SHAREBack when there was such a thing as a liberal Republican politician, James Thompson was the GOP’s rising star.“Big Jim” — he stood 6 feet 6 inches — was Illinois’ longest-serving governor. The native Chicagoan was elected four times and served 14 years. Though the most popular governor of the past half century, talk of his running as a Republican candidate for president in the late 1970s was scuttled in part by his strong convictions, beliefs that he refused to abandon merely to achieve his lifelong dream.“I still believe that a reasonable pro-choice position is not only right but is a...…SHAREBack when there was such a thing as a liberal Republican politician, James Thompson was the GOP’s rising star.“Big Jim” — he stood 6 feet 6 inches — was Illinois’ longest-serving governor. The native Chicagoan was elected four times and served 14 years. Though the most popular governor of the past half century, talk of his running as a Republican candidate for president in the late 1970s was scuttled in part by his strong convictions, beliefs that he refused to abandon merely to achieve his lifelong dream.“I still believe that a reasonable pro-choice position is not only right but is a...WW…

SHAREYou can’t vote by mail if there’s no mail.One of the many disasters that will ensue if the government actually lets the United States Postal Service go belly up, which it might do as early as September.A disaster to democracy, small “d” — the mail knits this country together in a fundamental way, like the interstate highway system — and I suppose to large “d” Democrats, too. That’s because their frequent majority — which is supposed to be the deciding factor in elections, remember — is constantly being undercut by Republican voter suppression.The GOP casts this anti-democratic (and...…SHAREYou can’t vote by mail if there’s no mail.One of the many disasters that will ensue if the government actually lets the United States Postal Service go belly up, which it might do as early as September.A disaster to democracy, small “d” — the mail knits this country together in a fundamental way, like the interstate highway system — and I suppose to large “d” Democrats, too. That’s because their frequent majority — which is supposed to be the deciding factor in elections, remember — is constantly being undercut by Republican voter suppression.The GOP casts this anti-democratic (and...WW…

SHAREWhere do you begin with Ed Genson? With the notorious defense attorney’s long list of famous clients? From singer R. Kelly to movie star Shia LaBeouf, from newspaper mogul Conrad Black to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich?Do you start there?Or with the Mafia hit men — alleged Mafia hit men, since many walked free, with Mr. Genson’s help — and mobbed up politicians? If Mr. Genson was famous for one thing, it was as the wily and effective attorney of the damned: “Devil’s advocate” is the headline Chicago magazine put on his profile in 2005. “I have no aversion to organized crime,” Mr. Genson...…SHAREWhere do you begin with Ed Genson? With the notorious defense attorney’s long list of famous clients? From singer R. Kelly to movie star Shia LaBeouf, from newspaper mogul Conrad Black to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich?Do you start there?Or with the Mafia hit men — alleged Mafia hit men, since many walked free, with Mr. Genson’s help — and mobbed up politicians? If Mr. Genson was famous for one thing, it was as the wily and effective attorney of the damned: “Devil’s advocate” is the headline Chicago magazine put on his profile in 2005. “I have no aversion to organized crime,” Mr. Genson...WW…

SHAREMichelle Latona is no hero. She’s a nurse, in the emergency department at Mount Sinai Hospital.Latona certainly doesn’t consider herself heroic.“No, I don’t,” she said. “I wake up every morning and I come to work and do my job.”A job that demands she tend to the sick and the dying for 12 hours at a stretch. To juggle patients, rooms, medicines, doses, equipment, colleagues, hours, breaks, all the time keeping focused on the central task: making people well again.“We’ve been saving lives the entire time,” she said, admitting that since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Chicago in mid-March,...…SHAREMichelle Latona is no hero. She’s a nurse, in the emergency department at Mount Sinai Hospital.Latona certainly doesn’t consider herself heroic.“No, I don’t,” she said. “I wake up every morning and I come to work and do my job.”A job that demands she tend to the sick and the dying for 12 hours at a stretch. To juggle patients, rooms, medicines, doses, equipment, colleagues, hours, breaks, all the time keeping focused on the central task: making people well again.“We’ve been saving lives the entire time,” she said, admitting that since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Chicago in mid-March,...WW…