Welcome!

Some of you may already know me from my regular column on http://www.examiner.com/ where I cover Chicago and Illinois politics, and if so, I thank you for reading those columns and news articles.

With this blog you will still have the ability to read some, but not all, of the Examiner pieces, and also gain a more personalized, read subjective political commentary on local and state politics, not only in Chicago, but also for the state of Illinois.

This will also give me the ability to be more subjective, not only in my commentaries, but also on the subject matter.

Chicago offers, and has offered, some of the more famous, or perhaps shall we say infamous episodes, and incidents in American politics, from the smoke-filled rooms to the walnut panelled offices of the elite, we have seen it all, and it did not begin with our former governor, G-Rod, but rather, perhaps, born in the spirit of the prairie that predated the city.

Also, religion has been a prominent feature of Chicago, specifically Roman Catholicism, which has not only shaped the agenda, but trained many of the civic leaders from Richard J. Daley to Jane Byrne.

What the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Chicago says, or doesn't say, makes news; and even a casual walk in our neighborhoods reveals deep pockets of piety in the parishes that not only dot the landscape, but offer geographic and social boundaries.

Race, specifically the lives of African Americans has shaped the political landscape, from the embattled administration of Harold Washington to the inheritors of his legendary life, and that of his cohorts, such as Jesse Jackson, both senior, and junior.

Still one of the most segregated cities in American, albeit lessened, black/white relations show the fissures of an often great society.

Another powerful part of Chicago politics is the gay and lesbian community, many of whom are the descendants of the immigrants that the great Jane Addams first saw, and heard, when she moved into her home on South Halsted Street, and who shared the Catholic faith, and fate of their ancestors.

Now, they, as their national cohorts have shown, are exerting a powerful influence on the city; and telling it how they want their lives, and rights, to be not simply seen, but legislated.

Our favorite son, Barack Obama, is president, and he represents not merely a new generation, but a new type of leadership, especially black leadership for the country; no doubt in large measure to his experiences in Chicago, and whose wife is an archetypal black Chicagoan.

These are just some of the people, and themes that I will explore on this blog, and I welcome you to read about this fascinating city, and its political movements.