The audience of the Women’s Mayoral Forum, snowplow names and local Black-owned barbecue
plus the news you need to start your week!
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! It’s your newsletter team — Kate, Monique, Grace, Emily, Cary, Chinyere, Faith, Lauren, Bridget and Abena — here with the news you need to start your week.
Saturday’s Women’s Mayoral Forum made headlines all weekend. Our reporters spoke to attendees of the forum on their takeaways of the issues discussed by candidates, plus recapped some of the issues discussed by mayoral contenders during the event. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our recommendations columnist has a Black-owned restaurant recommendation with incredible barbecue.
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We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, let’s get into the newsletter!
Mayoral candidates set out plans for issues affecting Chicago women
By Monique Mulima and Grace Vaughn with photos by Emily Soto
Martha Garcia Barragan was one of approximately 750 people from across the city gathered on Saturday afternoon to hear how candidates in the packed race for Chicago mayor plan to address issues impacting women in the city. She decided to attend because she knows the importance of the contributions of women in Chicago.
“I just think that all candidates should be really aware that women really empower the development of a city, and they should all put a lot of attention on equality for women and women's rights,” Garcia Barragan said.
The Chicago Women Take Action Alliance hosted the Women’s Mayoral Forum, featuring eight of the nine candidates running for mayor. The forum covered topics from crime to homelessness to abortion to education and trades.
Rishona Taylor, a DePaul University alumna, was one of around a dozen Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members in attendance at the forum. She explained that members from chapters across the city chose to attend because it aligns with their bigger platform. “It was something that we all wanted to take a part of, to get the knowledge and information that we could share with our communities at large,” she said.
Joan Flanagan, former adjunct faculty at DePaul, said she was hoping to hear about candidates’ proposals for the city.
“Several of those candidates have run before, and I think it would be good if [we had] some new ideas, some fresh ideas,” said Flanagan.
At the forum, all eight candidates affirmed their pro-abortion rights stance while speaking on abortion access. Mayor Lightfoot took the opportunity to openly criticize Paul Vallas for not being more outspoken on the issue after the overturning of Roe V. Wade last year. Businessman Willie Wilson spoke about being anti-abortion when he was younger and now being pro-choice and sharing support for all reproductive choices.
Beyond abortion, forum moderators Carol Marin and Cheryl Corley asked all of the mayoral candidates how they plan to address the low numbers of women in trades. ”In Chicago where women and men are equally represented in the population, less than 5% in the construction trades are women,” Corley added to her question.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was quick to defend her administration’s efforts to tackle the issue through their work with Chicago’s Women in Trade, a non-profit providing support and advocacy for women working in skilled trades.
Activist Ja’Mal Green criticized the city's efforts so far.
"When you look at the percentages from the city, as well as the state, in the contracting process, it is abysmal to see the amount of women that actually have obtained these contracts,” Green said, referring to the less than 5% of women working in construction trades. “We need to remove all of those barriers as a city and make women the centerpiece."
Some candidates spoke about the need for trades in schools. Ald. Sophia King (4th) criticized the placement of apprenticeship programs in the suburbs arguing it was restricting accessibility for kids in the city.
“We need to bring the trades back to the schools,” King said.
This is something attendees, including Taylor, think Chicago Public Schools needs.
“Overall I thought the answers could have been answered a little more deeply. However, it is something that is definitely needed. I grew up in an age where we had a lot of vocational schools around the city, and that's the thing that we always have to have options when it comes to students and their futures,” Taylor said.
Garcia Barragan was glad that education was a topic being discussed at the forum.
“I think education should be important for everyone, Not only for those of us who had children in the [CPS] system. I mean no city, no country can grow without education,” said Garcia Barragan.
Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas said schools should open year-round to help reduce crime.
"We have got to open the campuses through the weekends, the summer, the holidays, and bring the community-based organizations and park district programs to the campuses so the kids have a secure place. We have got to create a universal work study in all of our schools," said Vallas.
Extending school hours was not the proposal candidates had for reducing crime. Cook County Board Commissioner Brandon Johnson proposed a city-wide youth summer job program and more mental health supports that are not dependent on police officers.
“The reason why we are experiencing so much disconnect on the front line is because we are asking way too much from our police officers,” said Johnson.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said that he would tackle crime by investing more in neighborhoods that have been impacted by violence and by appointing a superintendent of police that is from Chicago.
The forum also included discussions about other issues that affect women in the city such as affordable housing and support for victims of domestic violence. Read the full recap this Friday at fourteeneastmag.com.
DePaul News
By Cary Robbins
Martin Luther King Jr. 26th annual prayer breakfast on Tuesday
DePaul is hosting its 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast for students, staff and faculty this Tuesday, January 17 at the Lincoln Park Student Center, Room 120 A/B. The program will honor King’s legacy as a key activist in the 1960s Civil Rights era. The keynote speaker will be Jahmal Cole, who is the founder and CEO of My Block My City My Hood which is an organization aimed to build youth’s community and expand networks. Reverend Jessie L. Jackson Sr. will be receiving a lifetime achievement award for his civil rights leadership. He founded Operation PUSH and Rainbow PUSH Coalition to pursue social justice. He worked with King to create the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket and was with King the evening of his assassination. To RSVP and learn more about the event, click here.
Mental health fairs January 17-18
Mental health fairs will be offered on the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses on January 17 and 18. On Tuesday, January 17, the fair will be held from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the DePaul Center, Concourse. On Wednesday, January 18, the fair will be held on the Lincoln Park campus from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Student Center. According to the DePaul Newsline, attendees will have a chance to exercise with essential oils, color, play trivia and play other games that are focused on mental health topics.
Applications due Friday for DePaul’s Spring Break Service Immersion Program
This program is a chance for students to see another city, volunteer and learn more about social justice issues. There are week-long immersions from March 18 to 25 in Montgomery, Ala., focusing on civil rights and racial justice, New Orleans, focusing on rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and Washington, D.C., focusing on housing and food security. There are also one-day immersions in Chicago to go to Interfaith Service and Justice on Monday, March 20 and Fighting to End Homelessness on Friday, March 24. The applications are due on Friday, January 20. Click here to apply online and read more about the programs.
Submit your work for the springs first-year program writing showcase
DePaul students who are or were recently enrolled in the First-Year Program can submit their best work for the spring’s First-Year Program Writing Showcase. This event celebrates writers and writing in academic, public and private lives. Students are able to submit two projects which will be reviewed by a panel of faculty judges across the university. The work submitted must be from the spring quarter of 2022 through the winter quarter of 2023 from a First-Year Program class. The deadline for submitting work is April 12. You can read more about the writing showcase here.
Lastly, here is your weekend sports update (Jan. 13-15)
DePaul men’s tennis team competed against Notre Dame and IUPUI and tied 1-1 on Friday.
DePaul men’s basketball team lost 71-67 against Seton Hall on Saturday.
DePaul women’s basketball won 91-56 against Xavier on Saturday.
DePaul’s dance team won with a Top 20 finish from UDA College Nationals
DePaul women’s basketball player Aneesah Morrow received the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her sixth time this season.
Chicago Headlines
By Chinyere Ibeh
The Sankofa Wellness Village wins $10 million Chicago Prize — The West Side campus aims to bring resources back into a disinvested neighborhood, winning the award from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation on Wednesday. The project was chosen from six South and West side finalists, but the remaining finalists will receive $500,000. Atavía Reed from Block Club Chicago details the specific plans of Sankofa Wellness Village.
Illinois enacts legislation to protect out-of-state abortion seekers — On Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the legislation into law, adding Illinois to the list of states that placed protections around abortion since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The act will also protect the Illinois license of healthcare providers who provide treatment. In other states, healthcare providers could get their licenses revoked if they perform an abortion. NBC Chicago’s Claire Savage and John O’Conner have the full story.
Voting for the “Name a Snowplow” contest underway with 50 finalists — Last month, Chicago officials announced the contest and encouraged residents to use their imagination to create names by January 6. The Department of Streets and Sanitation picked the 50 finalists, and voting for those finalists is open until the end of the month. Chicagoans are allowed to vote for up to six names. The full story and the link to vote is available via Andy Koval’s story for WGN News.
Sophomore at Lane Tech Prep High School is the city’s only master chess player under 18 — Avi Kaplan, 16, is one of the 113 national masters under the age of 18 and he’s the highest-rated chess player in Chicago Public Schools. He earned the title from the U.S. Chess Federation at the 30th Annual Midwest Class Championship. He received the title after playing chess for a decade, since first grade. Vanessa Lopez from the Chicago Sun-Times has the full feature.
National Headlines
By Faith Hennig
President Biden’s MLK Day speech — On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, United States president Joe Biden addressed the nation to commemorate Dr. King and his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Instead of speaking about the honored Civil Rights leader, President Biden blasted House Republicans and their new tax agenda. The House Republicans are proposing to get rid of new IRS funding, abolish the federal tax agency and replace the income tax with a federal tax on consumption. Biden proceeded to expound on the notion to veto the legislation. Another tax bill on Biden’s radar was introduced last week and would abolish the IRS, eliminate income taxes and institute a federal consumption tax. It will likely not pass through the Senate floor according to NBC News.
SpaceX launches two Space Force satellites — On Sunday, SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy Rocket for the U.S. Space Force. The massive rocket proved to be quite the show for space force workers, travelers and residents. While the Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket in SpaceX's inventory, CBS News says it will be shrunk by the company's reusable Super Heavy/Starship, which is ready for an initial test flight in the next few months in Boca Chica, Texas.
Many UFO sightings reported to the U.S. Government — The U.S. Defense Department received pressure from Congress to seek out UFO and UAP sightings and encouraged pilots to say anything when it comes to unexplained sightings. The intelligence community as well as the Pentagon still have no explanation for a lot of these sightings, 350 new reports to be exact. The Pentagon and the intelligence community “will continue to investigate any evidence of possible foreign government involvement in UAP events,” the CNN report says.
Fifty women and girls abducted in Burkina Faso — The West African country Burkina Faso faces a recent tragedy. Armed men have been spotted taking over 50 women and young girls, the incidents taking place on January 12 and January 13. The governor of Burkina Faso expressed his sympathies and added that “authorities remain committed to doing everything possible to bring the situation to a successful conclusion.” Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest nations, has been the epicenter of the violence that started in neighboring Mali in 2012, more can be found in this CNN article regarding the matter.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Lauren Sheperd
Hello everyone! For today’s rec, I want to focus on a Black-owned business in Chicago in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. If you like good barbecue and are looking for a new place to try, you can head to Evanston, West Loop or Avondale to Soul & Smoke.
Husband and wife duo D’Andre Carter and Heather Bublick originally started Soul & Smoke as a catering business. However, when the pandemic hit in 2020, they adjusted their methods to take out and even a food truck to bring their barbecue into the city. Now, they have two locations in Chicago: one at Time Out Market in West Loop and one at Rockwell on the River in Avondale. The menus include classic barbecue dishes. When I went to the location in Time Out Market, I got a pulled pork sandwich and the mac-and-cheese – which is raved about in reviews. It’s hard to describe the food as anything other than comfort food. Even Soul & Smoke’s website says they focus on comfort and homeliness for their customers. “We pour our soul into this food, because barbecue is a craft worthy of devotion. It’s the food we want to eat, and the food we love to cook. Let us tend to the comfort food so you can focus on the people sharing it,” their website says.
Soul & Smoke isn’t just about the food, however, and Carter is using his business constantly to give back to the Chicagoland community. According to the website, Soul & Smoke worked with World Central Kitchen during the pandemic to provide 200,000 meals to Chicagoans in need. Their most recent act of service was to bring thousands of meals to Highland Park first responders and community members affected by the July 4 shooting. Carter is also a board member of the Trotter Project, which provides culinary training and food security to children in need in Chicago. Overall, Carter’s goal is to give back to the community that has helped form his success.
The next time you’re in the mood for a good, comforting, barbecue meal, head over to one of Soul & Smoke’s locations.
Resources
Need resources regarding cooling centers, rental assistance, abortion access, COVID-19 testing and vaccines or mental health? Check out our complete list here.
That’s it for today! See you next Monday.
The 14 East Newsletter Team