It’s election season in Chicago, as evidenced by the nonstop campaigning by some of the most idiotic windbags in the modern game. The origins of the name “Windy City” remain unclear, but one popular theory maintains that it was coined in reference to this city’s bloviating residents and politicians, who were (and maybe still are) considered to be “full of hot air.”
With the polls closing in a few days, here’s where things stand for the greatest city in the middle of the country (sorry Des Moines). Lori Lightfoot, the current mayor and one of the all-time WOAT’s (that’s Worst Of All Time), currently trails behind a police-loving white man named Paul Vallas. Lightfoot landed herself in some hot water earlier this week when she said that South Side voters who aren’t supporting her shouldn’t bother voting at all. A real class act our mayor.
Also in the thick of things are former Chicago Public Schools teacher Brandon Johnson, a progressive, and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, the current democratic congressman representing the area. Johnson, a current Cook County commissioner landed the endorsement of the politically powerful Chicago Teachers Union, which has been at odds with Lightfoot since day 1.
The race also features Willie Wilson, a local businessman who has owned a series of McDonald’s franchises and various companies, and who has a lengthy history of running for office (and losing) in Chicago, with mayoral runs in 2015 and 2019 and a run for Senate in 2020. With election day a week away, it’s looking like no candidate will receive the outright majority needed to win, so it appears we’ll be dealing with a runoff election and campaigning until early April. God help us.
Side Items
Tragedy Strikes Again: Another pair of earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria yesterday, just weeks after the devastation that earthquakes brought to the region. Hundreds of injuries were reported and the ongoing cycle of trauma starts over. It’s truly hard to imagine the depth of tragedy these people are experiencing while this country does less than nothing to help
The Last of Who Exactly?: I’ve been hearing about HBO’s new show “The Last of Us” for a few weeks now, an adaptation of a popular video game involving some form of zombies. What I didn’t know is that one of the game's co-directors and co-writers Neil Druckmann is an Israeli who was born and raised in the occupied West Bank. It gives the narrative a slightly different feel when you realize the author is drawing direct parallels between religious fanatics in a game and oppressed Palestinians in reality. I haven’t seen the show or played the game, so it’s possible some of the nuance is lost on me, but as always, I’ll remain skeptical until given reason to be otherwise