This article is more than 1 year oldThis article is more than 1 year old‘Game Changer’ was a work the artist made as a thank you to England’s health workers amid the pandemicLast modified on Tue 23 Mar 2021 17.56 EDTA painting of a young boy ditching his Batman and Spider-Man action figures for one of a caped superhero nurse has sold for a world record price of £16.7m, the money going to UK health charities.The artist made the work as a thank you to the , delivering it out of the blue to Southampton general hospital last May.Titled “Game Changer” it . It has now been replaced with a copy to...…This article is more than 1 year oldThis article is more than 1 year old‘Game Changer’ was a work the artist made as a thank you to England’s health workers amid the pandemicLast modified on Tue 23 Mar 2021 17.56 EDTA painting of a young boy ditching his Batman and Spider-Man action figures for one of a caped superhero nurse has sold for a world record price of £16.7m, the money going to UK health charities.The artist made the work as a thank you to the , delivering it out of the blue to Southampton general hospital last May.Titled “Game Changer” it . It has now been replaced with a copy to...WW…

SHAREMembers of the Illinois House Black Caucus announced Wednesday night their group support for embattled Speaker Michael Madigan to remain in his position for another term, complicating the effort to remove him.The move had been expected since the caucus heard pitches Saturday from Madigan and his only announced opponent, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, in a meeting orchestrated by the speaker’s allies.“After analysis, we believe our caucus is in a more advantageous position under the leadership of Speaker Madigan to deliver on our priorities,” the group said in a statement.The...…SHAREMembers of the Illinois House Black Caucus announced Wednesday night their group support for embattled Speaker Michael Madigan to remain in his position for another term, complicating the effort to remove him.The move had been expected since the caucus heard pitches Saturday from Madigan and his only announced opponent, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, in a meeting orchestrated by the speaker’s allies.“After analysis, we believe our caucus is in a more advantageous position under the leadership of Speaker Madigan to deliver on our priorities,” the group said in a statement.The...WW…

SHAREFormer state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who became a crucial figure in a series of ongoing public corruption investigations early this year when he admitted he’d taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, has died from COVID-19, according to his defense attorney.The Senate’s former transportation chair also agreed in January to “cooperate in any matter in which he is called upon” . Late last month, the feds told a judge Sandoval had “provided valuable cooperation that is expected to last at least several more months.”Now, legal experts say Sandoval’s death has the potential to...…SHAREFormer state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who became a crucial figure in a series of ongoing public corruption investigations early this year when he admitted he’d taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, has died from COVID-19, according to his defense attorney.The Senate’s former transportation chair also agreed in January to “cooperate in any matter in which he is called upon” . Late last month, the feds told a judge Sandoval had “provided valuable cooperation that is expected to last at least several more months.”Now, legal experts say Sandoval’s death has the potential to...WW…

Filed under:Named in the indictment are Madigan friend Michael McClain, ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore as well as former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and Jay Doherty, the ex-president of the City Club.Federal prosecutors marched deeper into House Speaker Michael Madigan’s inner circle Wednesday, charging longtime confidant Michael McClain and ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore in a bribery scheme designed to curry favor with the powerful Southwest Side Democrat.Also named in the 50-page indictment are ex-top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and Jay Doherty, the former president of the City Club, who was...…Filed under:Named in the indictment are Madigan friend Michael McClain, ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore as well as former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and Jay Doherty, the ex-president of the City Club.Federal prosecutors marched deeper into House Speaker Michael Madigan’s inner circle Wednesday, charging longtime confidant Michael McClain and ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore in a bribery scheme designed to curry favor with the powerful Southwest Side Democrat.Also named in the 50-page indictment are ex-top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and Jay Doherty, the former president of the City Club, who was...WW…

This article is more than 1 year oldThis article is more than 1 year old‘Mother of feminism’ commemorated by Maggi Hambling sculpture in north LondonLast modified on Wed 11 Nov 2020 06.29 ESTIt shows a silvery naked everywoman figure emerging free and defiantly from a swirling mingle of female forms and, thanks to a 10-year slog of fundraising, is the world’s only memorial sculpture to a woman known as the “mother of feminism”.“It will definitely start a conversation,” said the writer Bee Rowlatt, who has led the . “It will definitely promote comment and debate and that’s good, that’s what...…This article is more than 1 year oldThis article is more than 1 year old‘Mother of feminism’ commemorated by Maggi Hambling sculpture in north LondonLast modified on Wed 11 Nov 2020 06.29 ESTIt shows a silvery naked everywoman figure emerging free and defiantly from a swirling mingle of female forms and, thanks to a 10-year slog of fundraising, is the world’s only memorial sculpture to a woman known as the “mother of feminism”.“It will definitely start a conversation,” said the writer Bee Rowlatt, who has led the . “It will definitely promote comment and debate and that’s good, that’s what...WW…

SHAREI’ve never seen anything quite like the character assassination campaign that’s being waged against Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin.Using misinformation, half-truths and outright whoppers, the Cook County Democratic Party and a hit team of “advocates” are teaming up in an effort to remove Toomin from the bench.I’d be the first to attest that there are plenty of judges who don’t deserve to wear the robe. But Toomin is not one of them.In fact, during a 40-year career on the bench, he’s earned a reputation as one of the best, most thoughtful judges in the system, someone who...…SHAREI’ve never seen anything quite like the character assassination campaign that’s being waged against Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin.Using misinformation, half-truths and outright whoppers, the Cook County Democratic Party and a hit team of “advocates” are teaming up in an effort to remove Toomin from the bench.I’d be the first to attest that there are plenty of judges who don’t deserve to wear the robe. But Toomin is not one of them.In fact, during a 40-year career on the bench, he’s earned a reputation as one of the best, most thoughtful judges in the system, someone who...WW…

SHARECook County judges facing retention on the November ballot voted Wednesday night to forgo the long-established practice of making a group donation to the Democratic Party to help promote their campaign—partly in protest of the party’s efforts to oust Judge Michael Toomin.In a rare display of political independence at election time, judges voted 42-13 against donating to the party’s get-out-the-vote efforts as they typically would.The Cook County Democratic Party voted earlier this week to oppose the retention of Toomin, a veteran judge who named former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb as a...…SHARECook County judges facing retention on the November ballot voted Wednesday night to forgo the long-established practice of making a group donation to the Democratic Party to help promote their campaign—partly in protest of the party’s efforts to oust Judge Michael Toomin.In a rare display of political independence at election time, judges voted 42-13 against donating to the party’s get-out-the-vote efforts as they typically would.The Cook County Democratic Party voted earlier this week to oppose the retention of Toomin, a veteran judge who named former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb as a...WW…

SHAREIt’s hard to imagine anything that would gall President Donald Trump more than losing an election to a Black woman.And though it would upset Trump greatly to lose to any Black woman, we know Sen. Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s running mate, isn’t just any Black woman to Trump.She is a “very, very nasty” woman, a “mad woman,” he says.Opinion bugShe’s the “meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful” member of the U.S. Senate, Trump tells us.On Wednesday night, Americans took a step in getting acquainted with Harris for themselves as the nation’s first Black and first South Asian American...…SHAREIt’s hard to imagine anything that would gall President Donald Trump more than losing an election to a Black woman.And though it would upset Trump greatly to lose to any Black woman, we know Sen. Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s running mate, isn’t just any Black woman to Trump.She is a “very, very nasty” woman, a “mad woman,” he says.Opinion bugShe’s the “meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful” member of the U.S. Senate, Trump tells us.On Wednesday night, Americans took a step in getting acquainted with Harris for themselves as the nation’s first Black and first South Asian American...WW…

SHAREJust before 7 a.m. Friday, only a few hours before federal authorities took the wraps off their big investigation of Commonwealth Edison and House Speaker Mike Madigan, the doorbell rang at the McKinley Park home of state Rep. Theresa Mah.Mah was awake but still in bed. Her husband was up and just starting to make coffee.She assumed it was a delivery driver and shouted to her husband to get the door, but he was already on the way to answer the intercom.Opinion bug“Who is it?” he asked.“FBI,” came the answer. They asked to speak to Mah.That will wake you up in a hurry.I got this story...…SHAREJust before 7 a.m. Friday, only a few hours before federal authorities took the wraps off their big investigation of Commonwealth Edison and House Speaker Mike Madigan, the doorbell rang at the McKinley Park home of state Rep. Theresa Mah.Mah was awake but still in bed. Her husband was up and just starting to make coffee.She assumed it was a delivery driver and shouted to her husband to get the door, but he was already on the way to answer the intercom.Opinion bug“Who is it?” he asked.“FBI,” came the answer. They asked to speak to Mah.That will wake you up in a hurry.I got this story...WW…

SHARELiz Dozier knows a little something about police in the schools.As principal of Fenger Academy High School from 2009 to 2015, Dozier was widely credited with turning a violent and under-performing school into a welcoming place that gave kids a chance to succeed.And what she’ll tell you now, with benefit of hindsight, is that police do not belong in Chicago schools, at least not stationed there full-time.That’s not a knock on police. That’s her sincere belief that there are better ways to create a safe school environment without exposing children to the criminal justice system that...…SHARELiz Dozier knows a little something about police in the schools.As principal of Fenger Academy High School from 2009 to 2015, Dozier was widely credited with turning a violent and under-performing school into a welcoming place that gave kids a chance to succeed.And what she’ll tell you now, with benefit of hindsight, is that police do not belong in Chicago schools, at least not stationed there full-time.That’s not a knock on police. That’s her sincere belief that there are better ways to create a safe school environment without exposing children to the criminal justice system that...WW…