Who should judge political success?

By Samuel Rosenberg / November 28, 2006

On November 14, Chicago’s City Council approved the budget for the 2007 fiscal year. The $5.7 billion plan received unanimous approval coupled with spirited critiques of the administration by aldermen. Despite the 46–0 vote, the aldermen decried the budget as being little more than an attempt to placate all parties during an election year. But...

Chicago’s famous political eating locations of past and present

By Samuel Rosenberg / November 10, 2006

So the midterms are over…sigh, and as wonderful as it is that the Senate’s first socialist is a U of C College graduate, I have a feeling that anything I would have said has been stated three times over in The Times, the Tribune, and The Post. Instead, I thought I would devote this article...

Emanuel: Chicago’s other future star

By Samuel Rosenberg / October 27, 2006

Although Chicago is not going to be a closely watched city on November 7, it is worth noting how influential Chicago politicians have been in preparing for the big day. Of course it is easy to recognize our local rock star, Barack Obama, but in the big scheme of things this junior, and I accentuate...

Beautification beyond the begonias

By Samuel Rosenberg / October 13, 2006

One of the most commonly heard complaints about mayoral administrations is that funding and services are too focused on the central business district (CBD). This drains resources from the neighborhoods to the city center. In Chicago, it is a widely held belief that our neighborhoods are similarly suffering such neglect while the CBD absorbs urban...

Going for gold: Olympics in Chicago

By Samuel Rosenberg / October 2, 2006

As Chicago moves forward with its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, it is continuing to do something that is typical of our city: dream big. Despite initial popular plans to concentrate the Olympic events along the lakefront, near the McCormick Place Conference Center and Soldier Field, the layout has now been amended to...

Big box stores mean fewer jobs for poor

By Samuel Rosenberg / September 14, 2006

Returning to Hyde Park for another school year, the students at the University of Chicago are once again thrown into a city brimming with political buzz. While the city was full of action during the summer, the most important issue directly affecting our student body focuses on the all-too necessary activity of shopping. As any...

Millennium Park is a triumph for Chicago

By Samuel Rosenberg / May 26, 2006

Within the past few weeks certain Chicago politicians have taken the opportunity to criticize some of Mayor Daley’s past projects, Millennium Park in particular. In claiming that the funds used for the development could have been better allocated, these detractors ignore the benefits that its completion has brought to Chicago. Overall, it is incorrect to...

Immigrants are a critical component of U.S.

By Samuel Rosenberg / May 9, 2006

As hundreds of thousands of immigrants converged into both Union and Grant Parks on Monday, May 1st, Chicago once again realized something that it has known for over a 150 years: our city needs immigrants. Although Chicago no longer hosts the massive cultural exchanges of the South Water Market and Maxwell Street, the immigrant population...

Ryan’s accomplishments belie his downfall

By Samuel Rosenberg / April 21, 2006

As I walked into one of my classes on Monday, I noticed a student reading aloud the guilty verdict of former Illinois Governor George Ryan. It was not what she was reading that got to me but the fact that she was laughing hysterically. I am no legal scholar, nor am I a lawyer, but...

Chicago has hot political summer ahead

By Samuel Rosenberg / April 18, 2006

As our South Side boys of summer took the field yesterday, the other boys of summer had already set their lineups and begun playing ball. With the primaries now complete and the Democratic and GOP slates set for the November elections, it is shaping up to be another interesting political summer in Chicago. Oddly enough,...

Lessons from Paris on U.S. public transit

By Samuel Rosenberg / April 4, 2006

As some of you may know, I spent the last quarter studying in Paris. Have no fear; Chicago is still the city I love, yet spending time in one of the great cultural centers of the world truly opened my eyes to certain aspects of my home city that I had not noticed previously. It...

Chicago remains at the forefront of the world’s architecture scene

By Samuel Rosenberg / March 3, 2006

What I have never understood about car companies is why they spend their time and money on concept cars. If there is never any chance to buy the “bullet car,” why get me all excited about it? Far too many afternoons at the barbershop were spent by yours truly ogling the pictures and then being...

The CTA actually works for you and me

By Samuel Rosenberg / January 30, 2006

As I rode the #6 bus the other evening I could not help but marvel at the wonder of the CTA. Many of you may think I am being sarcastic, but honestly, we need to realize how great the CTA is and how it is working to get better. Before anybody writes a letter to...

The governor’s race might get interesting

By Samuel Rosenberg / January 16, 2006

The 2006 Illinois Gubernatorial Election is off and running. Despite the disappointment felt by many Democrats with the performance of Rod Blagojevich, it seems as though there will be no significant opposition during the primary. The first-term governor has had more than his fair share of political battles over the past few years simply within...

Losing Marshall Field’s is a loss for Chicago

By Samuel Rosenberg / January 5, 2006

There is something very sad about the passage of time in a city. Nowhere else in the national spectrum does one see things rise to such heights and then fall to such lows. In terms of urban change, one could conceivably talk about the Union Stock Yards or the fall of the steel industry, but...

Let’s consider a casino in Chicago

By Samuel Rosenberg / November 28, 2005

How come every time I am trying to find the Bears highlights, I can only find middle-aged men playing poker? Now, I see nothing wrong with poker, but it just seems to be everywhere. Additionally, there has been no shortage of literature (or personal experiences) that point to the increasing popularity of the game. The...

Sister cities are a worthwhile endeavor

By Samuel Rosenberg / November 14, 2005

My brother and I have had our disagreements in the past, but at the end of the day we are always best friends. Not all sibling relationships are as functional as the one I have with my brother: some families have minor disagreements that cause serious strife. Unfortunately for our country, we have been having...

Ignore the news; Chicago is doing great

By Samuel Rosenberg / September 29, 2005

When I arrived on campus this fall I was pleased to see that once again students were happily heading to class, the grass was lush and green along the midway, and that 57th Street was being resurfaced. Although the last of these items may not bring as much joy to some hearts as it does...