Christopher Schroeder

Tag: Chicago

  • As Much As We Can Be

    All Happy Families is an engaging account of a Chicago family that seems relatively unhappy but might actually be as much as can be expected, and relatively aware of that.

    Graham, a mostly failed writer and actor, is managing his childhood duplex purchased by his older, and more successful actor, brother Will, and Dana, a former college friend, agrees to rent it. His parents Sue and Roy are coming for the weekend to help prepare the apartment for a new tenant, and then Will unexpectedly arrives ostensibly to escape LA but actually to avoid inappropriate behavior accusations.

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  • Johnson’s Latest

    The latest from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is something even for him.

    He couldn’t convince his self-appointed Chicago Board of Education members to fire the Chicago Public Schools CEO after he wouldn’t endorse a $300-million loan for a pension payment and part of upcoming contract obligations in the middle of Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations. Then these members announced their simultaneous resignations just months before Johnson loses some CPS control in the transition to an elected education board.

    Local and state politicians have expressed their alarm over this mass resignation. This outcome can only exacerbate the leadership challenges cited by the CPS CEO Pedro Martinez as why he rejected J’s resignation request.

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  • Promoting Public Possibilities

    I attended earlier this week the People Powered Policy Panel, which was a Chicago Public Library event to explore a public options platform generally and specifically municipally-owned grocery stores and public banking initiatives.

    Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed the audience. Then local media maven Sylvia Ewing moderated a conversation among sociologist Ruha Benjamin, community activist Dorian Warren, and city policy chief Mayumi Grigsby.

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