Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Progressives, and the Unions

A new poll indicates that Rahm Emanuel has widened his lead in the mayoral race. There are many ways in which the former White House chief of staff looks like a successor to Mayor Daley, and now it’s starting to seem like the votes may be there as well.

Taste of Chicago: Forever Free, Clear, and Musical?

Taste of Chicago, in recent years, has been free to attend and has featured a deep lineup of prominent pop musicians. But that hasn’t always been the case. Here’s a brief history of the Taste, including its relationship to the big ChicagoFest musical extravaganza.

David Brooks Sends Rahm Emanuel an Early Valentine—Again

Days after Rahm Emanuel left his job as chief of staff on October 1st to return here to run for mayor, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote the “The Soft Side.” The column was weirdly worded—“Flawed like all of us, [Rahm] is a full human being, rich and fertile from the inside out”—and provided plenty of easy laughs for Brooks/Rahm detractors. Today, Brooks did it again…

Snow-shovel Phobia (and Safety) after Snowmageddon

Snow shoveling is one of those guy-pride things, but it inevitably leads to snow shovel-phobia, especially if heart problems run in your family: the fear that clearing your car or walk will cause you to suffer one of the heart attacks that inevitably follow a big blizzard.

The Don: A Look at Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

FROM JUNE 2001: Donald Rumsfeld mended an old family feud to join the Bush Administration as Secretary of Defense, quickly emerging as one of the most powerful figures in Washington. Still, this smart, aggressive, hugely ambitious Chicagoan (New Trier ’50) probably never dreamed that his career would end in the same office he had occupied 25 years ago. Maybe it won’t.