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Joel Lerner Derrick Rose when he was at Simeon in 2006 The Sun-Times‘s Michael O’Brien spotted my Tuesday Bleader item on Derrick Rose and wrote immediately to tell me one part of it was “simply not true.” O’Brien, Rossi, and the Sun-Times deserve credit for their reporting, which apparently was more extensive than I recalled. But I’ll stand by my main point—and O’Brien doesn’t dispute it either. The stories didn’t stick....

A funny thing happened on the way to state legislative approval for Chicago’s very own casino last week. That’s what she’d be seeking in Springfield: a casino of, by, and for the people. Mayor Lightfoot told the Sun-Times that a city-owned casino “wasn’t going to make its way through the General Assembly,” and that the “legislative process is about compromise.” And then the public discussion moved on to speculation about which of a half-dozen possible locations would be the chosen casino site, with the odds in favor of the old Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville—never mind the objections of local residents....

Since moving here from Cincinnati in 2009, drummer Jeremy Cunningham has anchored several local ensembles, including orchestral jazz squad Resavoir and a crack quartet with guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Paul Bryan, and saxophonist Josh Johnson—which is also the core group on most of his solo album The Weather Up There, due Friday, February 28, via Northern Spy. The album celebrates his brother Andrew, killed in a home invasion robbery in 2008; in a short documentary about the project, Cunningham says, “It’s helpful to reconnect with the whole of a person’s life, and not just the worst thing....

Garfield Park-based gallery Goldfinch opened “Play the Fool,” a solo show with works by Em Kettner in late October. I traveled to the gallery earlier last week to examine the works that sit, live, and perform on the shelves and walls of the gallery. With the recent stay-at-home advisory in place, the entire exhibition is also viewable on the Goldfinch website with extensive documentation. Kettner’s charms and cabinet curiosities can be seen as characters in a larger story or narrative that we have yet to finish....

On December’s self-released Lost in the Walled City, Chicago’s Arthhur sound like they would’ve been signed to DFA Records if they’d been around in the early aughts. They’ve only been releasing music for a couple years, though front man Mike Fox launched Arthhur as a solo vehicle, but quickly roped in Matt Ciani (the two also play in a doom four-piece called Flesh of the Stars). Arthhur started as a loose creative project in which Fox and Ciani could go in any stylistic direction, and their first couple albums don’t sound much like Lost in the Walled City, other than the fact that Fox and Ciani play several instruments on all three; 2016’s dour, intimate Who Needs Friends (When You Have Thoughts Like These)?...

Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, July 14, 2016. Chicago doesn’t actually have the highest per capita murder rate in the U.S. Chicago’s murder rate is higher than that of New York City or Los Angeles, but there are many smaller cities with a higher per capita murder rate—including some represented by antigun control congressmen. As Congress argues about gun control legislation in the wake of the Dallas police shooting and the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, the Guardian has released a list of U....

Among active Chicago musicians, it’s hard to conceive of anyone more deserving of a Blues Festival tribute set than saxophonist Gene “Daddy G” Barge—though that conclusion apparently wasn’t obvious to the man himself. With characteristic humility, he says he didn’t know Saturday’s show was a tribute till I asked him about it—he’d assumed it was just another gig. Barge will be honored with a performance by the Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings, whose tight horn section he’s graced for decades....

It’s time to perfect your margarita. According to bartender Rachel Miller, focusing on summery cocktails is one of the best ways to get through Chicago’s harsh winter months. Want to lean into the season? She suggests classic cocktails that are dark and spirit forward or maybe investing in a bottle of bénédictine, which she describes as an audacious spiced liqueur. And as one of the co-owners of Kit: A Bar Supply Store in Irving Park, she is more than ready to provide the tools to help you make whatever cocktail you please....

Jackie Taylor, the founder and leading light of the Black Ensemble Theatre, has spent her career penning and producing biographical musicals recounting the lives of prominent African-American musicians, most of whom are associated in some way with Chicago. These shows are always packed wall-to-wall with classic tunes, passionately sung by a cast of terrific singers and backed by an impressive band. The Black Ensemble’s current show, focusing on gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, follows this formula exactly....

Next Dave Beran: The Animated Adventures Are we getting a more whimsical Next this year? That’s certainly implied by the tone of the animated teaser for Next: Paris Bistro (not to be confused with Next Door Bistro in Skokie), which even includes cartoon versions of chefs Dave Beran and Grant Achatz. (I’m still waiting for the action figures we were promised years ago.) To Django Reinhardt’s version of “Chicago,” we see hints at classic bistro dishes like baked oysters Coquilles St....

Revisiting the two albums the Breeders made with drummer Jose Medeles and bassist Mando Lopez, 2002’s Title TK and 2008’s Mountain Battles, I realized I desperately wanted them to be better than they were—I hoped with futility that sisters Kim and Kelley Deal could reclaim the genius of their 1993 masterpiece, Last Splash, and its hit single “Cannonball.” A few years ago they repaired the schism with drummer Jim Macpherson and bassist Josephine Wiggs that ruptured the lineup responsible for that record, and in March the Breeders released a new album, All Nerve (4AD), which also falls short of Last Splash....

New York power-electronics duo Sibling was started by Jacob Winans and Lux Philips shortly after they met at a May 2017 show at Brooklyn DIY arts space/music venue Heck, where Philips was tattooing concertgoers in the basement (in an e-mail to me, he recalls giving Winans “a fucked up clown face on their abdomen”). Soon after, Philips was slated to play a solo set at another venue, but instead Winans joined him for an unpracticed, spur-of-the-moment collaboration....

Seeking: tall, dark, and handsome alpha male Occupation: content specialist/creator and vlogger at Pretty in the Windy City What are you doing when you’re not working? Her friend says: “She is highly deserving, abounding with positive energy, and ready to meet her lifelong match!” I work A LOT! But you’ll find me either drinking lots of red wine with my best gal pals, reading, or catching up on my beauty sleep....

You can take a walk down Michigan Avenue from Roosevelt Road to Cermak on the sunniest afternoon of the summer, but no matter how bright the light, it won’t illuminate the full history of the street. New condos, bars, and restaurants abound, but only a couple signs remain to hint at this neighborhood’s lasting impact as an incubator of Black popular music from the late 1950s through the early 1970s....

Tequila Herradura and Cointreau Liqueur have partnered to create this summer’s perfect cocktail – The Herradura Silver Coin Margarita. To learn more about Tequila Herradura, the world’s most Gold Medal Awarded tequila, text ILHEMARG to 68405 to enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Casa Herradura in Mexico.* See https://www.herradura​.com Enjoy Tequila Herradura & Remy Cointreau at these locations (more locations coming soon!) Roscoe’s Tavern – 3356 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60657 Jensen Liquors & Lounge – 2228 W Station St, Kankakee, IL 60901 Adobo Grill – 215 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60610 Cesar’s Killer Margaritas – Broadway – 2924 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60657 Jacqueline’s – 3420 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60657 City Social – 124 N Lasalle, Chicago My Buddy’s – 4416 N Clark, Chicago IL Village Tap – 2055 W Roscoe Steer, Chicago IL Barraco’s Orland Park – 18040 Wolf Rd....

A few months back I picked up some reissues of albums that jazz bassist Gary Peacock made in Japan in 1971, all featuring remarkable pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, who died last summer in his adopted home of New York at age 75 (he moved there in 1974). Kikuchi became known during the last few decades his life for his fruitful musical relationship with drummer Paul Motian—they put out several releases in the trio Tethered Moon, which also included Peacock....

For the past few months, Mayor Rahm’s been acting like he’s the teachers’ best friend, calling on them to put aside their past differences and join his effort to win more school money from the state. The daughter of Ed Sadlowski, the longtime steel-union labor leader, her family’s been battling various Democratic bosses on the southeast side for decades. “It was an unpaid leave—so it wasn’t like I was double dipping,” says Garza....

Q: My boyfriend of almost two years is wonderful, and we have had very few issues. But there is one thing that has almost been a deal breaker. He fiddles with his penis almost constantly—in front of me and in front of our roommates. I’ve confronted him about it a number of times. He said he should be able to fiddle with his dick in every room of the house if he wants to and he should feel comfortable doing so....

My friend George is 11 and grew up on the south side of Chicago. He’s a CPS student just finishing off the sixth grade. I’ve been friends with George since his birth—his parents are two of my best friends. George is an avid online gamer so we chatted about his favorites (and to his credit, he did not roll his eyes at me while I told him my GenX stories about playing Ms....

Among the thousands, perhaps millions, of Zoom video-chat meetings that transpired across the locked-down country on March 26, one was convened for Chicago landlords. Some 150 participants tuned in throughout the session, including corporate property managers, mom-and-pop operators, and even former 49th Ward alderman Joe Moore. Two local groups representing landlords, the South Side Community Investors Association and the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance, called the meeting for south-side landlords in particular to discuss the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic....