The mayor's base: read between the lines

Plus: the Frequency Festival begins today. [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( Daily Reader | February 20, 2024 For the last few weeks, I’ve been reading and hearing a curious phrase in the mainstream media, a phrase I don’t recall previously hearing in regards to Chicago. And it is . . . “The mayor’s base.” As in . . . Mayor Johnson bowed to his base when he got rid of (or sorta got rid of) the controversial ShotSpotter contract. I’ll hold off on a discussion of ShotSpotter and the mayor’s obvious uncertainty about it. Apparently, he’s not sure which base he must bow to. Instead, let’s get back to that concept of “mayoral base.” Like I said, that’s a new one for me, and I’ve been in this town for a long time. Certainly, don’t recall hearing it in regards to Mayors Daley or Emanuel. For example . . . When Mayor Richard M. Daley sold the parking meters for about $1 billion, even though they’re worth at least $10 billion, I never heard any mainstreamer say, “Daley’s bowing to his base.” Obviously, some base was bowed to. And when Mayor Rahm closed all those schools and mental health clinics in low-income neighborhoods, I never heard anyone in the mainstream say, “There he goes again, bowing to that old base.” Even though many of Rahm’s high-profile supporters (think: Bruce Rauner, Ken Griffin) must have felt very bowed to, as they were all but chanting, “Close those schools, close those schools!” No, to read the coverage it was like Mayors Daley and Rahm had no base—or the whole city was their base. As though there’s an uniformity of thought regarding everything these mayors did, with the underlying assumption being . . . “Oh, our mayors care about us, even as they close schools and clinics, because they know it’s good for us in the long run.” Tell you what, that long run is a very long time, as we never seem to reach the part where the good-for-us part kicks in. Now, I’m not saying the mainstreamers didn’t report there was opposition to these mayoral decisions. But those opponents were written off as “critics.” As in, “Critics say . . .” Like, who gives a damn about them? They don’t have any clout. Here’s the thing about understanding what people are saying. You’ve got to learn to read between the lines. Folks are saying something without really saying it. Transmitting their bias in a way that enables them to say they have no bias in the first place. So, when Mayor Johnson does something, you’re told that he’s paying back a small faction of people who control him. And when Mayors Daley and Rahm do something, it’s because they love us. All of us. Even the people whose schools and clinics are being closed. So, in conclusion . . . Critics are malcontents who have no power—and thank goodness for that. The current mayor’s base is a small faction of dastardly lefties who control him. As for the Daley/Rahm base? Forget about it. It doesn’t exist because they don’t have one. Got that? Remember when Rahm occasionally criticized Daley’s policies without mentioning his name? Well, that’s what this is like—a base that has no name. Now you know how to read between the lines. You’re welcome. [Logo with text: The Ben Joravsky Show. Features man wearing a cap and headphones, and Chicago flag stars.]( 🎙 [Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show]( 🎙 ◈ [The Get]( by Dietrich Kalteis. Great read. Classic noir, complete with snappy dialogue. ◈ [Kerry Reid]( Free Street Theater moves to a new home in the Back of the Yards. ◈ [Ben Joravsky]( (2014) on closing the mental health clinics. ◈ Journalist [Monroe Anderson]( in memory of Joyce Owens. ◈ Activist [Denali Dasgupta]( ShotSpotter-gate. ◈ Writer, director, and film historian [Pemon Rami]( shoulda gone to Angela Bassett. [The 2024 Frequency Festival invites you to widen your ears]( This year’s lineup includes Chicago debuts by pipe-organ drone explorer Ellen Arkbro, historic reconstructionists Zarabanda Variations, and the voice-and-viola duo of Jessika Kenney and Eyvind Kang. by [Bill Meyer]( | [Read more]( → [an altar filled with candles photos and other items]( [Flyana Boss are ’bout to sin again at their tour-kickoff show]( by [Cristalle Bowen]( | [Read more]( → [Antigone is a stirring conclusion to Court’s Oedipus Trilogy]( Gabrielle Randle-Bent’s production plays like a choreopoem of grief and defiance. by [Kerry Reid]( | [Read more]( → [Crossing political bloodlines]( Raven’s brother sister cyborg space tackles big ideas, but falters dramatically. by [Dan Jakes]( | [Read more]( → [The Plagiarists go out on a high note]( The company’s final production, When You Awake You Will Remember Everything!, is one to remember. by [Josh Flanders]( | [Read more]( → Best of Chicago - out on Feb. 22! Thank you to everyone who nominated and voted for Best of Chicago 2023! Winners will be revealed in our February 22 issue, featuring the annually anticipated “[Best…]( stories - plus, miniatures by Margie Criner and Itty Bitty Mini Mart. Don’t miss one of the biggest issues of the year, out in print and online! [GET EXCITED: CHECK OUT LAST YEAR’S ISSUE]( Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, February 8, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 9]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [Become a member of the Chicago Reader.]( [Twitter icon]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Website icon]( [Logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. 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