according to a 2013 investigation

by ProPublica, the company spent more than $3 million in lobbying and campaign contributions between 2005 and 2009 fighting ReadyReturn. Intuit didn’t manage to kill the program outright, but the state’s budget for marketing it was cut to a dinky $10,000.

Perhaps wary of incurring the deep-pocketed wrath of Big Tax-Prep and its small-government allies, other states have seemingly been in no big hurry to follow California’s example. But the dream remains alive in D.C. Last April, Elizabeth Warren became the latest senator to propose (doomed) legislation introducing return-free filing. I don’t see a lot of progress on this front. Being evidently opposed to paying taxes at all, our new president seems unlikely to expend much effort on making it simpler to do. v Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com or write him c/o Chicago Reader, 350 N. Orleans, Chicago 60654.

l

l

SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage

A fetishist’s problem with Trump’s alleged piss party Plus: Permission to wank on social media Q : A problem has cropped

up for me ever since the reports of Donald Trump’s pissing Russian hookers made the news. Every time someone on social media tries to make a comment about how disgusting that is, someone else scolds that person for “kink shaming.”

By normalizing my piss fetish, you’re making it dull for me. Piss was one of the few things that even the kink community found disgusting. My polyamorous boyfriend and I found each other without knowing we shared a love for piss. The one thing the piss porn I’ve been watching for half my life completely failed to capture is how goddamn amazing it is to embrace and make out with a person you love dearly while you’re both covered in each other’s piss. If you personally don’t want to kink shame, that’s fine. But everyone, please stop telling your friends not to kink shame so that my boyfriend and I can get back to pissing on each other and feeling disgusting about it and horny because of it. —PISSED OFF SLUT WIFE

a : I have grappled with

this same conundrum, POSW. If a kink is boneror slicker-inducing to some precisely because it’s so transgressive and disgusting to most, efforts to normalize said kink could piss away that kink’s power.

But I’m confident that the kink shamers will continue to have the upper hand for decades to come, despite the best efforts of the kinkshamer shamers. So your kink will continue to induce enough revulsion and disgust generally to keep you and your boyfriend feeling disgusting and horny in perpetuity.

Q : I am quite the follower

on social media—Facebook and Twitter in particular. I make no trolling comments, no #MAGA hashtags; I just look with my male gaze. Like Laura Mulvey says, the male gaze is only natural. I’ve lost interest in pornography, so I use everyday pictures of women, typically selfies.

It helps me to know the story behind the face and body. None of these pics are pornographic—just feel-good selfies by young women posted on social media. I don’t communicate with these people, because that would be creepy. I’m not worried about whether this is abnormal. I just wondered if people would be OK with this, if people were aware of behavior like mine when they post, and if I should ask these girls for their permission to wank to their selfies. —NOT ANTHONY WEINER

a : So long as you’re wanking alone, wanking with a reasonable expectation of privacy, and not bothering anyone who isn’t a sex partner or a sex-advice professional with your wanking, NAW, you can wank to whatever you’d like—except for images of child rape, aka “child pornography.”

Let’s say a guy working in a shoe store has an intense attraction to feet. Is it inappropriate for him to get an obvious boner while helping women try on shoes? Of course it is. And it would be super inappropriate of him to ask the women he’s serving if he can jack off about their feet after his shift. But if he can go eight hours without giving off any signs of secret perving, that guy can sell shoes. And he’s free to upload mental images to his spank bank for later.

So in answer to your question, NAW, under no circumstances should you ask the girls whose selfies you’re wanking to for their permission. People who post revealing pictures to social media— men and women—know they run the risk of their pics being wanked to by random strangers. But there’s a difference between knowing some stranger might be wanking to your pics and hearing from one of those wanking strangers. If some stranger is going to make your day by posting a hot pic, why would you ruin theirs—or make them think twice about ever posting a revealing pic again—by telling them what you’re doing while you gaze at their pics?

If you saw a woman on the street that you thought was hot, you wouldn’t stop her to ask if you could wank about her later. You would no more ask a stranger that question than you would flash your penis at her because, NAW, it would constitute sexual harassment. You would instead walk on by, minding your own business while discreetly filing her mental image away in your spank bank. You should behave similarly on social media: Don’t harass, don’t send unsolicited dick pics, and don’t ask for permission to wank.

Finally, NAW, your question inspired me to read feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey’s 1975 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” in which she coined the phrase “male gaze.”

Mulvey describes the male gaze as phallocentric, patriarchal, pervasive, and socially constructed—she never describes it as natural. v Send letters to mail@ savagelove.net. Download the Savage Lovecast every Tuesday at thestranger.com. ß @fakedansavage

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JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 41

Slowdive o INGRID POP

NEW Airpark 3/21, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 1/27, noon, 18+ Anjunabeats 4/29, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, on sale Fri 1/27, noon, 18+ Grazyna Auguscik Group 2/25, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Cameron Avery 3/29, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 1/27, noon, 18+ Bear Grillz, Terravita 3/31, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Bellrays 4/28, 7:30 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Big Wild 4/7, 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Black Atlass, Overwerk 2/22, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Bombadil 4/8, 7 PM, Schubas Boo Seeka 4/1, 7:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Crystal Bowersox 4/9, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 1/26, noon b Pieta Brown 3/15, 7:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Bush 5/15, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, on sale Fri 2/17, 10 AM, 18+ Jim Campilongo Trio 4/18, 8 PM, Green Mill, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound 2/11, 9 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Fri 1/27, 11 AM Chelsea Grin, Ice Nine Kills 4/5, 5:30 PM, Bottom Lounge b Chicago Blues Festival with Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues, Rhymefest, William Bell, Gary Clark Jr., Rhiannon Giddens, and more 6/9-11, Millennium Park Clean Bandit 5/2, 7:30 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b

Coheed & Cambria, Dear Hunter 5/19, 8 PM, Aragon Ballroom, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Marc Cohn 4/14-15, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 1/26, noon b Shemekia Copeland 4/1, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Cosmonauts 4/3, 9 PM, Empty Bottle F Gaslamp Killer 2/17, 9 PM, East Room Ghost-Note with Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth 3/30, 8 PM, the Promontory, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b GZA 2/28, 8:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, on sale Fri 1/27, noon, 17+ Iron Maiden, Ghost 6/15, 7:30 PM, Hollywood Casino Ampitheatre, Tinley Park, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Jambon 3/4, 9 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Fri 1/27, 11 AM Jean-Michael Jarre 5/22, 7:30 PM, Auditorium Theatre, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM KapG, J.R. Donato 3/4, 6:30 PM, the Promontory b Lucy Kaplansky 5/19, 7:30 PM, Szold Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, on sale Fri 1/27, 8 AM b Kawehi 3/31, 8:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ Lakha Khan & Dane Khan 3/19, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Amel Larrieux 4/8, 7 and 10 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 1/26, noon b Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares 4/19, 7 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, on sale Fri 1/27, 8 AM b Eric Lindell Trio 3/28, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b

42 CHICAGO READER - JANUARY 26, 2017

Living Body 3/7, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 1/27, noon, 18+ The Lox 3/7, 8 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM, 17+ Lucky Boys Confusion 4/15, 8 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM, 17+ The Maine, Mowgli’s 5/6, 7 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 1/27, noon b Idina Menzel 8/12, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM Raul Midon 4/16, 7 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Mild High Club 5/16, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale Fri 1/27, noon, 18+ Minnesota 3/24, 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Nana Grizol 4/1, 9 PM, Empty Bottle NF 5/5, 8 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Thao Nguyen 4/4, 7 PM, Lincoln Hall Nosaj Thing 2/4, 9 PM, East Room Old 97s 5/12, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM, 17+ Phantogram 3/11, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM, 18+ Rah Digga, Lyric Jones 2/21, 9 PM, Subterranean Robert Randolph & the Family Band 3/17, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall Real Friends, Tiny Moving Parts 6/9, 4:30 PM, Concord Music Hall b Bebe Rexha 3/20, 7:30 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Timothy B. Schmit 4/18, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 1/26, noon b Siimba Liives Long 3/4, 9 PM, Subterranean, 17+

b Slowdive 5/3, 8 PM, the Vic, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM Sonics 3/23, 7:30 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper 8/5, 7:30 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, on sale Fri 1/27, noon b Telefon Tel Aviv 3/8, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Temperance Movement, Cobi 4/15, 9 PM, Bottom Lounge, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM, 17+ Kate Tempest 4/3, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM, 18+ Third Eye Blind, Silversun Pickups 7/6, 7 PM, Huntington Bank Pavilion, on sale Thu 1/26, 10 AM b Toro Y Moi (DJ set) 3/31, 10 PM, the Mid Train, O.A.R., Natasha Bedingfield 6/30, 7 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Twiddle 4/14, 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Tycho 4/28, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM, 18+ Matthew Logan Vasquez 5/4, 8 PM, Subterranean, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM Carlos Vives 4/16, 7 PM, Rosemont Theater, Rosemont, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM Waco Brothers 2/26, 5 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club Wilson Phillips 3/19, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 1/27, 10 AM b Ray Wylie Hubbard 5/6, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 1/26, noon b

UPDATED Candlebox 3/31, 8 and 10:30 PM, City Winery, early show sold out, late show added, on sale Thu 1/26, noon b Tinariwen, Dengue Fever 4/11, 7 and 10 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, late show added b

UPCOMING Against Me! 2/24, 7 PM, Durty Nellie’s, Palatine b All Them Witches 3/16, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Amorphis, Swallow the Sun 3/26, 6 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Daniel Bachman 2/3, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Devendra Banhart 3/6, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Bring Me the Horizon, Underoath, Beartooth 3/13, 7 PM, Aragon Ballroom b Chairlift 4/14, 8 PM, Double Door C.J. Chenier 2/24, 9 PM, Fitzgerald’s

ALL AGES

WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK

EARLY WARNINGS

CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME

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Sign up for the newsletter at chicagoreader. com/early

Dan Deacon, Marijuana Deathsquads, Air Credits 2/19, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Dead & Co. 6/30-7/1, 7 PM, Wrigley Field Electric Guest 3/1, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Flaming Lips 4/17, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Go Rounds 2/28, 8 PM, Schubas, 18+ Laura Jane Grace 2/5, 8 PM, City Winery b Haywyre 3/17, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Lauryn Hill 2/6, 8 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Jack Ingram 2/26, 8 PM, City Winery b Jose James 3/26, 7:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Judah & the Lion 3/23, 8 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Knocked Loose 2/28, 6:30 PM, Subterranean b Lambchop 3/24, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall Laura Marling 5/7, 8 PM, Metro, 18+ Meat Wave 2/25, 9 PM, Empty Bottle New Pornographers, Waxahatchee 4/19, 8 PM and 4/21, 9 PM, Metro, 18+ Nothing 3/2, 8:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ Overkill, Nile 2/17, 7 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Passenger 3/17, 7:30 PM, Riviera Theatre b Power Trip, Iron Reagan 3/12, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey 3/25, 7 PM, United Center David Sanborn 3/26, 6 PM, the Promontory Sargeist 5/30, 8:30 PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+ Sleaford Mods 4/3, 8 PM, Double Door, 18+ Timber Timbre 4/28, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall UK Subs 4/4, 7:30 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Voodoo Glow Skulls, Pilfers 3/30, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ M. Ward 3/27-28, 8 PM, City Winery b Roger Waters 7/22, 8 PM, United Center The Weeknd 5/23, 7:30 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont Why? 3/17, 9 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Withered, Immortal Bird 2/28, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Xiu Xiu 3/31, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Zombies 4/13, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ v

GOSSIP WOLF A furry ear to the ground of the local music scene GOSSIP WOLF LOVES WBEZ’s Winter Block Party, an all-ages hip-hop fest copresented by Young Chicago Authors.

This year it takes over Metro on Saturday, January 28, beginning at noon with a free celebration of hip-hop arts that includes a dance workshop, a DJ battle, and a graffiti wall. The ticketed concert at 7 PM ($10, $6 for students) is a doozy, with seven local female acts spanning generations; unimpeachable soul singer Jamila Woods headlines. Gossip Wolf is particularly keen to see vocalist Kaina, who’s fresh off the Sweet ASL EP (made with teenage duo the Burns Twins and producer Bedows), and underground collective Medicine Woman—its members include Drea Smith, Via Rosa, Jean Deaux, and Ravyn Lenae.

Show up early to catch rising rapper Lin-Z. Hip-hop veteran Amina NormanHawkins (of Urbanized Music) hosts.

Every winter, Gossip Wolf throws on the love beads and bell-bottoms for the Chicago Psych Fest. This weekend the Hideout hosts its eighth iteration, subtitled “Frozen Mind,” and it sounds as brain-freezingly groovy and diverse as ever! The show on Friday, January 27, includes headliners Post Animal, TALsounds (see Soundboard), and Spectralina (an audiovisual duet of artist Selina Trepp and Tortoise’s Dan Bitney). On Saturday, January 28, a trio of Ryley Walker, Bill MacKay, and Michael Zerang headlines; among the other acts are Latin groovers Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta and psych/funk jammers Magic Carpet.

On Sunday, January 29, local avantawesome label FPE Records (“For Practically Everyone”) celebrates five years with a motley cast of musical characters at the Empty Bottle. Poppy headliners Zigtebra, who’ll release a new video every month this year, dropped the first on New Year’s Day. Opening are Chicago rapper Fury and Saint Louis singer Syrhea Conway, aka Syna So Pro, whose warped and winning LP Vox the label released in December.

—J.R. NELSON AND LEOR GALIL Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.

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JANUARY 26, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 43

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