The Sunday Six

What I read this week and why

How’s everyone’s weekend going? Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.

At the onset of the summer, the state of Illinois launched the first iteration of an advertising campaign titled “Middle of Everything.” A press release touting the campaign, which involved three television spots aired throughout the state, included the typical celebratory quotes from public officials and unverified data on the “resounding success” of the 2022 series of ads.

This quote from one state signatory stands out:

"The ‘Middle of Everything' is a first-of-its-kind campaign that shows international, domestic, and local visitors why Illinois is truly at the center of it all.”

Geographically, yes.

Politically? What laughably phony horseshit.

A recent article in Chicago magazine made a startling, yet not inaccurate declaration.

It lays it all out there in the story’s headline:

ILLINOIS IS THE MOST PROGRESSIVE STATE

Recent events re-affirm the boastful claim; not a distinction worthy of braggadocio.

In September, Illinois will be the first state in the country to eliminate cash bail. The state is also a proud safe haven for women seeking abortions, more so as soon as millions of dollars of state funds get diverted to clinics to meet demand.

This past week, newly elected Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson spoke to the press in his first meaningful press briefing since taking office this spring (he’d been ducking media availability since inauguration).

When asked about the teen “flash mobs” or “takeovers” this summer that have led to violence and dozens of arrests, Johnson was almost apologetic about police intervention, saying “unfortunately, arrests were made. Unfortunately, some damage was caused. And the level of sensitivity and patience that our officers expressed, I’m appreciative of that. That is constitutional. That is a system of care.”

On the subject of how to manage the thousands of migrants that have entered the city in 2023, Johnson said, “…here’s what I’m committed to: honoring the law of being a sanctuary city, in building systems of care that provide a pathway with dignity for individuals who are seeking refuge and hope here in the city of Chicago.”

Of course, he offered no plan for how to pay for that “pathway” other than “we’re going to need more support from the federal and state government.” Johnson has some oratory talent but the words he utters are nothing more than pollyanish platitudes; using banal terms like “investing in youth” and “adding more programs” when answering questions of substance. Details matter, but Johnson has none to offer. He has no idea what he’s doing or how to deal with public safety. It’s not that important to him. He said Wednesday his administration was “different” than others, as if apathy towards crime was a virtuous quality in a big city mayor.

But Johnson ran for mayor on a socialist’s platform. He won. Pritzker is the latest version of the same Boss that has run Chicago and state for almost a century. Pritzker’s star-making turn is much more dangerous for Illinois––a progressive socialist with gobs of money and unrestrained power who enjoys the attention that comes with his party benefactor status. As I’ve written before, he’s the fat kid who got teased in middle school and carries that grudge into adulthood. And he’s got the resources to enforce that grudge for life.

How else do you explain his petulant public beef this week with GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, after DeSantis rightly criticized an Illinois bill signed by Pritzker that allows for non-citizens to become police officers?

On the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Pritzker accused DeSantis of not being “smart enough to be president.”

(A typical tactic of the left—attack the person, not the argument. DeSantis wisely did not respond. If DeSantis does not become president, it’s got nothing to do with intellect. Or Pritzker’s doofus criticism.)

Pritzker and Johnson were smart enough to get elected to their respective offices (twice in Pritzker’s case). Illinois voters have spoken, although this wide turn to Progressiveville is not what the majority of residents want. What sensible individual prefers to pay taxes in a state where politicians continually take from their citizens without giving anything in return? (unless you are a public sector employee with a union card. Then you get everything)

“Middle of Everything” may be nothing more than a corny ad campaign with a goal to attract tourists. But the middle might as well be millions of miles away from the policy views of state and local leaders like Johnson and Pritzker.

Let’s proceed with the Six.

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1. While Pritzker Rewards Allies, It’s Taxpayers That Foot The Bill.

Because there’s no semblance of accountability media from Chicago or the state’s legacy press corps, it’s up to national publications to call out reckless political polices by Illinois’ monarchial ruling class. The Wall Street Journal penned an editorial about Illinois, referring to Gov. J.B. Pritzker as not a governor of all citizens but a “union boss.” The Daily Caller puts out a good takedown of Fatso the Clown, referring to his recent new contract with public sector union AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council), a contract that gives workers a guaranteed 20% raise, and as the writer states, “this friend of the working man has a pretty narrow definition. The workers he is concerned with are government union employees. He’s less friendly to the rest of us workers who get to pay for his largesse.” Where is the additional $625 million in benefits going to come from? Insignificant details in Pritzker’s Illinois.

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2. Tough Luck: What Happens When Police Chases Destroy Property.

A rewatch of “Diehard” had me thinking: what happens when commercial or private property gets destroyed in pursuit of a criminal? The assumption is always, well, they’ll get compensated by the government, right? Wrong, the reality is much different. According to this piece from Reason, a number of lawsuits in the U.S. are probing what precisely innocent bystanders are owed when law enforcement destroys their property in pursuit of a suspect or fugitive. One case in California involved a 13-hour standoff between police and suspect, resulting in $60,000 in damages to a local business owner. The city reimbursed the business $5K. He’s suing but there’s precedence in unlucky home and property owners not getting back close to what they lost in “Lethal Weapon” like criminal standoffs.

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3. We Are All Animals At Night.

A first-person account via online publication Hazlitt of what it’s like to work in a massage parlor, from someone who made her living from sex work for five years. Three-to-six twelve-hour shifts a week, 2pm to 2am, mostly spent "waiting around, wondering how much money you will—or won’t—make.” The job was "unbearably tangible at times," but the world felt quieter and simpler in the small hours of the night. Anyone who has worked a night or overnight shift can relate to the pace of life at unconventional hours when so much of the world sleeps.

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4. The Secret History of Journalism’s Biggest Scoop.

The runaway box office success of the movie “Oppenheimer” has elevated interest in the history of the atomic bomb. "How I Got That Story” stories tend to matter more to the writers who wrote them than to readers. Town and Country magazine’s account of how reporter John Hersey scored “Hiroshima” (1946) for The New Yorker, arguably the biggest journalism scoop ever, deserves a proper dispensation. Until the piece appeared, a series of government junkets, access journalism, and propaganda had concealed from the American public the pulverizing power of the bomb and its lasting, poisonous effects. The article succeeded beyond Hersey and New Yorker deputy editor William Shawn’s ambitions to show what happened not to buildings but human beings.

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5. Why Songs Get Stuck In Your Head: How To Stop Them.

I had a dream this week that upon awakening, left me at a loss for its contents except for the 80’s Aerosmith song “Dude, Looks Like A Lady” playing in a constant loop in my head. This phenomenon are “fragments of a song or jingles (that) wind up playing on repeat in your head. And as you may be aware, these “earworms” are shockingly common.” The author of the story via Wired offers strategies for freeing oneself from these maddening earworms, one of which is to “diversify your playlist,” many tunes which can be found on YouTube. I cued up “Truckin” by The Grateful Dead on my music stream account and that did the trick in erasing Steven Tyler’s wails from my brain.

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6. Always Be Careful Where You Nap.

If ever contemplating a mid-afternoon nap under a tree…what happened to this man should permanently erase that urge. Life rules to live by: the outdoors is meant for play, not sleep.

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Thanks for reading everybody and have a great rest of your weekend.

Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.