WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

A chain store is a menace. Or perhaps it is a blessing. The discourse on the matter changes swiftly, but one thing's for certain: the rise of shopping local is not a trend. At its core, it is an issue of community. It is about what a community needs and what a community does not realize it needs. April Francis, founder of the monthly Dose Market understood this perfectly when she created her market, celebrating its two-year anniversary this weekend. And as her festival rose in popularity, so too have efforts in neighborhoods across the city (in Wicker Park, Logan Square and West Loop) to address the questions, concerns, and curiosities of local consumers. Where is this coming from? Who made this? Why should I care?

The rise of local markets coincides with the rise and re-emphasis of shopping local. What does it mean to shop local?

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The Hawks did something last night that no other team was able to do this post season: win in Los Angeles. The 3-2 victory by the Blackhawks over the Kings gives them a decisive 3 game to 1 lead over the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

The Kings were able to grab the lead early in the first period when their high scoring defenseman Slava Voyva took advantage of a Hawk turnover and scored his seventh goal of the playoffs.

As the Blackhawks best defenseman Duncan Keith was suspended for his retaliation hit on Los Angeles' Jeff Carter, Nik Hjalmarsson was outstanding on the ice. He did all the little things to keep his team in the game. Hjalmarsson had two assists, one in the first period with Michael Frolik that allowed Bryan Bickell to knock in another playoff goal (his eighth). Bickell’s post season offensive output has been the most intriguing story this year.

In the second period, the Kings took a 2-1 advantage when Dustin Penner was able to poke the puck in on a Corey Crawford misplay. Later in the period, it was Hjalmarsson shooting the puck towards the net. Bickell re-directed it and Patrick Kane tipped it in to knot up the game at 2. It was Kane’s first goal of this series.

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The Internal Revenue Service is in the news lately. This is a good time to look at the case that solidified its reputation—a case involving a Chicagoan.

When the federal government tried to impose an income tax in the 1890s, the Supreme Court declared the tax unconstitutional. The only way around the decision was by constitutional amendment. In 1909 the proposed 16^th Amendment—allowing a tax on incomes—was passed by Congress. Four years later, with three-fourths of the states having ratified, the amendment became part of the Constitution.

The feds then created an agency to collect the tax. In 1918 the agency became known as the Internal Revenue Service.

Herbert Hoover was inaugurated as President of the United States on March 4, 1929. This was barely three weeks after the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre had focused national attention on gang-ridden Chicago. Everybody suspected that Al Capone was behind those killings, and a lot more. Yet all the forces of law seemed powerless against him.

Hoover was a Republican, and Capone had used his muscle to help Republican Big Bill Thompson get elected Mayor of Chicago.

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Friday, June 7

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When I think of the people who first turned me onto talking and thinking about film, the list skews heavily female: Pauline Kael. Amy Taubin. Molly Haskell.

I even liked Libby Gelman-Waxner, who wrote the satiric column “If You Ask Me” for Premiere Magazine and, who by the way, was actually a nom de drag: comedic writer Paul Rudnick doing his best impersonation of a Manhattan housewife/career woman.

I’m not sure why this was the case. Maybe I liked women writers because I was a woman who wanted to be a writer! As a film school student, maybe I just preferred “serious” critics. Most of these women, judged by either the length of their reviews or by their actual academic bona fides, seemed awfully serious to me.

Or maybe - and don’t crucify me Chicagoans - I just liked New Yorkers.

But I started rethinking my connection to film criticism after reading some depressing news.

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The failure of the Illinois state legislature to pass the marriage equality bill has certain folks suggesting payback for those elected officials at, of all misguided and silly things, the annual Pride Parade coming up June 30. There’s even a petition over at Change.org asking that politicians be denied entry into the parade. It’s already garnered more than 1,800 signatures.

But as Tracey Baim very reasonably explains in a current editorial in Windy City Times, it’s a questionable tactic.  For starters, the only two state reps who are registered to participate are Greg Harris and Sarah Feigenholtz. Denying them would actually be denying ourselves.

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