State Senator Rachel Ventura--Courtside Creeps

A few days ago, my wife and I took off for California by way of Iowa, Nebraska and Arizona--by car. Yes, a real road trip.And before I left, I reminded myself...Benny, old, boy--it's a big country out there, and you'll be driving through MAGA la…

I've been writing and thinking about Chicago politics for so long that just about everything I see in politics reminds me of something I've already seen in Chicago.But sometimes Chicago fools me. Sometimes I'll see something in Chicago and think--…

As the self-appointed bridge between those who are addicted to sports and those who know nothing about it, I feel compelled to update the know-nothings about the latest brouhaha gripping Chicago's baseball world.So here goes...First, the name.…

Sad to say, I missed out on the children's poetry by Shel Silverstein--I was born too early.By the time Where the Sidewalk Ends, his first poetry collection, was published, I was almost out of my teens.Too old for such things.That was in 1974.…

The time has come for me to pay homage to the man who knows everything--Dwight Garner, book reviewer extraordinaire for the New York Times.One of my favorite Sunday morning moments occurs when, book review section in hand, I flop on the couch…

Kin is one of those novels whose characters are more interesting than its plot. And that's not a backhanded compliment. At least, coming from me.Plots are overrated. They come and go--easily forgotten. But great characters live forever. And…