Illinois news

• The world’s most frightening trees on the gig poster of the week

  19-02-2019 23:35 via Chicago Reader
  ARTIST: John Sant
  SHOW:Masonic Wave and Puffins at Crown Liquors on Tue 2/19
  MORE INFO: muteneighbor.com…
  
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• Xtal Fsck play a noise show that you can put your face in

  19-02-2019 22:00 via Chicago Reader
  Xtal Fsck play a noise show that you can put your face in, Babes Only teams up with Chicago Votes for a smooth preelection party, and more. For nearly a decade, the duo of Jason Soliday and Jon Satrom have been spewing zonked noise as Xtal Fsck.…
  
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• A phony hate crime is a hateful waste of time

  19-02-2019 20:15 via Austin Weekly News
  Jussie ... Jussie ... Jussie ... from the moment I heard his story, it didn't pass my sniff test. Read More...
  
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• Aldermanic write-in candidate answers questions

  19-02-2019 20:11 via Austin Weekly News
  Otis Percy, 46, is running for the 37th Ward aldermanic seat as a write-in candidate. He could not be reached for an interview before we published our special election issue earlier this month. Read More...
  
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• Mayoral candidates talk West Side investment at forum

  19-02-2019 20:07 via Austin Weekly News
  At a mayoral candidate forum hosted last weekend by the Chicago Westside Branch of the NAACP, candidate Lori Lightfoot's opening statements foreshadowed the afternoon's conversation. Read More...
  
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• Davis endorses Wilson, aldermanic incumbents

  19-02-2019 20:04 via Austin Weekly News
  Congressman Danny K. Davis (7th) recently announced his endorsements for the upcoming mayoral and aldermanic races during a press conference held Feb. 17 at MacArthur's Restaurant, 5412 W. Madison St.  Read More...
  
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• The Joffrey’s visually stunning Anna Karenina has strong bones but doesn’t capture the story’s flesh and blood

  19-02-2019 18:29 via Chicago Reader
  The adaptation is a dazzling spectacle that can’t quite bring the plot to life.The Joffrey unveiled its new Anna Karenina this weekend before packed houses at the Auditorium Theatre. The product of an international team of luminaries, including choreographer Yuri Possokhov, set and costume designer Tom Pye, lighting designer David Finn, and projection designer Finn Ross, it's the Joffrey's first commissioned story ballet and for ambition alone deserves praise.…
  
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• An 11-Year-Old Florida Student Arrested For Not Standing During The Pledge Of Allegiance

  19-02-2019 16:41 via The Chicago Defender
  Asubstitute teacher had an 11-year-old Black student arrested because he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The Lawton Chiles Middle Academy student is now facing misdemeanor charges.
  See Also: Ben Carson Tells A Black Woman To Escape Poverty She Needs To Get Married
  According to Bay News 9, on Feb. 4, the student refused to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance, “The student reportedly told the substitute teacher the flag was racist and the national anthem was offensive to Bla
  
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• NAACP Restructures to Advance Advocacy Strategy

  19-02-2019 15:57 via The Chicago Defender
  The nation’s most prominent civil rights organization announced over the weekend during its annual national board meeting in New York, a strategic restructuring which better positions the organization to lead the critical policy advocacy and social justice work needed to ensure the rights of all people. The group also signed series of memoranda of understanding with several African-American organizations designed to expand its capacity to engage Black voters nationally.
  “The NAACP is
  
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• “Salary History Box” Requirement Banned on City of Atlanta Applications

  19-02-2019 15:13 via The Chicago Defender
  The City of Atlanta has removed the salary history question on employment applications in an effort to ensure fair hiring practices.
  “The City of Atlanta has taken a critical step toward the elimination of pay discrimination by removing salary history questions on employment applications,” said Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “Too often, salary history can trap employees in an unfair earnings cycle based on history rather than their skill set. Now, employees can be compensated base
  
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• Mayor Bottoms’ Task Force for the Promotion of Public Trust Approved by City Council

  19-02-2019 14:50 via The Chicago Defender
  The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a resolution to create the Bottoms’ Administration’s Task Force for the Promotion of Public Trust. The task force will evaluate the City’s legislative and administrative policies and procedures with regard to ethics, transparency and compliance. Appointments to the task force will be chosen by both the Mayor and City Council.
  “Strengthening public trust requires a shared responsibility from not only the executive and legislati
  
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• New Database Would Protect Lost African-American Burial Sites

  19-02-2019 14:18 via The Chicago Defender
  When new construction projects break ground across the United States, they regularly encounter archaeological materials. Those materials can represent the last surviving trace of the lives lived by the people who made them; and all too often, those materials turn out to be from cemeteries and burial grounds used by segregated and enslaved African-American communities. These cemeteries typically went undocumented on local and state government maps and graves were often only marked ephemerally, th
  
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• Veterans of West Side Blues recall the music

  18-02-2019 22:27 via Austin Weekly News
  In Garfield Park, at the corner of Lake and Kenzie, four decades ago the spot was Ground Zero for the West Side's most powerful blues music. Read More...
  
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• Photos from the fifth annual Femifest

  18-02-2019 22:27 via Chicago Reader
  What began as a high school benefit concert in Des Moines, Iowa, is now a two-day celebration of marginalized artists and fans in Chicago. Femifest, a DIY music and art fest hosted by Bad Witch Club, started as a high school benefit concert in Des Moines, Iowa, before moving to Chicago in 2018.…
  
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• State House passes minimum wage bill

  18-02-2019 22:25 via Austin Weekly News
  SPRINGFIELD – A bill to raise Illinois' minimum wage to $15 by 2025 needs only Gov. J.B. Pritzker's signature to become law, and his office said he stands ready to act in the coming days. Read More...
  
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• Ne-Hi side project Flamingo Rodeo debuts its first music video

  18-02-2019 22:20 via Chicago Reader
  Mikey Wells’s other band releases an easygoing, summery video to match its breezy guitar-pop sound. Flamingo Rodeo, the solo project of Ne-Hi guitarist and singer Mikey Wells, made a splash last year with Said Unsaid (Shuga), which was not only its full-length debut but also its debut as a full band.…
  
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• 'Pay attention to Austin'

  18-02-2019 22:00 via Austin Weekly News
  State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (7th) remembers Austin before the proliferation of vacant lots and boarded-up buildings. Read More...
  
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• Archive dive: The 2004 Senate race was the reality show of the year

  18-02-2019 21:18 via Chicago Reader
  A look back at a crowded race full of candidates who didn't come to make friends. Before throwing his hat in the ring to become mayor of Chicago, Gery Chico entered the similarly crowded race to take over Peter Fitzgerald's U.S. Senate seat.…
  
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• Archive Dive: The 2004 Senate primary was the reality show of the year

  18-02-2019 21:18 via Chicago Reader
  A look back at a crowded race full of candidates who didn't come to make friends. Long before throwing his hat in the ring in a second attempt to become mayor of Chicago, Gery Chico entered a similarly crowded race to take over Peter Fitzgerald's U.S. Senate seat way back in the aughts.…
  
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• Westside Future Fund Welcomes New Members to Board of Directors

  18-02-2019 16:18 via The Chicago Defender
  Westside Future Fund (WFF) announced the election of seven new members to its Board of Directors: Rev. Kenneth Alexander, John Gamble, Jim Grien, Shawntel Hebert, Wonya Lucas, Derrick Jordan and A.J. Robinson.
  “I am grateful these talented Atlanta leaders have chosen to serve on the Westside Future Fund Board of Directors,” said Richard J. Dugas, Jr., Westside Future Fund Board Chair. “They each have dedicated their lives to advancing their respective organizations, whether in
  
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• Five challengers take on 46th Ward alderman Cappleman from the left

  18-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Gentrifying Uptown may be ready for the return of Helen Shiller’s spirit. Depending on who you talk to, 46th Ward alderman James Cappleman is either a cold, deceitful hater of the poor who's destroyed much of Uptown's affordable housing stock or a friendly, responsive neighborhood booster who's made Uptown a better place to live.…
  
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• Door to Door

  18-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Anya Davidson goes door-to-door in the 25th Ward.…
  
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• Colin Kaepernick And Eric Reid Reportedly Win Big In NFL Settlement

  15-02-2019 23:39 via The Chicago Defender
  Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid are reportedly laughing all the way to the bank. The two have settled with NFL for a number that outlets are claiming was “lucrative.”
  See Also: Ben Carson Tells A Black Woman To Escape Poverty She Needs To Get Married
  The NFL and Kaepernick’s attorneys released a statement on Friday that read, “For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL. As a
  
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• How to support the local music scene without leaving your nice, warm home

  15-02-2019 21:40 via Chicago Reader
  Even when winter weather and winter malaise raise the bar for going out, you can still play an important role in sustaining DIY Chicago music. It's been a damn cold winter in Chicago.…
  
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• Lewis and Chu Request Tax Refund Update

  15-02-2019 15:40 via The Chicago Defender
  In the wake of reports that millions of taxpayers have been surprised to learn they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this filing season, Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA) and Oversight Subcommittee member Judy Chu (D-CA) sent a letter to Department of Treasury (Treasury) Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, requesting additional relief for taxpayers who unintentionally underwithheld their income taxes in 2018. Rep
  
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• Boston Fish Market is a midwestern leviathan

  15-02-2019 15:05 via Chicago Reader
  From a small wholesale market to a sprawling suburban seafood emporiumFive years ago, if you were shopping for, say, a pound of shrimp or some smoked chubs at Boston Fish Market in Des Plaines, you might have been treated to something from the huge spread of fresh, fried, or grilled sea creatures Louis Psihogios laid out every day to impress his large wholesale restaurant accounts. "We didn't want it to go to waste," says Psihogios, the founder, kapetanios, and executive chef of what is now, wit
  
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• Congressman David Scott Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Underbanked Communities

  15-02-2019 14:39 via The Chicago Defender
  This week, Congressman David Scott (GA-13) introduced legislation to better address the needs of “under-banked, un-banked, and underserved” communities in America. The Improving Access to Traditional Banking Act of 2019 will direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to thoroughly investigate and report to Congress recommendations on how to lessen Americans’ reliance on non-traditional banking products like payday loans.
  “Far too often, both in the 13th Distri
  
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• Jason Van Dyke’s Wife Whines Her Husband Is Being Attacked Because He’s ‘A White Man Who Harmed’ LaQuan McDonald

  15-02-2019 14:34 via The Chicago Defender
  Jason Van Dyke is currently in prison for murdering unarmed Black teenager Laquan McDonald. The former police officer is serving the light sentence of 81 months in prison, however, his wife and lawyer are whining to anyone who will listen about him serving time.
  See Also: Terry Crews Says Hollywood Is ‘Like A Plantation’ And ‘If This Is The End Of My Career, Just End It’
  Tiffany Van Dyke put herself in front of cameras Thursday and complained that she hasn’t sp
  
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• The Girl in the Red Corner tries to punch her way out of life’s problems

  15-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Broken Nose Theatre manages to transcend cliche in this powerful story of perseverance.Broken Nose Theatre presents the midwest premiere of Stephen Spotswood's drama about a young woman who confronts her demons by climbing into the steel cage of an MMA ring. The metaphor of the hero literally punching out her problems couldn't be more, er, on the nose, but in the hands of this capable cast and with just enough real-life detail, this production manages to transcend cliche and end up with an affec
  
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• The Father offers a tepid portrayal of the brutality of dementia

  15-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Remy Bumppo's production asks little of its audience besides easy pity for an old man.It's hard to square the armload of prestigious international awards and nominations garnered by playwright Florian Zeller's 2012 dementia drama with the show that's currently on stage at Theater Wit. Zeller focuses on semi-doddering Andre, a member of the Parisian haute bourgeoisie whose mental acumen has begun to wane.…
  
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• Spoiler alert: Nothing is as it seems On Clover Road

  15-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Steven Dietz's play sucker punches its audience again and again and again.The best comics are deadpan. They don't telegraph that they are going to be funny, they just are.…
  
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• Based on the life of painter Gerhard Richter, Never Look Away is a little too pretty

  15-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s latest could use a little more ugly truth.For years now, one of the great mysteries in covering the film beat has been why so many viewers feel that an opening title "based on a true story" (or "inspired by real events") somehow validates a movie, makes it worth the increasingly expensive price of admission, and/or distinguishes it from mere "fiction" (even if the work in question is an openly imaginary take on actual events or personages). Maybe a sizabl
  
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• Council Member Marci Overstreet Introduced Legislation That Would Establish a Task Force for the Promotion of Public Trust

  15-02-2019 11:36 via The Chicago Defender
  Legislation introduced by Council member Marci Collier Overstreet to create the city’s first-ever Task Force for the Promotion of Public Trust passed out of the Finance/Executive Committee Wednesday.
  “The city of Atlanta has worked tirelessly over the past 13 months to restore public trust. Efforts to ensure transparency in our business practices and accountability for compliance at every level of our organization is vital to our success as a city,” Overstreet said. “We a
  
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• With Everybody Knows, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi attempts to make a Spanish movie

  15-02-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  In reaching for the universal, he ends up with the generic.The great Indian director Satyajit Ray once remarked that, in making movies for the entire world, his responsibility was to look at the particulars of his society and find the universal. This sounds like a good formula for storytellers who aspire to international viewership, but it would seem to break down whenever they work outside their native countries.…
  
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• Mayoral Interview: Gery Chico

  14-02-2019 23:47 via The Chicago Defender
   In less than two weeks, the Chicago mayoral race will be over. Well, with a race of 14 candidates, at last count, an April 2 run-off is more than likely, but it would be between the two candidates with the most votes. And recent polls show it is still a toss-up with many voters still undecided; however, front runners include Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Businessman and former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Attorney Gery Chico. N
  
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• Mayoral Interview: Toni Preckwinkle

  14-02-2019 23:41 via The Chicago Defender
  Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is on a mission to seize the political reins of Chicago as the next mayor.  The 71-year-old seasoned political veteran has been crowned by many news outlets to be a frontrunner in a crowded mayoral field with 13 other candidates. But a ballot full of contenders doesn’t trump Preckwinkle’s enthusiasm about the opportunity to work in the city council. The Chicago Defender recently had an opportunity to pose questions to Preckwinkle abo
  
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• Black Fire Brigade Celebrates First EMT Class

  14-02-2019 23:36 via The Chicago Defender
  The inaugural class
   
  A Chicago first happened this Black History Month. On Saturday, February 9th, the Black Fire Brigade graduated its first inaugural EMT class.
   
  Lt. Quention “Que” Curtis founded the Black Fire Brigade as a place for Black firefighters to find fellowship and to mentor young Black people interested in joining the department. Curtis spent more than 30 years working for the Chicago Fire Department and had grown frustrated from watching the department&rsqu
  
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• Print issue of February 14, 2019

  14-02-2019 19:08 via Chicago Reader
  Volume 48, Number 19
  
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• Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Savings Tips

  14-02-2019 16:47 via The Chicago Defender
  Valentine’s Day is upon us and if you either completely forgot or haven’t gotten your sweetheart a gift yet, there’s still time to get something great that won’t break the bank.Plan for a weekend dinnerNot only will a weeknight dinner inconvenience most more than that of a weekend dinner but also, you’ll be able to avoid the prix fixed menus that restaurants require you splurge on.  Diners can also avoid large crowds by skipping going out on February 14 and opt
  
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• The M Lounge of Love with Reginald and MaryAnn Marsh

  14-02-2019 16:00 via The Chicago Defender
  Reginald and MaryAnn Marsh
  When going out for a night on the town, there’s so many different bars, lounges, and restaurants to choose from all over Chicago, but there’s somewhere special in the South Loop. M Lounge– located on 1520 S. Wabash–is one spot you can hit to receive warm customer service, hear live jazz music, and find modern drinks topped with the atmosphere of love.
  M Lounge, which opened in January 2006, recently celebrated its 13th anniversary. And what make
  
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• New Poll Highlights Economic and More Need For Election Reform

  14-02-2019 15:01 via The Chicago Defender
  Georgia Business Leaders Speak Out Against Voter Suppression
  A new poll released by Fair Fight highlights the public’s lack of confidence in elections administration in Georgia as well as their demand for elections reforms and support for voting rights.
  Business leaders from around Georgia reinforced the need for election integrity:
  “A strong economy requires diversity to foster new ideas, strengthen small businesses, and support every family. But as entire communities are left out o
  
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• Morehouse College Celebrates Founder’s Week with Presidential Inauguration, Scholarship Gala

  14-02-2019 15:00 via The Chicago Defender
  Dr. David A. Thomas will be installed as the 12th President of Morehouse College at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, Morehouse’s 152nd birthday. The Presidential Inauguration will launch the beginning of Founder’s Week activities at the College.
  The festivities will include alumni events, a concert featuring electric violinist Ken Ford, and appearances by scholarship gala honorees such as retired NBA champion Norm “the Storm” Nixon and music industry
  
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• Mayoral Arts Forum report: What Chicago Cultural Plan?

  14-02-2019 15:00 via Chicago Reader
  The arts community hears from (some of) the candidates.How important are the arts in the upcoming Chicago mayoral election? Not important enough, apparently, to command the presence of Bill Daley or Susana Mendoza.…
  
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• The Incredible Jan Rose and Alba transform magic into a women’s game

  14-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  The two magicians headline the Chicago Magic Lounge this month.Magic has long been known as a boys' club. It's estimated that only between 5 and 10 percent of professional magicians are women.…
  
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• The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes presents a special Valentine Edition

  14-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Sophia, Rose, Blanche, and Dorothy find love.Fans of The Golden Girls, the popular 1980s sitcom about four senior citizens—three widows and a divorcee—sharing a home in Miami, will likely enjoy this campy spoof from Hell in a Handbag Productions. Written by Handbag's artistic director, David Cerda, and directed by Jon Martinez, the show takes the original series' main strength—the perfectly balanced personalities of its four affectionately quarrelsome leads—and ups the so
  
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• "Purchased Lives" at the Illinois Holocaust Museum connects the slave trade to the reality of the present

  14-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  "People think slavery is a southern story. It’s not a southern story. It’s an American story."The Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves went into effect on January 1, 1808, effectively ending the transatlantic slave trade from Africa. It did not, however, end the demand for slaves in the United States.…
  
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• Hip-hop taught Andre Vasquez about community—and he wants to take those lessons to City Hall

  14-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  In the 90s Andre Vasquez rapped as Prime and joined underground collective the Molemen. Now he’s a socialist candidate for 40th Ward alderman, hoping to unseat entrenched incumbent Patrick O’Connor. Andre Vasquez had never run for public office before launching his campaign for 40th Ward alderman in April, but he's been in plenty of battles.…
  
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• Four characters battle existential dread in an Amazon-like Fulfillment Center

  14-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  The Red Orchid cast is adept at humanizing some incredibly flawed human beings.Four quietly desperate souls struggle to abate their modern economic dread and suffocating loneliness in Abe Koogler's 2017 tragicomic one-act. To the chagrin of his city-loving long-term partner (Toya Turner), a young middle manager (Jose Nateras) accepts a six-month trial position in an Amazon-like megawarehouse in suburban New Mexico, a stepping stone in their journey to a next chapter in Seattle.…
  
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• 'Dimensions of Citizenship' at Wrightwood 659 and 'Stateless' at MoCP examine what global citizenship looks like today

  14-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  The UN estimates that in 2018, 68 million people were displaced worldwide. Where do they belong? In a time when the question of whether to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border dominates the national discourse and the question of who belongs on each side is omnipresent, two Chicago exhibits wrestle with what citizenship means today, especially for those who are deliberately and structurally denied these rights.…
  
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• Dead Man’s Cell Phone resurrects the lost art of taking other people’s messages

  14-02-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  The Comrades' production of Sarah Ruhl's play strikes a balance between ordinary and uncanny.Gordon's cell phone has a cheerful ring, light and lilting, not the ringtone of a man you take seriously. Still, it cuts through the air with the disarming insistence of an ice cream truck, or maybe only an ice cream pushcart, and Jean, the woman next to him in the cafe, at last picks up.…
  
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