FREE VOLUME 05 NO. 4 NOVEMBER 5, 2026 - NOVEMBER 18, 2026
MELODY WINSTON CHICAGO’S BIG WINNERS STRATTON FORD PRECKWINKLE PRITZKER/MITCHELL & MORE
IT’S OKAY TO BE FIRST
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY 3
E-NOTES
Whale Wisdom for Modern Times…
Publisher Cheryl Mainor Norman Editor-In-Chief
KAI EL’ ZABAR - EDITOR IN CHIEF
Kai EL’ Zabar
Associate Publisher/ Laura Miller In a world that often demands we blend in, it Managing Editor is easy to forget the profound power of our D. Hunter Art Direction own unique individuality. But if you look to the Staff Writers Zada Johnson, PhD ancient rhythms of the natural world— Candi McCrary specifically to one of our planet's oldest Mila Marshall, PhD residents—you will find the timeless existence C. L. Blackburn of the Creator’s magnificent whale as a Ryan Willis reminder. Like the whales, each of us has a Mare Evans unique song to offer the world, and it is meant Malachi Webster to be heard. Native American traditions Jordan Scott teach us that the Great Spirit speaks through Columnists Sanja Rickett Stinson our animal brethren, offering profound Cover Photography Raji Vela, ROQA Productions lessons for navigating our daily lives. Few Cover Story MUA Veronica Wormley Videography Podcast Production Social Media
@TryBlackLove Tonysmithphoto.com Cree Rivera
Chicago News Weekly 2147 S. Lumber St. Chicago, IL 60615 (312) 877-5151 Volume 05 No. 4 November 5, 2026 November 18, 2026
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NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
creatures embody this quite like the whale. So we know that they were special to our maker. Having roamed the oceans for over 50 million years, whales are regarded as living recordkeepers, carrying the deep knowledge of the past within them. Tuning Into Past Wisdom and Future Possibilities Through the deep vibrations of their songs, whales release ancient wisdom across vast distances. Yet, their calls do more than echo history; they reach across oceans, bridging the gap into the realm of the future to anticipate what is yet to come. Remarkably, every whale's song is entirely unique, and they never repeat the exact same pattern twice. That is amazing! It speaks to the brillance and the endless expression of The Most High. Because whales must remain conscious at all times in order to breathe, they never fall into a deep, unconscious sleep. Their brains maintain constant access to the collective flow of insight and awareness. In this way, they float peacefully, anchored in an ocean environment that continually supports and sustains them. Imagine that! If humans were created in such a way that kept us focused on sustaining our own lives. The senseless murders would not be. The senseless greed and lust for more than the opportunity to live as GOD would have us express ourselves would be eliminated. For the alternative choice woud be our suiside. Living in constant creation mode is amazing and something we as humans should meditate on, focusing on being contributive to the sustaining of life. After all how dare us take a life when we cannot create life.
We birth life via God’s will based on what has been put in place to continue the life cycle and we are but mere actors in the big scheme of life and its constant evolution. Finding Your Own Unique Song in Modern Times How do we translate this ancient wisdom into our modern lives? • Express Your Authentic Gift: Just as no two whales sing the same song, no one else can share your specific perspective, creativity, or talents. Your unique expression is not just a personal passion; it is medicine for the healing of a fast-paced, often disconnected world. • Embrace Stillness and Meditation: Like whales tapping into the future, you can access clarity and foresight by carving out moments of quiet meditation. Stepping back from the noise allows you to look at where you have come from and where you are headed. • Stay Awake and Engaged: Whales teach us the value of staying conscious and actively engaged. When you make mindful, positive choices regarding your life, your community, and your environment, you align yourself with a universe that is ready to support and sustain your growth. Our past helps shape our future, but the present is where we make our choices. By sharing your unique gifts and adding your authentic vibration to the world, you help guide us all toward a brighter horizon. What is one unique gift or "song" you feel called to share more fully in your life right now? CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
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CITY NEWS ‘This Seat Belongs to You’: Juliana Stratton’s Promise to Illinois LAURA MILLER MANAGING EDITOR
The Senate seat Juliana Stratton will occupy once stood at the center of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas’ contest over slavery. In her election night remarks, Illinois’ next U.S. senator brought that history into the story of her own family. Stratton identified her great-greatgrandfather, William Stephens, as a formerly enslaved man who helped build a town in Mississippi with his brother. Generations later, his descendant is preparing to represent Illinois in Washington. “And now, the seat where the future of slavery was once debated will be held by a descendant of someone who was enslaved,” Stratton said in prepared remarks provided by her campaign. Stratton, a Democrat and Illinois’ lieutenant governor, defeated Republican Don Tracy in the Nov. 3 election to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. She will become the second Black woman to represent Illinois in the Senate, following Carol Moseley Braun. Her remarks placed that achievement within a longer account of Black civic participation, family sacrifice, and public responsibility. Alongside the celebration came an invitation to the people who helped elect her: Keep calling. Keep questioning. Keep expecting something from the person sent to Washington. “You knocked on doors to get me here. You can knock on my door to make sure I’m doing the job.” The historical connection reaches back to 1858, when Lincoln challenged Douglas for the Senate seat. Their debates made slavery a central question in a contest Douglas ultimately won. Durbin later described the office he held as the same seat Lincoln had sought. Stratton invoked that history while naming the people whose lives had made her own political career possible. Among them was Moseley Braun, who won election in 1992 and became the first Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate when she took office in 1993. “I stand on the shoulders of everyone who came before me, who fought for opportunities they would never live to see,” Stratton’s remarks read. Her account also returned to two people who would not be there to see her take the oath: her parents, Velma and Henry. The Senate seat Juliana Stratton will occupy once stood at the center of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas’ contest over slavery. In her election night remarks, Illinois’ next U.S. senator brought that history into the story of her own family. Stratton identified her great-great-grandfather, William Stephens, as a formerly enslaved man who helped build a town in Mississippi with his brother. Generations later, his descendant is preparing to represent Illinois in Washington. “And now, the seat where the future of slavery was once debated will be held by a descendant of someone who was enslaved,” 4 NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
Stratton, a Democrat and Illinois’ lieutenant governor, defeated Republican Don Tracy in the Nov. 3 election to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. She will become the second Black woman to represent Illinois in the Senate, following Carol Moseley Braun. ‘Her remarks that achievement within a longer account of Black civic participation, family sacrifice, and public responsibility. Alongside the celebration came an invitation to the people who helped elect her: Keep calling. Keep questioning. Keep expecting something from the person sent to Washington.
“You knocked on doors to get me here. You can knock on my door to make sure I’m doing the job.”
The historical connection reaches back to 1858, when Lincoln challenged Douglas for the Senate seat. Their debates made slavery a central question in a contest Douglas ultimately won. Durbin later described the office he held as the same seat Lincoln had sought.to see her take the oath: her parents, Velma and Henry. Stratton recalled caring for her mother during her battle with Alzheimer’s disease and losing her the day before launching her first campaign for state representative. Her father died last November, during the Senate campaign. There were moments over the past two years when I wished more than anything that I could pick up the phone and hear them on the other side.” She described her mother, a public school teacher, as the person who taught her to believe in education and opportunity. Those memories gave personal context to the constituencies and concerns she named throughout the remarks: caregivers, public school families, veterans, and people trying to meet their responsibilities while struggling to pay their bills. Stratton described hearing from Illinoisans unsure whether they could cover groceries, rent, and child care in the same month. She spoke of people working full time who still questioned whether they could get ahead. Her response was a pledge to fight for affordable health care, reproductive freedom, workers’ rights, and voting rights. She also promised to advocate for farmers, small businesses, public schools, and immigrant communities. The remarks outlined priorities without identifying the first bills she would introduce or a timetable for delivering results. Those specifics remain an important next measure of the commitments she made to voters. Stratton signaled that she intends to be outspoken. Recalling advice she received upon becoming a state representative in 2017, she described being told to avoid making waves and spend her freshman term listening.
“I ignored that advice then. And I certainly won’t be sitting back and listening quietly when I get to Washington.” She paired that declaration with a promise to represent people who did not vote for her and to remain open to disagreement. “I can’t promise that we’ll agree on everything. But I can promise that I will never stop listening, never stop showing up, and never stop fighting for you.” Her description of democracy placed responsibility with constituents, too. She recalled a man bringing his newly naturalized grandparents to vote, students organizing their campuses, and neighbors helping children get home safely. Political participation, in that telling, continued through the daily work of looking after a community. There was room for a familiar Chicago pleasure as well. Stratton described lacing up roller skates and reminded supporters that their next senator is a “House Head who loves to dance.” She presented joy as a source of strength for the political fights ahead. But her most direct promise concerned access and accountability after the campaign ended. The volunteers who made calls on her behalf, she said, could call her office. Supporters could tell her when she was getting things right and when she was getting them wrong.
“And I will never confuse being elected with being entitled to this job.” For Illinois voters, that statement offers a standard to carry into her Senate term: whether the access, attention, and advocacy promised during a historic victory remain available once governing begins. “You can challenge me. You can push me,” Stratton said in the prepared remarks. “Because like I said, this seat belongs to you.”
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
CITY NEWS Illinois Democrats sweep statewide races CNW STAFF REPORT
Illinois voters returned Gov. JB Pritzker to office for a third term Tuesday, elected Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton to the U.S. Senate and gave Democrats every statewide office on the ballot. Pritzker defeated Republican Darren Bailey in a rematch of their 2022 race, with 59.8% of the vote to Bailey’s 36.8% and about 94% of votes counted, according to WTTW’s tally of unofficial results. Independent Collin Corbett had 3.4%. Pritzker is the first Democrat elected to three terms as Illinois governor. Stratton defeated Republican Don Tracy, 61.0% to 37.4%, to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. Her win makes Illinois the first state represented by two women of color in the U.S. Senate at the same time. Christian Mitchell, elected on Pritzker’s ticket, will succeed Stratton as lieutenant governor. Democrats also held every other statewide office. Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Treasurer Mike Frerichs were reelected, and state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago won the open comptroller seat, succeeding Susana Mendoza. New faces in Congress Democrats hold all but three of Illinois’ 17 congressional seats, with Republicans Mike Bost, Mary Miller and Darin LaHood winning downstate districts. Five new members will join the delegation in January. La Shawn Ford, a state representative since 2007, won the 7th District, succeeding retiring Rep. Danny Davis in the district’s first change of leadership in 30 years. Speaking to supporters at XS Tennis Village, part of the South Side’s XS Tennis and Education Foundation, Ford said on election night that he will take the oath of office Jan. 3. He described a crowd that included seniors, students, pastors, union members, small business owners, and people in the recovery community and the justice-involved community. When this campaign began, I was applying for a job,” Ford said. “Tonight I got hired.” He promised to staff his office with people from the neighborhoods the district covers and asked supporters to serve on a community action committee. “Tonight we celebrate,” he said. “Tomorrow we go to work.” Patty García won the 4th District, the only Latino-majority district in the Midwest, and is the first woman to represent it. Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller won the 2nd District, former Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss won the 9th, succeeding Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and former Rep. Melissa Bean won the 8th, the northwest suburban seat Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi gave up to run for Senate. Incumbents Jonathan Jackson (1st), Delia Ramirez (3rd), Mike Quigley (5th) and Sean Casten (6th) were also reelected.
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
Chicago turnout and the school board About 44.7% of Chicago’s registered voters had cast ballots as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners’ unofficial results. That’s 686,552 ballots from 1,536,708 registered voters, with 1,279 of 1,291 precincts reporting. The count is about 28,000 below the final 2022 midterm tally of 714,789, but it’s incomplete. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive through Nov. 17. Early voting was strong. As Chicago News Weekly reported Tuesday, 280,000 Chicagoans had voted or returned ballots by Nov. 1, an 18% increase over the same point in 2022. Statewide, voters cast about 1.12 million early in-person ballots and about 711,000 mail-in ballots before Election Day. Chicago elected a fully elected school board for the first time. Jessica Biggs won the presidency with 48.5% of the citywide vote, ahead of Hilario Dominguez (30.9%), who was backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, independent Victor Henderson (18.0%) and Sendhil Revuluri (2.7%). Two neighborhood races were close with all precincts reporting. In Subdistrict 3B, Jason Dónes led Carlos A. Rivas Jr. by 180 votes, and in Subdistrict 6A, Isaiah White led Anusha Thotakura by 235 in a three-way race. Late-arriving mail ballots could change either result. Some precincts ran out of paper ballots on Election Day, and equipment problems briefly disrupted voting at a Logan Square polling place. The board said no voters were turned away. Ballot questions Chicago voters approved nearly every ballot question in the unofficial count. A Cook County question on a “Millionaire Amendment” would impose a 3% income tax surcharge on millionaires, with half the revenue going to property tax relief and half to state education funding. It drew 80.1% yes from Chicago voters. Chicagoans also backed restarting gunshot detection technology (72.5%), a permanent festival space (68.0%) and a measure asking the city to pursue compensation from the federal government for costs tied to immigration enforcement operations, including Midway Blitz (85.1%). Two advisory questions for Chicago Public Schools voters, on a millionaires surcharge for schools and an annual charge on longvacant commercial property, passed with 80.9% and 73.8%. Local questions also passed, including a 4th Ward measure supporting a Jesse Jackson statue (85.0%) and a 26th Ward measure to limit shared housing (74.1%). The exception was a question in three South Side precincts about spending an estimated $1 billion on a quantum facility and data center at the former South Works site, which voters rejected by margins of about 76% to 80% in each precinct.
What happens next Results remain unofficial. Mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 can arrive through Nov. 17, and totals will shift before certification. The Supreme Court ruled in June that states can count such ballots, a decision that covers Illinois. The results also point toward February’s mayoral election, where Quigley, Giannoulias and Mendoza are among those expected to run. Mayor Brandon Johnson has launched a reelection bid. Chicago News Weekly’s October poll showed Democrats leading all five statewide races, and Tuesday’s results bore that out. Earlier this year, Chicago News Weekly examined the challenges facing vote-by-mail in its investigation, Democracy Lives Here.
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
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NATIONAL NEWS
The Changing Shape of American Political Power LAURA MILLER MANAGING EDITOR
Keisha Lance Bottoms will become the first Black woman elected governor in American history when she takes office in Georgia. In Florida, Republican Byron Donalds will become the state’s first Black governor. They won in opposite parties, and that is the point. Democrats David Crowley in Wisconsin and Aaron Ford in Nevada also broke their states’ gubernatorial color lines, and Maryland voters reelected Gov. Wes Moore. Together, the five will make up the largest group of Black governors ever to serve at once. Four are Democrats. One is a Republican. On election night, Bottoms told supporters she had spent the previous day in Crawfordville, the Georgia town where her family has roots going back at least five generations. It was also the home of Alexander H. Stephens, who was vice president of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865 and governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in 1883. She visited the grave of her greatgreat-grandmother, Bessie, who was born in 1845, 20 years before emancipation. “So, yes, Crawfordville produced the vice president of the Confederacy,” Bottoms said, “but tonight, it also produced your next governor.” Her victory came as Democrats won both chambers of Congress. But the two developments answer different questions: which party holds power, and who gains access to offices that have long been out of reach. Donalds’ win kept Florida’s governorship Republican while expanding Black representation in executive office. Bottoms’ win did both, and moved Georgia’s governorship to Democrats. “I will be a governor for all of Georgia,” she said. Illinois contributed to both stories. Juliana Stratton’s Senate victory will join her with Maryland’s Angela Alsobrooks and Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester, putting three Black women in the Senate at the same time for the first time. Christian Mitchell, elected on Gov. JB Pritzker’s ticket, will succeed Stratton as lieutenant governor. What did voters ask for? Bottoms’ victory speech and the national exit polling pointed the same way. Georgians, she said, “want a leader who will put Georgia first and who will stand up to all the chaos coming out of Washington, D.C.” The preliminary AP Voter Poll found the same sentiment nationwide. About seven in 10 voters said they wanted Congress to provide more checks on presidential power, a more specific mandate than the election map alone can show. Bottoms was speaking for one state, and the poll surveyed voters across the country. But both suggest voters were weighing in on how government should operate, not only on who should run it.
6 NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
The poll also offers early clues about who voted. About seven in 10 voters under 30 backed Democratic House candidates, as did about nine in 10 Black voters and roughly six in 10 Hispanic voters. Those figures describe the people who voted, not every eligible voter in those groups. A Chicago contest, 92 years ago The question of who holds power, and for which party, has a long Chicago history. In 1934, Arthur W. Mitchell defeated Republican Oscar De Priest in a Chicago congressional race and became the first Black Democrat elected to Congress. De Priest was himself a breakthrough: his arrival in Washington in 1929 had ended a 28-year absence of Black members from Congress. Their contest put two Black candidates head to head just as Black voters were reconsidering their loyalty to the party of Lincoln. That loyalty was rooted in emancipation and Reconstruction. The Depression loosened it. By 1936, a majority of Black voters backed Franklin D. Roosevelt, joining a New Deal coalition of labor unions, farmers and others seeking economic relief. It was an uneasy fit. Segregationists still held real power inside the Democratic Party, and Black voters’ growing presence sharpened the conflict. At the 1948 convention, Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey urged Democrats to “get out of the shadow of states’ rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.” Southern delegates broke away to form the States’ Rights Democratic Party, the Dixiecrats, with South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond as their presidential candidate. Many later returned; the party identities did not swap overnight. The split was still visible in 1964, when Southern Democrats fought the Civil Rights Act and its supporters needed Republican votes to end the Senate filibuster. Illinois Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen helped deliver them. “America grows. America changes,” he told the Senate. Thurmond joined the Republican Party that same year. One year, both stories: Republicans helped pass civil rights legislation while a leading segregationist crossed over to join them. Realignments, in other words, unfold over decades. A familiar pendulum Midterms have long been a referendum on the party in the White House. From 1934 through 2022, the president’s party lost House seats in 20 of 23 midterms, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The year Mitchell beat De Priest was one of the three exceptions. The reversals cut both ways. Democrats lost 63 House seats in 2010 under Barack Obama. Republicans lost 41 in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first term, yet gained two Senate seats that year, a reminder that a national mood can produce different results in different institutions. Will it last? Whether the new majorities endure will depend on future elections, turnout and the parties’ ability to hold their coalitions together.
Some answers will come sooner. In January, five Black governors and a new Democratic Congress will begin writing budgets, passing laws and conducting oversight, the first real test of what voters asked for. Bottoms will take the oath in a state whose Confederate vice president once held the same office. Will the voters who put her there have changed the political map, or only its occupants?
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
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NATIONAL NEWS Working for Yourself. Paying to Stay Insured
Rising premiums make open enrollment a budget checkpoint for freelancers and small-business owners. CNW STAFF REPORT Working for yourself means finding clients, managing expenses, and, for many entrepreneurs, buying health insurance without an employer sharing the bill. With enrollment underway for 2027, keeping that coverage requires a closer look at both monthly premiums and the cost of receiving care. Nationally, premiums for benchmark silver plans through Affordable Care Act marketplaces are increasing an average of 13% for 2027, according to KFF, the nonpartisan health policy research organization formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. Actual increases vary by location and plan. Financial help is still available. Federal premium tax credits continue to lower monthly payments for eligible households. However, enhanced credits expired at the end of 2025, reducing assistance and ending federal premium subsidies for households earning above 400% of the federal poverty level. The monthly bill is only one expense. A deductible is the amount a patient pays for covered services before insurance begins paying for most care, although certain services are covered beforehand. KFF estimated the average individual marketplace deductible at $3,786 in 2026. Standard silver plans without deductible assistance averaged $5,304. Those figures describe 2026 coverage, not next year’s plans.
8 NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
A separate form of assistance, called costsharing reductions, can lower deductibles, copays, and other expenses for eligible households. These income-based savings generally require choosing a silver plan. Selecting a bronze plan for its lower premium can mean giving up that assistance. For self-employed workers, estimating income also matters. Marketplace assistance is based on expected household income for the coverage year. Applicants should update their information when earnings change, according to HealthCare.gov. “Do not assume last year’s plan is still the best fit,” Morgan Winters, director of Get Covered Illinois, said in an October announcement. Shoppers should compare deductibles, prescription coverage, and provider networks alongside premiums. Free enrollment assistance is available. Illinois residents can compare options at [GetCoveredIllinois.gov] (https://getcovered.illinois.gov/). Open enrollment ends Jan. 15, 2027. For coverage beginning Jan. 1, enroll by Dec. 15 and pay the first premium.
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
LIVING CHICAGO
The Glass Problem: Chicago’s Atomic Debt in Washington State JORDAN SCOTT - CONTRIBUTING WRITER On Dec. 2, 1942, in a squash court beneath the stands of the University of Chicago’s Stagg Field, a team led by physicist Enrico Fermi started the world’s first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The device, called Chicago Pile1, was a stack of graphite blocks and uranium, built by hand under a football stadium. It tested whether the atom could be controlled and whether it could be used to manufacture plutonium, the fuel for a new kind of bomb. It worked. The consequences of that afternoon are still being dealt with 2,000 miles away, and Chicagoans are helping pay for it. From Hyde Park to Hanford The Manhattan Project took what Fermi proved in Chicago and scaled it up. In 1943, the government picked a remote stretch of desert along the Columbia River in Washington state, where there was plenty of cold water for cooling reactors and few people nearby. It became the Hanford Site. Fermi’s design became the basis for Hanford’s B Reactor, and metallurgists at the University’s Metallurgical Laboratory developed the process for sealing the uranium fuel that Hanford’s reactors would burn. Hanford went on to produce nearly two-thirds of the plutonium in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, according to Popular Mechanics. Its plutonium also fueled the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Making that plutonium created an enormous amount of waste. Most of it is still there. What’s in the tanks Spanning 586 square miles, Hanford is more than twice the size of Chicago. The site contains 177 aging underground waste tanks holding about 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemically hazardous waste, enough to fill roughly 85 Olympic-size swimming pools. The tanks are the heart of the problem. Many are “single-shell” tanks, meaning a single steel wall separates the waste from the soil. They were built between 1943 and 1964 with a design life of about 20 years, according to the Energy Department’s inspector general. The newest is 62 years old. Dozens have leaked over the years. In August 2024, the Department of Energy confirmed that another, known as T-101, was leaking. Washington’s Department of Ecology warns that if the waste is not treated, “it will eventually escape containment and could reach the Columbia River.”
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
The waste is also unusually hard to handle. “The worst waste went to the tanks,” Suzanne Dahl, tank waste treatment section manager at the Department of Ecology, told Popular Mechanics. “It’s a mixture of high-level radioactive waste and chemical waste, and they’re intrinsically mixed together.” In other words, it is both radioactive and chemically toxic, and the two can’t easily be pulled apart. Because the waste differs from tank to tank, each batch needs its own treatment. Why glass The cleanup plan relies on a process called vitrification. Workers mix the waste with glassforming materials and melt it at extreme temperatures. As the mixture cools, the radioactive material is locked inside solid glass, which does not leak, spill or seep into groundwater the way liquid waste can. Glass is stable for thousands of years. Because the waste varies from tank to tank, the glass recipe has to change with it. The plan splits the waste into two streams. The larger, lower-activity portion is turned into glass and buried near the surface at Hanford. (DOE is also pursuing a plan to turn some of this lower-activity waste into grout, a cementlike solid, and ship it out of state.) The smaller portion carries most of the radioactivity. It must also be turned into glass, then held for a permanent deep underground repository that does not yet exist. A start, after decades of delay That work has finally begun. On Oct. 15, 2025, the Low-Activity Waste Facility at Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant began turning tank waste into glass. Support organizations like Sisters. It met a deadline in the federal government’s consent decree with Washington state, a legally binding agreement that sets cleanup milestones. In April 2026, crews placed the first 7.5-ton containers of glass in Hanford’s on-site disposal facility. “This is a proud and meaningful achievement for the entire Hanford team,” site manager Ray Geimer said. The milestone is real. So is the scale of what remains. As of Oct. 12, the plant had turned more than 250,000 gallons of tank waste into glass, according to Hanford officials. That is roughly 0.45% of the estimated 56 million gallons of tank waste, measured by volume rather than by the overall cleanup.
Containers of vitrified tank waste staged at Hanford before disposal, April 2026. U.S. Department of Energy photo, public domain.
The High-Level Waste Facility, which will handle the most radioactive material, is scheduled to begin operating in 2033. Federal projections place the end of cleanup in the 2080s, assuming steady funding. The Energy Department’s 2025 lifecycle report estimates $364 billion to $579 billion in remaining cleanup costs, plus additional expenses for reactor disposition and long-term stewardship. Why this is a Chicago story That bill is paid through federal taxes, including those paid by Chicagoans. And Hanford is only part of the city’s link to the atomic age. The Metallurgical Laboratory became Argonne National Laboratory, which still operates in southwest suburban Lemont. Illinois also operates more nuclear power reactors than any other state, and the spent fuel from those plants stays on site because the country still has no permanent repository for it. Illinois has a version of Hanford’s problem: waste with nowhere to go. A plaque at the old Stagg Field site marks the day “man achieved here the first selfsustaining chain reaction.” The plaque is in Hyde Park. The waste from that chain reaction is in Washington state, in tanks built to last about 20 years. The waste inside is still waiting to become glass.
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY 09
IT’S OKAY TO BE FIRST
COVER STORY
MELODY WINSTON’S VISION FOR COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT BY KAI EL ZABAR EDITOR IN CHIEF
10 NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
COVER STORY Melody Winston has carved out her own path in Chicago’s business and civic landscape. She draws on a family legacy that includes medicine, education, aviation and ministry, while building a career in commercial real estate, economic development and communityfocused Black enterprise. That combination is especially visible at Living Fresh Market, the grocery business where she is Senior Executive. The store began with an unexpected opportunity: a vacant supermarket space, a set of keys and a decision to take on an industry Winston had never planned to enter. When Ultra Foods closed all nine of its locations and declared bankruptcy, Winston was searching for a new grocery tenant for Forest Park Plaza, a commercial property she managed. At 71,000 square feet, the space required a grocer with the experience and capacity to run a large store. Winston approached major grocery businesses, including Mariano’s, Pete’s and Kroger. They liked the space, she recalled, but wanted to buy the building. That was not an option. Her father, Dr. Bill Winston, had purchased the mall in 1998 and had no intention of selling it.
“He told me to tell them, ‘I’m not selling,’” Winston said. The mayor of Forest Park suggested Leamington Foods. Winston spoke with its owners, Daniel and Kenneth Casaccio, third-generation grocers raised in the business by their father, Gus Casaccio. They were interested in the space and asked what could be done to help them move in. Winston was candid about the challenge. The store was much larger than the spaces they were accustomed to. Could they manage it? Their answer was an emphatic yes. Winston also wanted the store to offer more than a conventional groceryshopping experience.
She asked whether the owners could create an atmosphere closer to the polished, welcoming feel associated with Mariano’s. They rose to the challenge, she said, and did a strong job shaping the store. Leamington Foods had a long family history in grocery retail. Gus Casaccio was an experienced grocer and an advocate for independent businesses. Winston recalled that he joined other independent grocers in traveling to Springfield to advocate for their rights in a market dominated by large chains. For a time, the arrangement seemed promising. Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape. The demands of running a large independent grocery store became increasingly difficult, Winston said, and Leamington eventually decided to close The closure left Winston facing a different question: If she could not find a suitable grocer to take the space, what would happen to the property—and to the community that relied on it? On October 7, 2021, her father told her to -
“keep the keys.”
“It was a huge surprise,” she said. Those keys marked the beginning of a new chapter: Living Fresh Market, a grocery business built around fresh food, community access and a commitment to welcoming shoppers from different backgrounds.
A New Kind of Relationship When asked what went through her mind as she considered taking on the grocery business, Winston’s answer was direct. “Fear,” she said. “I’ve got to be honest about it.” The opportunity felt different from the commercial real estate work she knew. NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
In that field, relationships often focus on a specific property, a lease and the terms of a deal. It takes time to build trust, negotiate differences and reach an agreement, but the relationship has a defined purpose. Running a grocery store meant building relationships on a much broader scale. “In the grocery industry, you’re dating the whole community,” Winston said. “That one down the street, this one over here in this other village—you know, and your family gets so big.” That shift mattered because her family’s work was rooted in ministry and service. Winston had to consider how to bring those values into a business serving customers, employees, vendors and the broader community everyday. She was not new to leadership, but the grocery industry presented a steep learning curve. Her first question was simple: “Where do I begin?” The company hired a consultant. Her father advised her to learn as much as possible while the consultant was under contract, ‘ask questions tailored to the company’s circumstances, and then move forward independently. Winston contracted the consultant for six months and used the time to absorb the essentials. The work was relentless. She had to assemble a leadership team, complete legal paperwork and contracts, and learn the processes required to operate a grocery store. That included applications for programs such as WIC and SNAP, as well as many other requirements she had not previously encountered. “We managed the paperwork. We completed the contracts. We submitted the applications for WIC and SNAP,” she said. “All of this that we had no knowledge of prior to our work at hand.”
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COVER STORY Living Fresh Market recently celebrated its fifth anniversary and received a Congressional Proclamation for five years of service, community impact and more. The years of building the business have required long hours and constant problem-solving. They have also given Winston a close view of how grocery retail has changed. Customers have more options than earlier generations did: they can dine out, order food for delivery or buy prepared and frozen meals, including restaurant-branded products in stores. The everyday habit of cooking at home, she observed, is less common than it was for many people’s parents and grandparents. At Living Fresh Market, Winston sees an opportunity to encourage interest in healthy living, starting with fresh food and learning how to prepare it. The changing habits of shoppers affect what grocery stores must offer and how they reach customers. For her, the challenge is to understand the business while holding on to the reasons the store matters. More than a Place to Shop Living Fresh Market meets a practical need: access to groceries, including fresh and wholesome food. But Winston said revenue is only one measure of success. The store’s impact on the community matters just as much. “We want to make sure that we are inviting everyone in,” she said, “no matter what your circumstances, how much money you have in the bank, where you fall in a demographic report.” That intention includes accepting programs that help people purchase food, including WIC and SNAP. Winston wants customers to feel welcome using those benefits— not embarrassed or treated as though they do not belong. The importance of that approach became especially clear during a period when SNAP benefits were disrupted. Winston saw fewer customers coming into the store and understood why: some people did not have the money to shop. Living Fresh Market responded by working with local food pantries in Forest Park and Maywood and distributing produce. The team also created a “60-second shopping spree,” giving community members the opportunity to shop at no cost and bring food home. Participants received raffle tickets. When a winning number was called, the winner could step behind a decorated shopping cart and fill it with as much as it could hold. The event brought excitement into the store, but Winston said, “its significance went beyond the spectacle. It Was about dignity, family and community. Some winners shared what they had collected with neighbors, turning their prize into an opportunity to help others.
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“It became not just a win for them, but an opportunity for them to serve others,” Winston said. “That’s transformation, that’s fellowship.” That spirit has guided other efforts to bring people into the store and give them a voice in what it becomes. Living Fresh Market invited Maywood residents to share dinner and conversation. Children, adults and older residents attended. Some were already customers; others had never visited. The evening included a meal, music, and a shopping spree. Most importantly, residents were given the microphone to talk about what they liked, what they wanted to see in the store, and how they experienced the store. A Platform for Independent Bands At its fifth-anniversary HomecomingCelebration, held on a Saturday, October 31, the store marked the occasion with food sampling, prizes, shopping-spree giveaways and a marching band. The celebration also featured 33 vendors. Winston was particularly proud of the opportunity to introduce independent brands to shoppers. The event highlighted many small producers that could appeal to grocery shoppers but lack access to a broad retail audience. Living Fresh Market’s shelf program is intended to help them get started. The goal is not merely to stock shelves; it is to help local and independent businesses establish themselves and grow. “We want to help create an entrepreneur’s legacy in all the communities that we go into,” she said. That kind of support, she added, extends the family’s commitment to service and faith. The market can contribute to the growth and independence of the communities it serves by creating opportunities for entrepreneurs as well as shoppers. A Legacy of Enterprise and Service Winston views Living Fresh Market as a continuation of her family's legacy of service, business ownership, and community investment. Her family history includes generations of entrepreneurs and professionals, with the Williams Clinic on Chicago's South Side being a significant part of that history. The clinic provided medical care to African American communities during segregation. Key family members associated with its founding include Dr. Jasper F. Williams Sr. and Dr. James W. Williams, the latter serving as a physician to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The women in Winston’s family, built institutions in education as well. Her mother, Carolyn Williams Winston, graduated from Kellogg School of Management and founded Beverly Hills and Auburn Gresham preschools. Winston said her mother was the first in Illinois to receive a license for infant care. Her Father founded Bill Winston Ministries, a results-based, truth and solution-seeking outreach ministry. The mission is to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom throughout the world, and train believers how to live independent of this world’s sysytem and have dominion over it. He also remains engaged in their aviation business.
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
Seeing those examples of Black wealth, Black power, Black independence, but also service, provided in-depth insight into the connection between entrepreneurship, education, skills and preparedness,” she said. Her family’s aviation history is another important influence. Winston says her greatuncle, Dr. James B. Williams, was a Tuskegee Airman, her grandfather was a pilot and her father, Dr. Bill Winston, served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Winston has built a connection to aviation herself. She learned to fly at age 14 at Chicago’s former Meigs Field, making her a third-generation pilot, according to her account. She also served as a caretaker for historic Moton Field, the Tuskegee Airmen training site, and currently serves as director of aviation for Golden Eagle Aviation. Her work spans several fields. As a senior executive at Living Fresh Market, she leads the grocery business, including its 71,000square-foot Forest Park store. In commercial real estate, she serves as director of commercial property assets for Living Word Christian Center, her father’s ministry, overseeing properties that include Forest Park Plaza and Washington Plaza. Her aviation work continues alongside those responsibilities. Winston sees these roles not as separate parts of her life but as connected expressions of family legacy and service. She describes Living Fresh Market as a “360-degree” moment: a new venture informed by the experience, teaching and example of those who came before her. Planning for growth After five years of building Living Fresh Market, Winston is preparing for further expansion. The next stage, she said, will require making the operation more efficient and reducing the number of processes that depend on constant, hands-on attention. Managing one store takes time and dedication. Even late at night, Winston said, her mind is often working through new ideas. As the business grows, she wants systems that can support more locations without sacrificing the personal welcome that defines the market. Her expansion plans include a new grocery store in Maywood, where she said the community has been without one since 2014. She is also working on a West Pullman location, a property with a history in the community that had been closed for about two years. Both projects are smaller than the Forest Park store. Winston sees the more manageable size as a model for future growth, while still allowing each store to offer a full grocery experience.
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
She wants the locations to share the market’s commitment to fresh food, service and accessibility while developing identities of their own. She learned of grocery-access challenges affecting people connected with North Carolina A&T and has worked with university staff, economic development managers and local officials to explore the possibility of opening a store in the area. The experience reinforced her belief that grocery access is a concern in communities well beyond the places she initially associated with food deserts. Stepping Out on Faith The path from managing a shopping center to leading a grocery company was not one Winston had planned in detail. It emerged from a series of experiences and decisions: a store closing, a vacant property, a father who would not sell, a family of independent grocers and, finally, a set of keys. Winston describes her faith as the foundation beneath that journey. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is practical: building a business takes work, vision, and commitment. An idea or opportunity is only a beginning. Success requires learning, asking for help, assembling a capable team and continuing through uncertainty. She is candid about the fear she felt when the grocery business first became a possibility. But she believes being the first to take on a challenge can prepare a person to show others how to move forward.
COVER STORY
“Some people run from being the first,” she said. “But it’s okay to be the first because being first prepares you to teach somebody else how to take the reins.”
That belief connects Living Fresh Market to the people and institutions that came before her: her family’s medical work, her mother’s preschools, her father’s military and ministry leadership, and the family’s commitment to opening doors in aviation. It also informs how Winston thinks about her children. Her son Jeremy competed in gymnastics at the Junior Olympics in Savannah, Georgia, and now lives and works in Las Vegas with his wife. Her daughter Paige works at Living Fresh Market, bringing experience from McDonald’s Corporation. Winston says Paige learned how large organizations operate and developed strong communication skills. Customers may recognize her as the young woman confidently guiding staff and keeping the work moving. Winston’s youngest daughter, Summer, is beginning her professional journey with Winston’s younger sister who works in aviation alongside Winston’s father. The work includes coordinating details for pilots and passengers, including travel details and customs. Winston sees the transfer of knowledge between generations as another version of the 360: one person passes experience, and someone else builds it.
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COVER STORY She is proud of what her children are beginning to see and do, just as she remembers watching her parents and grandparents.“I’m excited about where I am now,” she said, “and about my kids and what they see happening.” Living Fresh Market is a new expression of the values Winston grew up with. It provides groceries, makes room for independent vendors, welcomes customers using foodassistance programs and gives residents opportunities to be heard. It is also a growing business, with new locations and more efficient systems on the horizon. For Winston, growth and service can go hand in hand. A business can expand while staying connected to the people it serves, make room for local entrepreneurs and contribute to a community’s well-being. The keys her father handed her opened more than a vacant grocery space. They opened a way for her to continue a family legacy as the first Black owned grocery chain in Forrest Park Illinois.
SPORTS Cooler Than the Other Side of the Pillow: A Historic Finals, and Unrivaled Returns MALACHI WEBSTER - CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Stuart Scott had a phrase for moments like this: "as cool as the other side of the pillow." On Oct. 31 at Chase Center in San Francisco, the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. The Valkyries are in only their second season. The Valkyries are the fastest North American expansion team since 1967 to win a championship, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, and the first team to win a WNBA title without an All-WNBA player on its roster. Gabby Williams scored 30 points in Game 7 and was named Finals MVP after averaging 19.6 points and 2.6 steals in the series. Coach Natalie Nakase won her third ring, after two as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces. The Valkyries swept the defending champion Aces in the semifinals before outlasting Atlanta. People watched. Game 4 drew an average of 1.9 million viewers on NBC and Peacock and peaked at 2.5 million, the most-watched Finals Game 4 ever, the league said. Game 3 was the 12th straight Finals game to top 1 million viewers. The 80 Finals games before that streak never did. Chicago had a stake on the other bench. The Sky traded Angel Reese to Atlanta in April for firstround picks in 2027 and 2028. In 64 games in Chicago, Reese averaged 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds and made two All-Star teams. She played this Finals in a Dream uniform. The Sky now hold five first-round picks over the next three drafts. The season does not end here. Unrivaled, the threeon-three league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, opens its third season Jan. 8. Miami remains home base, but this winter the league goes on the road, with stops in Boston, Inglewood, Detroit, San Francisco, Brooklyn, Minneapolis, Houston and Philadelphia. Detroit and Minneapolis are the closest drives from Chicago.
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Sky fans will see familiar faces. Sydney Taylor signed a multi-year Unrivaled deal, and Skylar Diggins, Kate Martin and Natasha Cloud are also on the 50-player roster. Gabriela Jaquez is in the development pool. Rickea Jackson signed a multiyear contract but will miss the season while recovering from a torn ACL. Last season, Stewart's Mist BC won the title, and Stewart was Finals MVP. All of this sits on a long timeline. Title IX became law in 1972. A year later, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in front of a national television audience.
The WNBA played its first game in 1997. In 1999, more than 90,000 people filled the Rose Bowl for the Women's World Cup final. The Sky won Chicago's first WNBA title in 2021. This fall, an expansion team won a seven-game Finals that played to bigger audiences than ever. Unrivaled tips off Jan. 8. Until then, the last word belongs to Stuart Scott's signature call: ‘Boo-yah!’
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
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BUSINESS & FINANCE The Network You Rent: What Cricket, Metro and Xfinity Customers Are Actually Buying MALACHI WEBSTER - CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The first commercial cellphone call in the United States was Comcast owns no cell towers. It is a mobile virtual network placed in Chicago. On Oct. 13, 1983, Ameritech Mobile operator, or MVNO, which leases capacity on Verizon's switched on its network with a call from Soldier Field. network at wholesale rates and shifts traffic onto more than 23 Forty-three years later, Chicagoans can choose from dozens million Comcast Wi-Fi hotspots where it can. "We have an of phone brands. Almost all of them run on one of three agreement in perpetuity that says we get whatever they give networks. themselves in terms of network quality," Comcast CEO Brian Those three belong to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. Roberts said of the Verizon deal. In tests from January through There were four until 2020, when T-Mobile bought Sprint. March 2026, the analytics firm Opensignal found Xfinity The Finnish research firm Rewheel found that after the customers got faster downloads than Verizon's own. merger, U.S. mobile prices "either stopped falling altogether Few brands have that deal. Most prepaid and discount lines or fell at a much slower rate," and called the deal a "4-to-3 are deprioritized. When a cell site fills up, every connection is mobile merger" that "led to higher prices and consumer sorted by a priority code, known in the industry as a QCI. harm." A fourth network was supposed to replace Sprint. Higher-priority traffic moves first, and lower-priority traffic Dish, later EchoStar, spent years building one. In 2025 it waits. The carriers rarely publish those codes. Network Scrutiny, sold its airwaves, about $23 billion worth to AT&T and $17 which tracks them, notes that only US Mobile prints its billion to SpaceX, and announced it would shut its network numbers, and that the rest are inferred from plan terms and down. Its Boost Mobile brand now runs on AT&T. testing. Most brands you see in storefronts on Chicago's The plan terms are plainer. Visible's base plan says data commercial strips are owned by those same three "may be temporarily slower than other traffic." Mint Mobile companies. AT&T owns Cricket. T-Mobile owns Metro and deprioritizes customers a second time after 50 gigabytes in a Mint Mobile. Verizon owns Visible, Straight Talk and Total month. Many budget plans also cap video at around 480p, Wireless. Together the three report roughly 62 million regardless of signal strength. Deprioritization only shows up prepaid customers: about 25.8 million at T-Mobile, 19.3 when a tower is busy, which is why a phone can test fast on a million at Verizon and 16.55 million at AT&T as of early quiet block and stall at a packed Soldier Field, a Lollapalooza 2026. crowd or a rush-hour Red Line platform. Xfinity Mobile, which more than 10 million lines now The advertising leads with speed. Cricket's rate table lists its use, is different in billing but not in ownership. It is sold as top plan, Supreme Unlimited, with "Unlimited high-speed a monthly postpaid plan through Comcast, the city's data." A footnote below it reads, "For all data usage, Cricket dominant cable company. Comcast owns no cell towers. It may temporarily slow data speeds if the network is busy." On is a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, which the same plan, the company says, "We aim to render streaming leases capacity on Verizon's network at wholesale rates and video in standard-definition." The people standing at the back shifts traffic onto more than 23 million Comcast Wi-Fi of that line are, disproportionately, the people with the least hotspots where it can. money.
The people standing at the back of that line are, disproportionately, the people with the least money. YouGov found that half of prepaid customers earn less than 75% of the national median household income, and about 38% are under 29. Prepaid plans are often cheaper and require no credit check. They also tend to buy lower priority on the same towers everyone else uses. Before signing up, check three things in the plan's fine print: which network it runs on, whether the data is labeled "priority" or "premium" or instead "may be slowed," and whether video is capped. Every brand on the shelf answers to one of three owners, and since 2024 the Federal Communications Commission has required each to post a "Broadband Facts" label for every plan, listing typical speeds and linking to its network management policy. The fine print shows where your line will sit.
Not a Bank: Where Your Cash App and Chime Money Actually Sits MALACHI WEBSTER - CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Chicago lived through the bank runs of the early 1930s, when a failed bank could take a family's savings with it. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was created in 1933 so that would stop happening. Ninetythree years later, millions of Americans keep their paychecks in apps that are not banks. More Perfect Union, the nonprofit newsroom, describes those apps as operating in a "regulatory black box." Its investigation, "How Millions of Americans Got Tricked Into Using a Bank That Isn't a Bank," followed an online bank where, it reported, thousands of Americans' FDIC-insured savings vanished. The apps' own disclosures agree. "Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank," its help page reads. Chime deposits are held at one of two partner banks, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank. Cash App says the same: it is "not a bank—it's a financial services platform that partners with banks." Its partners are Sutton Bank, The Bancorp Bank and Wells Fargo. Cash App balances "may be eligible" for FDIC pass-through insurance up to $250,000 only if the customer has a Cash App Card or sponsors a teen account, and only "if certain conditions are met." Stocks and bitcoin held in the app are not insured. Pass-through insurance protects your money if the partner bank fails. It does not protect you if the app fails, or if the app's records of who owns what are wrong. That gap became real in April 2024, when Synapse, a company that connected fintech apps to banks, filed for bankruptcy. Nearly $160 million in deposits was frozen, and an estimated $65 million to $95 million could not be accounted for. Kayla Morris had $282,153.87 in the savings app Yotta. "We were informed last Monday that Evolve was only going to pay us $500 out of that $280,000," she said.
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In late 2025 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau allocated just over $46 million from its Civil Penalty Fund to victims, about half of what was locked up. A chartered bank works differently. SoFi began as a fintech, but in January 2022 it received a national bank charter and became SoFi Bank, National Association, FDIC certificate No. 26881. The bank itself holds the first $250,000 of a customer's deposits, or $500,000 for joint accounts. Coverage above that, up to $2 million, depends on sweeping money across partner banks. A charter also means federal examiners supervise the institution that keeps the ledger. Many of the same apps also sell early access to pay. In 2024, the CFPB found that a typical employer-partnered earned wage advance averaged $106, that workers took about 27 a year, and that the cost worked out to an annual percentage rate of 109.5%. Direct-toconsumer apps can charge subscriptions of up to $14.99 a month and ask for "tips." "Paycheck advance products are often marketed to and designed for employers, rather than employees," then-Director Rohit Chopra said, as the bureau proposed treating many of them as loans. The difference matters most to the people relying on apps the most. In the FDIC's 2023 national survey, 49.7% of U.S. households used nonbank payment services such as PayPal, Venmo or Cash App.
Among unbanked households that used them, 40.9% did so to save or keep money safe, compared with 14.2% of banked households. Nationally, 10.6% of Black households and 9.5% of Hispanic households were unbanked, against 4.2% of all households. In Illinois, 6.6% of residents had no bank account, according to an analysis of the same FDIC data.For many Chicagoans, apps fill gaps that banks left open: no minimum balances, fast access to wages, no branch to travel to. An app also sits between the customer and the bank, keeping the record of whose money is whose. When that record breaks, the FDIC's guarantee may not reach the person whose paycheck was in it.
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ARTS & CULTURE SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 27th Black Harvest Film Festival CNW STAFF REPORT
BLACK PANTHER & THE SIGHT UNSEEN
Celebrating its 27th year in 2021, the Black Harvest Film Festival is Chicago’s annual showcase for films that celebrate, explore, and share the Black, African American, and African Diaspora experience. The festival, held at the Gene Siskel Film Center and virtually, curates both short and feature-length films, proudly presenting influential auteurs and emerging filmmakers of color side by side. The Black Harvest Film Festival invites Black, African American, and African Diaspora-identifying directors, producers, and screenwriters to submit their work for next year's festival; in the meantime, show up and catch a film. You may want to see “Black Panther " and "The Sight Unseen.” The Black Harvest Film Festival (BHFF) is Chicago's premier annual showcase celebrating Black cinema from across the global diaspora. Hosted and presented by the Gene Siskel Film Center (a public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago), it has grown into one of the city's most vital cultural and cinematic traditions. The Beginning Mission: The festival was established in response to the historic and ongoing underrepresentation of Black filmmakers, stories, and perspectives on screen and within mainstream film exhibition spaces, following the few discontinued Blackoriented festivals like Blacklight Film Festival produced by FEPA (Forum for the Evolution of Progressive Arts), and curated by Floyd Webb, a noted photographer and filmmaker. Growth: Over three decades, BHFF has evolved from a modest local showcase into a major internationally recognized festival. It bridges the gap between independent and mainstream cinema, highlighting a vast spectrum of Black experiences. Programming: The festival features a dynamic mix of short and feature-length films, documentaries, experimental works, animation, and repertory/restoration screenings. It regularly brings together intergenerational filmmakers, actors, critics, and community members for Q&As, panels, and dialogues.
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Founders and Key Influences Sergio Mims: Distinguished Chicago-based film critic, historian, journalist, and passionate champion of Black cinema, Mims was a cofounder and instrumental consultant for the festival. He dedicated much of his life to highlighting the contributions of Black artists in film. Following his passing in 2022, the Gene Siskel Film Center established the Sergio Mims Fund for Black Excellence in Filmmaking to honor his legacy and continue supporting emerging Black filmmakers. Additional Roots: The festival's development over the years has been supported by various institutional leaders at the Siskel Film Center, including long-time programmers and directors like Barbara Scharres and Floyd Webb, who helped shape its early foundation and community ties. Community and Organization The Gene Siskel Film Center: Located at 164 N. State Street in downtown Chicago, the Film Center serves as the permanent home of the festival, offering state-of-the-art screening facilities. Black Harvest Community Council (BHCC): This council is composed of local artists, entrepreneurs, volunteers, and community leaders who act as ambassadors for the festival. They ensure that the festival remains deeply connected to Chicago's diverse neighborhoods and authentically represents local and global Black communities. Leadership: The festival's curatorial and programming direction is driven by dedicated arts leaders and curators (such as curator Jada-Amina) who continue to expand its artistic boundaries and scope. Currently, the Black Harvest Festival is underway with some real goodies. Make sure you catch at least one film... it will be worth your while.
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
SPECIAL FEATURE Joan Clay Helps Veterans Take the First Step Into Business Ownership
Beginning Nov. 10, The Village Legal and Community Project’s veterans cohort will offer guidance on business planning, funding, and veteran-owned business certification. LAURA MILLER For veterans considering business ownership, the first questions can arrive long before the first customer: How do you put together a business plan? Where do you find funding? What insurance will you need, and what does it take to become certified as a veteran-owned business? Joan Clay wants to give veterans a place to work through those questions. On Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day, The Village Legal and Community Project will launch a dedicated veterans cohort through its B.O.S.S. entrepreneurship program. Participants will meet on Zoom on Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m., learning from subject matter experts and developing their ideas alongside other veterans. An established business is not required. Clay, the nonprofit’s founder and CEO, said the program welcomes veterans who are still exploring what they might want to build. “It could be just an idea or a concept that you want to flesh out,” Clay said. The cohort will cover business plans, funding, insurance and how to pursue certification as a veteran-owned business. Each week will address a different topic, giving participants an opportunity to understand the practical responsibilities of ownership and ask questions before making decisions. “There are a lot of people who want to have a business and they don’t know where to start, or they start the wrong way and there are consequences,” Clay said. “And so that whole cohort is designed to help people start the right way from the very beginning.” Building a Business, Together When Chicago News Weekly profiled Clay in September 2025, she discussed helping entrepreneurs and young people build economic stability through education, mentorship and access to resources. The veterans cohort brings that approach to a dedicated group of former service members interested in entrepreneurship. Clay said she prefers groups of 10 to 15 participants, a size that allows people to learn together and receive individual attention. Keeping the cohort small gives participants room to discuss their ideas and learn from the questions others bring. “Bigger cohorts, sometimes people feel lost in the shuffle,” she said. NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
The organization will also offer its regular B.O.S.S. cohort. Clay said both groups will have an opportunity to participate in a pitch contest at a small business expo planned for May, giving participants a goal to work toward as they develop their plans. For Clay, the instruction is part of a larger commitment to community stability. Business ownership requires information and preparation, and she sees economic development as an essential part of the nonprofit’s work alongside legal services and programs for young people. “Our mission is to empower our communities,” Clay said. “And so, the way that we do that, thinking holistically in our approach. So, yes, we provide pro bono legal services, but there are other needs in the community for individuals to have stability and for communities to have stability and thrive.” Access Starts With Understanding An attorney for 22 years, Clay said watching people struggle to represent themselves in court helped motivate her to establish The Village Legal and Community Project. She saw people with valid concerns lose cases because they could not explain their circumstances or present evidence effectively. “I would sit on my own matters and hear people representing themselves,” Clay said. “And I knew that they had something valid there, but they couldn’t express it. So they lost.” That experience informs how she approaches assistance. Sometimes a person needs someone to explain a letter. Other situations require contacting a landlord or providing representation in court. Understanding the issue, she said, is often the starting point for determining what help is needed. Her entrepreneurship programs follow a similar approach: Give people the information to understand their options and the support to act on them. The organization also works with younger entrepreneurs through Baby B.O.S.S. and helps young people prepare for employment through résumé development and mock interviews. Clay said the work can be difficult, but the response from people receiving assistance reinforces why she continues.
“We are the village for a reason,” she said. “And even on my hardest days, when I help somebody and they’re like, ‘Thank you so much,’ or someone is crying because they got what they needed from us, that makes every hard day in the rearview mirror.” For veterans interested in the upcoming cohort, the next step is an application describing their business or idea. Those who need assistance completing the online form can contact the organization’s intake staff. Clay said enrollment depends on capacity, so interested applicants should reach out ahead of the Nov. 10 start. “We are here and we are here to serve,” Clay said. “And if it’s something that we don’t do, we refer to other organizations that do what we don’t.” Veterans can access the B.O.S.S. application at tvlcp.org/our-programs or call 773-234-0027 for more information.
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY 17
FOOD & WINE Baked Feta Pasta MARE EVANS - STAFF WRITER “Who would have thought that the baked feta pasta trend would be born on Tik Tik? I have to tell you, not me. I mean of course roasting. if just the thought of it. But is it good enough to break the Internet? Apparently the people thought so. Baked Feta Pasta broke the internet. The recipe is complete with roasted tomatoes and sharp, tangy feta. Need I say that the baked feta dish is undeniably delicious. It’s one of those comfy foods that make you overeat because it’s too good to be true and you just keep stuffing your mouth. Bonus: this recipe is its simplicity and versatility. It’s easy to make and practically bakes itself. On this page is the classic recipe as a jumping-off point to make your ideal pasta dinner. The following directions is all you need to know about this viral recipe: Yields: 4 serving(s) Prep Time: 10 mins Total Time: 45 mins Cal/Serv: 758
Ingredients 1 shallot, quartered 3 garlic cloves, smashed 2 pt. cherry or grape tomatoes 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided Kosher salt Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 1 (8-oz.) block feta 3 thyme sprigs 12 oz. short tubular pasta (such as macaroni or cavatappi) 1 lemon, zested (optional) Fresh basil leaves, for serving INSTRUCTIONS Start by preheating your oven to 400°. While it’s heating up, quarter the shallot and smash the garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef’s knife (for safety’s sake, press down the heel of your hand). Now toss the tomatoes, shallot, and garlic into a medium (2-qt.) baking dish. If you don’t have a pretty oval baking dish, don’t let that stop you; any 13" x 9" baking dish is perfect. Measure out 1/2 cup olive oil, then spoon out 1 Tbsp. and set aside for drizzling. Pour the remaining olive oil over the tomatoes, season with salt and red pepper flakes, and toss to coat. 5 mith more parsley.
PREPARATION Tomatoes: Cherry or grape tomatoes have just the right ratio of pulp to juice for this recipe. If you have a choice, go with cherry tomatoes— they burst and go jammy a little more readily than grape tomatoes. Plus, they look grand in the baking dish. Shallot: Sweet, mild shallots marry beautifully with tomatoes. If you don’t have access to shallots, feel free to substitute an approximately equal quantity of finely chopped red onion. Olive Oil: If 1/2 cup of oil seems like a lot, bear in mind that the olive oil is the sauce here. All the other ingredients just merge with it. Feta: A nice thick slab forms the centerpiece of this dish. Drain it well and handle gently to keep it intact. Thyme: With its subtly minty, slightly lemony flavor, thyme brings a wonderful freshness to the party. Feel free to swap in oregano if you're so inclined. Pasta: Short tubular pastas, such as macaroni or cavatappi, are ideal for this dish. They're easier to toss in the baking dish, and I love the way the sauce hides inside them.
RECIPE TIPS You are not required to change the oven temperature. The recipe calls for baking the feta with the tomatoes at 400°F for 30 minutes, then kicking it up for the last 10 minutes. After 30 minutes in the oven, I found my feta well on its way to a pretty shade of golden on top. To avoid burning any extra additions like garlic and herbs, I think it's best to keep the temperature steady. Amp up the tomatoes. While many recipes only call for one pint of tomatoes, after testing this recipe, I decided to add two for a fuller, more flavorful sauce. Adding pasta water helps. A scoop of pasta water will help stretch your sauce to coat your pasta more smoothly and generously. Baked Feta Pasta Variations My top tip for making this pasta? Play around with it—add more than just tomatoes and feta. Quartered shallots will get nice and jammy, and smashed garlic will infuse the olive oil. Like spice? Throw in a ton of crushed red pepper flakes. Got rosemary? Add a couple sprigs for an earthy touch. Not feeling feta? Swap it out for goat cheese or brie, like in our baked brie pasta. Storage If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for around 3-4 days.
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CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
FASHION
RED REIGNS
THE FALL/WINTER FEVER OF 2026 C.L. BLACKBURN CONTRIBUTING WRITER History tells us that red has always held a commanding place in the sartorial and cultural imagination. From the sands of antiquity to the high-fashion runways of today, this bold hue has never been merely a color—it is a statement. The Roots of Power: Ancient Civilizations Long before it graced modern mood boards, red was the ultimate symbol of duality, authority, and life force across the ancient world: Ancient Egypt: Red represented both life and destruction, vitality and danger, and was intimately tied to royalty and the god Seth.
Red Leather from work to play with a change of the top
Across Africa: Throughout the continent, red carries rich, diverse, and dual meanings —symbolizing vitality, strength, and ancestral connection in some regions, while denoting grief, mourning, or sacrifice in others. Ancient Greece and Rome: Red was the undeniable color of war and power. Roman soldiers marched in crimson tunics, generals painted their bodies red during triumphs, and the shade was revered as the signature of Mars, the god of war.
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Ancient China: Aligned with the fire element, red embodied good fortune, prosperity, leadership, and power during iconic dynasties such as the Zhou, Han, and Ming.
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Majesty and Meaning: The Middle Ages and the Renaissance As societies evolved, so did the narrative of red, cementing its status as a marker of the divine and the elite: Religious Symbolism: In Christian art and vestments, red evoked the blood of Christ, sacrifice, martyrdom, and the fiery spirit of the divine.
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Status and Wealth: Because vibrant natural dyes like cochineal and vermilion were exceptionally rare and costly to produce, red garments became a strict, undeniable marker of high social rank, reserved exclusively for cardinals, nobility, and the European upper crust. Master Painters: Renaissance icons like Titian and Raphael masterfully deployed rich reds to anchor their compositions, drawing the eye directly to central figures and conveying deep emotional intensity.
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY 19
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 | MELODY WINSTON
CHICAGO NEWS WEEKLY
20