The famous Halloween parade, 14 East’s Election Night plan and the CTA’s new budget
plus, a jazz rec (for anyone interested)
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! It’s your newsletter team Lauren, Jana, Morgan, Ella, Noel, Audrey and Varun. We’ve got a good one for you today.
To start, we have a feature and photo piece on the annual “Arts in the Dark” Halloween parade along State Street. Then, we have information on 14 East’s Election Night coverage plan. Next, we have information on a $2.6 million gift to DePaul, the closure of the Revolution Brewing brewpub in Logan Square, and the final pushes for the Harris and Trump campaigns. To wrap things up, we have the closure of the Borinken Cakes location in Logan Square and a jazz voice performance recommendation.
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With that, let’s get into it!
Arts in the Dark
By Morgan Kirsch
Deemed among the 10 best Halloween parades in the US, “Arts in the Dark” is a famed spooky extravaganza celebrating the diverse communities of Chicago. Strutting and dancing along the historic State street on October 19, the parade featured unique floats combining the beauty of fine and performance arts.
From fire twirlers and unique cultural dances to life-size puppets, the parade is a spectacle for all. Rather than promoting businesses and their sponsorships, this unique Halloween parade uplifts the artistic talents of local creatives and youths interested in the arts.
As a part of their mission, Arts in the Dark “Reminds us that we are all connected through the creative spirit that is at the core of our humanity no matter our race, ethnicity, class, age, ability, gender identity or sexual orientation,” according to the event’s official website.
While witnessing the jaw-dropping art and performances, I found myself moved by the medley of music, color and dance that painted a beautiful picture of a community brought together by shared appreciation for creative expression.
The audience lining both sides of the street reached new heights in order to view the parade. Nearly every parent with a toddler had their children draped over their shoulders, straining to see the performers in all of their splendor. Others climbed nearby statues to catch glimpses of the luminescent works of art. This was, without a doubt, a beautiful moment of shared joy between strangers.
If you missed it this year, you can catch the parade again for its 11th annual performance next year.
Election Night: What to Know
By Lauren Sheperd
After months of waiting, the big night is finally here: Election Night 2024. Throughout the night, 14 East will have a team closely following both local and national elections and live reporting on them on multiple different platforms.
Throughout the day, we will have reporters at polling locations across the city to get real-time updates and interviews from voters. Some of these reporters will be taking videos, which will be uploaded to our Instagram – @14eastmag – live.
From these interviews, we will be publishing stories on different topics as people leave the polls.
We will also have a team live tweeting different races on X, formerly known as Twitter. Each reporter will be assigned a different local race, national race or issue to follow and provide in depth updates throughout the night. Updates will be from the reporter’s own X account, but will be reposted by @14EastMag so they will be easy to find.
As polls begin to close, our staff will join other DePaul journalists in the SPARK Center – a new, digital space on DePaul’s Loop Campus. This allows us to collaborate with journalists in other organizations and in other classes on such an important night.
Finally, be sure to look out for stories published on our website both Election Night and the days/weeks following the election.
DePaul News
By Emily Diaz
DePaul’s public health program moves under a new college — Any student pursuing a master’s degree in public health at DePaul will now be considered part of the College of Science and Health rather than the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The transition aims to create a smoother pathway from undergraduate to graduate studies for students pursuing the combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in public health. Integrating faculty from the public health program into the College of Science and Health will also provide more opportunities for research projects and collaborations between students. DePaul Newsline has more.
A $2.6 million gift will empower tech mavens at DePaul — Dr. Curtis J., a 1978 DePaul graduate, and his wife, Mrs. Gina Crawford, have gifted DePaul university $2.6 million to fund a new academic resource center – the Business Technology Leadership Institute. The institute, located at DePaul’s Richard H. Driehaus College of Business, encourages collaboration between the college of business and DePaul’s Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media. Students and faculty from the two colleges will have opportunities to receive grants and scholarships to advance their research careers while networking with leading experts in their field. DePaul Newsline has more.
Get ready to celebrate the Holidays at DePaul! — November marks the start of winter holiday festivities at DePaul, which means campuses will be bustling with students eager to receive free DePaul merchandise. As always, DePaul is hosting the ugly sweater party on Lincoln Park campus Friday November 8 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Quad. The first 2,500 attendees can line up to receive free sweatshirts. There will be stations to create stuffed animals, take photos inside a snow globe and of course, have a bite to eat. Leading up to this Friday will be other activities like candle making on Thursday from 12-4 p.m. in the Loop. Next Monday, November 11, is DePaul’s annual tree lighting ceremony, which will take place on the Quad from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Keep up to date with more holiday festivities at DePaul on DeHub.
Chicago Headlines
By Noel Reyes
CTA’s President Dorval Carter’s $2.16 billion 2025 budget - Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Dorval Carter has been on the hot seat in recent years as ridership, service and the personal safety on the CTA has lagged. The CTA has wrestled with complaints from riders about service safety and quality since the pandemic. Carter has promised to revive pre-pandemic rail service on the CTA by this year’s end. Transit authority is adding service on each of the eight rail lines on all days of the week to help with the increase of riders. CTA on Monday praised the service additions along with Carter for being on track to meeting his promise by the end of the year. “To our loyal riders, we thank you for your patience,” Carter said in a statement. Additionally with the current strides to improve rail service this year Carter has set ambitious goals for the CTA next year as well. The CTA will have $2.16 billion to play with in their 2025 budget, this includes plans to boost service above pre-pandemic levels, and calls for additional bus and rail operators across the city. Read more on the topic in Sarah Freishtat’s Chicago Tribune article.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra hosts Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake November 21 and 23 - 57 year old Finnish composer Hannu Lintu brings Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake to life at the Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. Swan Lake is the quintessential ballet score — a transcendent apologue of dream-like transformation. The ballet explores the soul's struggle to find idealized love and sacrifice, trapped in the body of a swan. Tchaikovsky’s ballet suite caps a night of storytelling that includes Sofia Gubaidulina’s whimsical “Fairytale Poem”” and John Adams’ rich “Slonimsky’s Earbox.” Vilde Frang makes her violin soar almost too close to the sun in Stravinsky’s neoclassical Violin Concerto. If Swan Lake piques your interest you can purchase the limited tickets left and read more about the pop culture history of the ballet on the CSO website.
Revolution Brewing is closing their Logan Square brewpub - Logan Square’s very own Revolution Brewing will be closing its neighborhood brewpub on Dec. 14. Revolution is Illinois’s largest independent craft brewery and announced on Facebook they were going to focus on its Avondale taproom location. After nearly 15 years of business and many excellent pints and absolute creamers of craft beer served, such as the famous Anti-Hero IPA, “which would change the shape of craft beer in Chicagoland,” says the Facebook post, the Logan Square brewpub closing is the start of a different business model for the company. The company was more focused on wholesale production after seeing sales growth of Revolution brand beer in-stores while the brewpub plummeted during and after the pandemic. The brewing company started their brick and mortar location in 2010 as trailblazers for the industry. Now, there’s around 100. “The brewpub will be open five more weeks for you to get all nostalgic over some cheese curds, smash burgers and frothy pints,” the post says. Read more on the closing in Michael Johnson’s WGN9 article.
National Headlines
By Audrey Leib
Trump and Harris’ final campaign push — In their final bids to voters, Trump and Harris are taking starkly different approaches to Election night eve. Harris was in Pennsylvania visiting working-class areas today. Tonight, she’ll be in Philadelphia, with endorsements by Oprah Winfrey to come and a performance by Lady Gaga. The final push includes Harris’ campaign vying for the Puerto Rican vote after a comedian made comments about the US territory being a “floating island of garbage” during a Trump rally. She’ll be in Reading, PA with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and rapper Fat Joe, both of whom are of Puerto Rican heritage. Trump is visiting three different states with four rallies spread across them. Starting off in Raleigh, North Carolina, he will continue to Reading and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and finally Grand Rapids, Michigan. In Raleigh, Trump said that the state was “Ours to lose.” To follow the campaigns, check out USA Today’s coverage and the AP’s coverage.
Ex-Louisville police officer charged in Breonna Taylor case — A former Louisville police officer was convicted with excessive use of force in the Breonna Taylor case. Taylor was shot multiple times and killed by police officers during a botched 2020 drug raid. The officers who shot and killed Taylor were not charged with crimes. Federal prosecutors said the officers had the right to use deadly force. Taylor’s boyfriend opened fire first at the officers when they used a battering ram to break down the apartment door. The jury deliberated for more than 20 hours over three days before coming to their final decision. For more, read Dylan Lovan’s coverage here.
Ohio county sheriff commander reprimanded for comments made about Democrats — Clark County sheriff patrol commander Lt. John Rodgers made a series of Facebook posts, stating that he would “require proof of who you voted for” in order to receive help from him. The lieutenant said that the comments made on Oct. 20 were because of a sleep aid he took. Read more here from Jessica Orozco at the Springfield News-Sun.
Butchered remains of dolphin found ashore New Jersey beach — A gruesome scene was discovered last week in Allenhurst, NJ when a dolphin washed ashore with missing organs and surgical lacerations. All of the animal’s organs had been removed but the heart and lungs. The remaining carcass looked as if it had been butchered. The dolphin was taken to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement for investigation. The dolphin was buried on the beach after evidence was collected. For more on the story, see CBS’ coverage here.
14 East Pueblo: Borinken Cakes to close Logan Square location
By Annabelle Rivera
Puerto Rican bakery Borinken Cakes will close their Logan Square location after three years.
Owner Rachel Diaz opened the spot in August of 2021, just a few months after opening her first location in Archer Heights. However, low foot traffic and an insufficient kitchen led to Diaz deciding to close the Logan Square bakery to focus on the original one.
“We don’t have a full kitchen here,” Diaz said. “So we cannot expand beyond what we have right now. But in the Archer [Avenue] location, we have a whole bakery.”
Borinken Cakes offers Puerto Rican pastries infused with ingredients like guava and coconut.
Now that her focus is on one bakery, Diaz is looking to expand the menu to include sandwiches and savory options.
Borinken Cakes’s open location is located at 5328 S. Archer Ave.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Varun Khushalani
A Jazz Rec (for anyone interested) — Today is the first day of daylight saving time. It’s 5:05 p.m.. The sun has already sunk behind the dark blue night and the lights of the Lake View East skyline have begun to glow shades of yellow and orange. It’s going to get depressing outside again, and that sucks for all of us. Jazz is how I get through it. Specifically, Julie London’s 1955 vocal classic, Julie is Her Name, has been on an uncontrollable repeat. I like to listen to albums over and over again in different places and times of day. Jazz on a train has a different resonance than Jazz at night, it’s important to hear it everywhere.
The only metric I care about is how long I can listen to an album without it driving me insane. This album has been toughing it out for a few weeks now. I’m listening to it right now. My shoulders still relax when London’s elegant voice first bounces and soars through my speakers in the opener, “Cry Me a River.” The mix of genre and tone throughout the whole album makes you want to stop what you're doing, sit down and search for every ounce of color you can muster out of the world in front of you. Jazz is not for everyone, I say this every time. But looking forward into the far too many dark moments that greet us, the soft voice of Julie London could be just the cure you are looking for as the sun sets earlier and earlier. If you’re going to pick one song to listen to first, I’d have to go with “It Never Entered My Mind.” I've been listening to that song for months now — I’m listening to it right now. It somehow still makes me sad.
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