I was sitting at my local watering hole on a wonderfully overcast Friday afternoon when one of the patrons asked me if I had heard about Sandi Jackson resigning. My initial reaction was one of jubilance. Its hard to govern the economically/socially/emotionally corrupt 7th ward from Washington D.C. It’s even harder imagining her governing the ward at all if you are a resident in the 7th.

There are jewels in South Shore and during her tenure she exposed those. Rainbow Beach, the South Shore Cultural Center, her vision for a new community where the old US Steel plant was located. The music pavilion that has been used ONCE and of course Chicago’s beautiful lakefront. There are more blemishes however on her record as Alderman/Committeeman than sparkly photo-ops and that is where my jubilation switched to concern.

The residents of the 7th re-elected Sandi Jackson just two years ago. Not an overwhelming victory but a win nonetheless. Many contend it was easier to re-elect her because “she managed the ward well”. Not much economic development in areas visibly smashed into the pavement by an already haggard economy of which she can’t totally be blamed. Schools that continue to limp along when compared to other areas of the city. Who could come in and make the necessary changes to a situation so dire?

A cursory glance at a ballot with the last name Jackson on it doesn’t require one to be a political science major, many people saw the name and knew who she was and gave her their vote. Voters (particularly those in Chicago) aren’t required to be politically astute. The requirement is that one can identify issues that cause alarm and there is no shortage of them. Schools, public safety, economic development and those are the big ticket items. Jesse Jr. and his wife governed curiously during their shared tenure. There can be no denying that little has been done to ease any fears of people hearing the news of Mrs. Jackson’s resignation on the heals of her husbands abandonment of his office and the list of potential candidates for both offices which rivals the Chicago Bears and their coaching search.

The residents of the 7th need a few things upfront and that happily takes this conversation to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. This will be the Mayor’s first aldermanic selection since taking office. Who does he pick to lead in a ward that he seldom visits but has an intricate knowledge of? Who is his kind of candidate? Is it a bulldog like him? You can be assured that the selection will be an ally, why would you select a Black Panther when a lily serves your purpose? The current Mayor would be wise to come into the 7th, sit with the people NOT JUST A GROUP OF STEVE HARVEY SUIT WEARING MINISTERS but the community at large and find out what the people desire.

This could backfire on the Mayor however. He isn’t exactly winning many friends on the South Side. He could use his leverage and significant power in the area to lead those who voted him in (yes I’m saying it - voters aren’t required to be astute) and be attentive to the needs of his constituency. He does have to make a choice and he isn’t playing his hand yet. Might be time for the people of the 7th ward to play theirs.

Mario

THE GRAMMY AWARDS – if you have to turn everything into some ritualistic mind turd then I will bypass your award show and stick with word of mouth and my own listening ear to determine what’s good and what isn’t musically. How in the hell do you have an award show that allows Chris Brown to grace its stage three different times and Stevie Wonder who has twenty two Grammys can’t even sing one damn song? Kiss my ass and by the way, I REALLY want to become a voting member of N.A.R.A.S. or at least a member of a committee that produces the show. Man that was bad.

WHITNEY HOUSTON – The American news media machine is full of adulation for the now deceased Ms. Houston. This is the same news machine that not two days earlier went out of their way to report that Ms. Houston was doing handstands, skipping, shitfaced and acting erratic. Shame on all of us, we are all guilty. Guilty of the same thing we always do (I know I do). We build up our people and look for things that we don’t like, flaws of our heroes and then we beat that shit into the ground. Make fun of them, kick them and tease them and then they die. We become slobbering, pleading, crying chumps begging anyone who is willing to listen to our obit for that person. Michael comes to mind. Rest Whitney, rest.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX – The White Sox signed Koske Fukudome to a one year contract. Fukudome is coming to Mulletville. It is about to be a true mess on the South Side of Chicago. If THAT is the Free Agent that GM Kenny Williams wants White Sox fans to embrace and ride out with? Good luck with that buddy. Mark my words, it’s gonna be ugly this season at the Cell.

NICKI MANAJ - Please stop. Thank you.

This week on NFTSE we welcome J. Nicole Brooks director of Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting now playing in Chicago at the Lookingglass Theater. Join us THURSDAYS at 2pm (CT) 8pm (GMT) on WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago, online at whpk.org and on iTunes.

ARAB SPRING, AMERICAN WINTER?

peppersprayingcop.tumblr.com aside there isn’t much comedy about the ongoing “Occupy” protests taking place across the U.S. In fact the levels of blatant police brutality are very telling. I like many other Americans keep a watchful eye on what’s going on and there is still the lingering question, what IS going on? 

We know the banks have us by the short and curlies, we know that the U.S. economy is a fucking joke, we know the two party political system is hilarious, we know the Tea Party can show up with weapons at a rally and not a creature would stir not even a cop and we know that the cops HATE the fact that the protesters won’t stop protesting. After that though…

I’ve seen a couple of music videos shot on Wall Street during the occupation, a gang of photo ops and the unrelenting use of force against the occupiers but I haven’t seen the occupation of a TV or radio station or a newspaper. I haven’t seen the occupation of a school or sporting event. I’m not trying to be hyper-critical but I saw how Arab Spring went down. The unraveling of a country is a dynamic that is powerful. The “people” when they demand change and are willing to DIE for it those people become unstoppable.

If the Occupy movement intends to have longevity the organic nature of it has to cast a reflective eye on Arab Spring. You say you want a revolution…we’ll see.

THE NBA’S GIFT TO US SUCKERS

Happy Holidays the NBA lockout will be over this weekend. The owners and players will make it look like they are doing the fans a favor by coming back and we will bite willingly. There are BILLIONS of dollars on the table. Be open minded and think about what the NBA could look like five years from now. It could very well result in revenue modestly reaching BILLIONS of dollars and the players and the owners gotta make that chop! Don’t believe the hype. Yay them.

THANKSTAKING AND WHY OTHER COUNTRIES LAUGH AT YOU

Americans. Don’t. Really. Know. Why. We. Celebrate. The. Third. Thursday. In. November.

MAGGIE DALEY

  I was 30 yrs old in 1997 working for Guild Complex Chicago, I was getting a bit of shine as a poet here in town, things were nice. I got a nice hookup however when I was asked to be part of a team of teaching artists with a program called Gallery 37. I’d done a bit of teaching and being in a classroom environment wasn’t a problem for me. That didn’t make me nervous. I was however well aware that Maggie Daley was running the show. The First Lady of Chicago was our BOSS! THAT made me a wee bit nervous.

Being familiar with her via her advocacy of Guild Complex and other major art programs and organizations in the city, I knew that this job was no joke - i came across her and you just knew. She invested a gang of time into her ideas made them manifest AND you did not want to let her down. G37 was new and the Teaching Artists and students went through an amazing period of feeling each other out. It wasn’t all easy but when Mrs. Daley was on the G37 campus or at the Cultural Center you KNEW. She did not interfere, she trusted her teachers and the admins, she believed most importantly in the children and she did it all with a smile.

I trust that people who are reading the various tributes to her are the same people who had issues with Mr. Daley, pretty certain about that. Let me tell you something…I know how much he loved his wife. I saw how he trusted her and I saw who the real boss was. Maggie Daley charmed you up close, charmed you from a distance it didn’t matter. She got a lot of artists of color jobs and a lot of us got major work because of her vision. She and Lois Weisberg made being an artist in Chicago more than a novelty. WE GOT WORK!

I am proud to have been a member in a very, very small way of the Maggie Daley team. The respect I had for her is real. The city lost more than a Mayor when Mr. Daley decided not to run again, Chicago lost a true patron of the arts in Mrs. Daley. The legacy of Mrs. Daley is sound and firmly in place. Her smile…she was always smiling.

Rest well Maggie Daley and may your family find comfort in your beautiful smile.

peace power and progress

“watch out for the blue light”

M

NEWS FROM the SERVICE ENTRANCE with Mario and Gary P Tyson can be heard Thursdays at 2pm (CT) and 8pm (GMT) on WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago, worldwide on whpk.org and also on iTunes.