Stories chronicling the death of political machines predate even West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who has lived for 93 years and is the oldest guy in Congress. Yet the legend seems to persist as new generations of political reporters man the laptops and churn out the copy on political campaigns.
Few stories, though, offer the reporting and insights that you’ll get from reading Dan Mihalopoulos’ analysis of the fate of the machine candidates in the latest local elections in Chicago, a place that’s considered the Mecca of political machines.
Dan is the kind of reporter who is hard to talk to because he’salways on the phone talking to someone else, firing away at sources with detailed and pointed questions. Around here we think he was born with a Blackberry bug in his ear he’s on the phone so much. But his reporting really pays off when he puts it to paper or computer screen or whatever.
His piece on the Chicago pages of Sunday’s New York Times provides an insightful look inside the cranky old Chicago machine and at those who are challenging the old guard’s grip on local politics. It’s must reading, even for those in the know.
For readers hungry for a different sort of news, turn to Ben Goldberger’s piece on a peculiar turn about to take place in the world of Chicago food.
When most of my relatives think of Chicago, images of hot dogs, deep-dish pizza or Italian ice pop into mind. But those images are as old as, well, Senator Byrd.
Ben, the Chicago News Cooperative’s digital editor who arrived in our offices from the Chicago edition of The Huffington Post, shows us old timers that he can also master the printed page with a great scoop about Chicago’s latest coup for foodies – a world champion French pastry chef who is about to take up residence at the French Pastry School near the Sears (oops Willis) Tower. Come this August, Chicagoans can add éclairs and napoleons (the pastry not the general) to their images of Chicago.
When the Chicago News Cooperative Columnist Jim Warren isn’t off doing commentary about local or national elections, he’s out finding things like Flashpoint Academy, a pricey but innovative school for local technorati eager to create computer animation, video games or just interesting technological twists for the film industry. Jim is a seasoned journalist with a solid record, great sources and a keen eye for the interesting and important in Chicago. He is also the publisher of the Chicago Reader, the city’s alternative weekly.
Then, of course, there’s “Pulse,” the Chicago News Cooperative feature that takes a measure of the interesting and unusual in Chicago, including the latest wrinkle at the Chicago Public School system – the “Culture of Calm” coordinator.
The Chicago News Cooperative produces two pages of Chicago news for the New York Times every Friday and Sunday, featuring original reporting, fine writing and professional editing. We are different: We report, we don’t just repeat. You can also find out about a special offer to subscribe to the New York Times. We’d love to have you in our loop.