December 14 - 20, 2020

December 14 - 20, 2020 Vol. 28 No. 48

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Arts & (Home) Entertainment

Chicago events and gatherings are cancelled until further notice. We are replacing our usual calendar with recommendations from StreetWise vendors, readers and staff to keep you entertained at home!

SportsWise

The SportsWise team discusses college football.

Cover Story: Top 10 stories of 2020 Take a look at the top 10 stories StreetWise has reported during this tumultuous year.

Inside StreetWise

Vendor A. Allen appraises the editions of StreetWise that made a difference this year.

The Playground THIS PAGE: StreetWise Vendor Gregg Cole picks up some fresh magazines and fresh food at StreetWIse's new offices located at 2009 S. State St.

Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher

dhamilton@streetwise.org

StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI

Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief

suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com

Amanda Jones, Director of programs

ajones@streetwise.org

Julie Youngquist, Executive Director

jyoungquist@streetwise.org

Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616

LEARN MORE AT streetwise.org

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ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time.

To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to: Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org

Holiday Laughs!

'That’s Weird, Grandma: House Par-Tay' - Holiday Edition From Christmas to Hanukkah to New Year’s, PlayMakers Laboratory rings in the holidays with all new performances of its popular online revue, "That’s Weird, Grandma: House Par-Tay," a creative series of stories written by elementary school students, adapted and performed by PML’s professional actors and directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd. PML’s holiday edition of "That’s Weird, Grandma: House Par-Tay" streams Mondays at 8 p.m. via Patreon, with a completely new show released on December 14, 21, & 28. $2-4 per week at https://bit.ly/36wRJ0d

Local Poets

Open Door Series: Beth McDermott & Maya Marshall Join the Poetry Foundation on December 15 at 7 p.m. for a live virtual reading with Beth McDermott and her student Eva Bruno, and Maya Marshall and her student Katharine Grace de Jesus Flores.

The Open Door series presents work from Chicago’s new and emerging poets and highlights the area’s outstanding writing programs. The event will feature readings by two Chicagoland writing program instructors and two of their current or recent students. FREE. Register online at poetryfoundation.org

(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT

Giving Back!

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NYCE Network for Women Toy Drive West Austin and Pill Hill Development Centers along with Child Care Advocates United (CCAU) will host a Christmas “Toys for Kids” toy collection and fundraiser December 15-17, at the West Austin Development Center, 4520 W. Madison Ave. and at the Pill Hill Development Center, 8802 S. Stony Island Ave. 2 - 6 p.m. These deliveries will take place on the West and South Sides of Chicago to underprivileged children whose parents are unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hauukkah Giggles!

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins Will Hershel of Ostropool outsmart the goblins who haunt the old synagogue so that villagers can celebrate Hanukkah? In this virtual adaptation of the Caldecott Honor-winning book, the story comes to life with music and a little bit of magic for families of all ages to sing along and enjoy.

As part of its efforts to support neighboring organizations in the greater Chicago community, Strawdog theatre will share part of the proceeds from this production with The Jewish Council of Urban Affairs.

Tickets start at $25 for performances on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 & 4 p.m. through December 20 at strawdog.org

A Christmas Classic Reimagined!

Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol In this world premiere online event created for audiences of all ages, interdisciplinary performance collective Manual Cinema takes on Charles Dickens’s holiday classic with a visually- and musically-inventive adaptation made to broadcast directly to your home. An avowed holiday skeptic, Aunt Trudy has been recruited to channel her late husband Joe’s famous Christmas cheer. From the isolation of her studio apartment, she reconstructs his annual Christmas Carol puppet show over a Zoom call while the family celebrates Christmas Eve under lockdown. But as Trudy becomes more absorbed in her own version of the story, the puppets take on a life of their own, and the family’s call transforms into a stunning cinematic adaptation of Dickens’s classic ghost story. Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is a live-performed, live-streamed event using hundreds of paper puppets, miniatures, silhouettes, and a live original score. Tickets start at $15 per screen.

Playing December 16 at 10 a.m., 17 at 7 p.m., 18 at 7 & 9 p.m., 19 at 3 & 7 p.m., and 20 at 3 & 6 p.m. For more info and tickets, visit www.manualcinema.com/christmascarol. Closed-caption and audio-described tickets are available.

History comes Alive!

Franklin Vagnone’s 'One Night Stand’ at Paradise Garden In part two of a special two-part series, co-author of "Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums" Franklin Vagnone joins Intuit to recount his “One Night Stand” at Paradise Garden, a fantastical art environment constructed by outsider artist Howard Finster.

As part of a blog series, Vagnone spends the night in the bedrooms of historic houses and sites and writes about his interactions with the buildings. Through his "One Night Stand" series, Vagnone attempts to shift our understanding of historic house museums away from the perception that they are solely public venues to a more intimate appreciation of these museums as places of private, domestic life. FREE on December 17 at 6 p.m. at https://www.art.org/franklin-vagnones-one-night-stand-atparadise-garden/

Chicago Traditions!

CTA Holiday Train and Bus The six-car holiday train is decorated with multi-colored lights and features a flat car in the middle that carries Santa and his reindeer. Car interiors are decked with bows, garland, red and green lighting and hand poles wrapped to look like candy canes. Festive holiday music is played and Santa’s elves are on hand to greet customers and spread holiday cheer. The train will run between approximately 2 and 9 p.m. on weekends and 3 and 7 p.m. on weekdays (schedules for each individual line will vary, see transitchicago.com), and will make stops at all stations along the respective routes. For 2020, trains will run "out of service," without passengers and photo ops with Santa, to allow social distancing. December 18: Purple Line; December 19: Red Line; December 20: Orange Line.

The Holiday Bus exterior features Chicago's skyline one snowy evening with “Ralphie the Reindeer” leading the way, his nose aglow and Santa’s sleigh in tow. Festive strings of lights outline the bus and its windows, along with sparkling snowflakes that light up at night. These buses will run in the afternoon on: December 15 & 16: #62 Archer; December 17: #49 Western / #X49 Western Express; December 18: #79 79th Street; December 19: #3 King Drive. Normal CTA fares apply.

Music to my Ears!

'Zoot Suit' Chicano playwright Luis Valdez masterfully uses the Sleepy Lagoon murder case to examine the Chicano "Zoot Suit" Culture of the '40s. Passionate and provocative, Zoot Suit pulses with the beat of big band music and traditional Latin songs.

This is the original Audio Theatre broadcast of the complete performance recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles in July 2001.

The performance includes a conversation with Alma Martinez, an original cast member of Luis Valdez’s "Zoot Suit," both on stage and on film, in the role of Lupe. Since then, Alma has appeared in countless films, television performances, and stage credits, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, and the Mexican and American stages. $25 suggested donation at porchlightmusictheatre.org

-Compiled by Dave Hamilton

www.streetwise.org

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Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

SPORTSWISE

Where We Stand

Donald: SportsWise here for another edition. This week, we discuss college football and the upcoming playoffs.

Along with myself, I have John, Russ, and Patrick. Who wants to speak on it first?

John: I’ll go, Mr. Morris.

Donald (smiling): That’s Donald to you, young man.

John: Right. Well, we all know due to COVID-19, it’s been a challenge to follow college football because of the irregularity of games played. Unless things change, I believe the current top-4 ranked teams—Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Clemson—will be the final four come playoff time. Especially Ohio State considering its two remaining games are Michigan and Michigan State, two teams who, even though they generally give Ohio State trouble, are not as good as they were in recent years.

Russ: John, let me step in really quick and say it always seems as if the same few teams are at the top of the rankings in the part of the season that dictates the eventual champion. Only one team this year,

with

LSU, isn’t a relative regular. Teams such as Alabama and Ohio State have excellent teams every year; could simply be good recruitment I guess. Anyway, this year, I’m going with Alabama and Notre Dame to make it to the championship game.

Patrick: You know, I’ll admit this is one of the first years in recent years I’ve really watched college football, so I’m like a fish floundering on the side of the river. But what I do know is I wish with everything in me that Notre Dame wins this championship. I believe the current final four will remain so, and, using my brain instead of my heart, I believe the final two will be Alabama and Clemson. Those southern teams just seem to win every friggin’ year…though Ohio State trips up this process every so often.

John: I have to agree with you about the South’s dominance,

College Football

especially Clemson this year.

I believe it’ll be Clemson vs.

Alabama, and Notre Dame vs. Ohio State. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, in postCOVID-19 mode, will help give Clemson the edge… while showcasing himself as today’s best college football player.

Donald: I like Trevor Lawrence. He’s a bad boy.

Patrick: Though I’ve watched college football more this year than in years prior, I don’t know Trevor Lawrence as well as I possibly should, but listening to John speak about him, I am all-in with my prediction. So, yeah, like I mentioned up above, I believe the final two’ll be Alabama and Clemson—with Clemson edging them. Mind you, Alabama has been wrecking shop all year…but something about Clemson gets me.

Russ: I agree with you about Alabama: they’ve been dominant all season. Oddly, I’m

not going with Alabama either; this year, Notre Dame’s my pick.

Donald: What makes you think Notre Dame’ll do it?

And I ask because, with them being local, I’m a big fan. So, why them?

Russ: Well, a few years back, Notre Dame made the playoffs, but I didn’t pick them in SportsWise to win the championship. A customer bought the magazine at 9 a.m., returned at 9:05 a.m., asked me if I was Russell Adams, and then told me I had made a mistake in not picking ND. I haven’t seen her since, and although Notre Dame did win, I always wondered why people cried over sports—it is just sports, right?

Patrick: True. It is just sports…oh, but I get it: sports become a way of life. It’s wild how it works, man.

Any comments or suggestions?

Email pedwards@streetwise.org

top 10 stories of 2020 The

The year 2020 was one like no other in recent memory, with cataclysmic events at every turn that challenged old ways of doing things. In the end, appreciating our diversity and taking care of each other remained the common denominators in this year’s Top Ten stories unique to StreetWise.

by Suzanne Hanney

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You ARE BEAUTIFUl Chicago artist Matthew Hoffman has distributed 6.5 million “You Are Beautiful” (YAB) stickers around the world since 2002. He has received in return pictures of YAB stickers in Amsterdam, Mongolia, Antarctica and above a plaque on a Florida bridge where someone had committed suicide (June 15-21 online-only July 6-19 print, Vol. 28, No. 27).

“It reinforced my guiding principles,” Hoffman said, “to do some good and not add to the negativity.” StreetWise named him one of its 20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans of 2020.

Whether simple black type on a silver square or block lettering, you can find YAB signs in Andersonville, in Englewood, in Uptown, on South Lake Shore Drive. Recently, he has done other large installations: “Anything is Possible” in Roscoe Village; “Be Your Best Self” in Lincoln Square; “Go for It” in Pullman; “It’s OK Not to Be OK” for the Hope for the Day anti-suicide group.

Yes, the common denominator to his works is “You Are Enough,” he said in an email after reflection on his June StreetWise interview. “There’s so much going on, so many voices, people, and companies vying for your attention…it gets overwhelming and confusing. To have moments to be reminded everything’s OK and you’re enough – that’s essential.” It is a message that continued to resonate throughout the pandemic-induced isolation of 2020.

9 Michigan Avenue Bridge Centennial The Michigan Avenue Bridge, an engineering marvel, opened 100 years ago May 14 and began the transformation of North Michigan Avenue into the glamorous street of today (May 11-17, Vol. 28, No. 19).

The idea of making Michigan Avenue a major north-south thoroughfare gained traction from the “Plan of Chicago” in 1909. City planners also urged public spaces at both ends of the bridge and monumental buildings at each corner. Businesses took up this civic challenge: • The Wrigley Building, completed in 1921 on the northwest corner by chewing gum manufacturer William Wrigley Jr., was the first commercial structure to open north of the river, and spurred development.

• The London Guarantee Building, completed in 1923 on the southwest corner, features a sculpture of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, a reference to the maritime insurance sold by its namesake firm.

• Tribune Tower, completed in 1925 on the northeast corner, was the result of an international design competition by the newspaper company • 333 N. Michigan Ave., completed in 1928, featured an ice rink and private club on its 26th floor terrace.

The story also talked about the evolution of the squatter community east of Michigan Avenue into the pricey Streeterville, and Towertown, the artist and gay community centered at the Water Tower.

Suicide Prevention Month

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September is Suicide Prevention Month and since 2018, the state of Illinois has had a plan focused on education, community awareness, increased access to statistics, and funding for deterrence. K-12 school administrators must undergo training every two years to identify warning signs. Colleges and universities must inform students about mental health services and suicide prevention (Sept. 28-October 4, Vol. 28, No. 37).

Amid the heightened racial awareness since the pandemic, the story noted risk factors for many groups. Transgender adults are 12x more likely to attempt suicide in a given year than the general U.S. population, LBGTQ youth four times more likely than straight youth. Depression among Black youth is 30 percent higher than average for their age group. And while White women attempt suicide more frequently than White men, men are three to four times more likely to die, because they use more lethal methods such as guns.

“We’re all supposed to be these militant objects that can conquer all,” a mindset that stigmatizes men who share their emotions, said Jonny Boucher, founder of the Hope For The Day (HFTD) suicide prevention nonprofit, a member of the Illinois Suicide Prevention Alliance.

Both NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Chicago and Boucher say that making it commonplace and less taboo to talk about suicide is imperative to prevention. “You are Not Alone” is a NAMI slogan and “It’s OK Not to Be OK” is an HFTD campaign focused on self-care and support.

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Ella Jenkins, ‘First Lady of Children’s Music’

For 60+ years, Ella Jenkins has been making music with her audiences, which has led to 40 albums with Smithsonian Folkways, the title “First Lady of Children’s Music,” and a 2004 Grammy for Lifetime Achievement (November 16-22, Vol. 28, No. 44).

In 2017, Ella was named a Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. This year, StreetWise recognized the 96-yearold Ella as one its 20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans.

Growing up on the South Side, Ella’s earliest exposure to music was her Uncle Floyd playing harmonica and Cab Calloway’s “hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi!” She pioneered the children’s music genre, using the same call-and-response technique, as in her signature composition: “You sing a song and I’ll sing a song. And we’ll sing a song together.”

That togetherness will save us today, music educator Thomas Moore said in “We’ll Sing a Song Together,” a new documentary about Ella directed by Tim Ferrin, who was once one of the children inspired by Ella’s music. African call-and-response, Mexican hand clapping, Native American, traditional Jewish and yodeling – “Ella put the word ‘diversity’ in music before there was diversity in music,” says Lynn Orman, a publicist and friend of over 30 years. She took this music to TV appearances on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Sesame Street and Barney.

Ferrin has watched Ella connect with his own children. “She’s a facilitator. She’s someone who can come into a place and get everybody cooperating, and that is a very special skill.”

6 Folded Map Project

When Tonika Lewis Johnson commuted two hours each way from Englewood to Lane Tech High School, she realized that northsouth streets like Ashland, Paulina and Western looked different in her neighborhood than on the Northwest Side. If you folded the map of Chicago at Madison Street, Englewood would touch neighborhoods like Andersonville, Edgewater and Rogers Park.

Johnson, who is one of the 2020 StreetWise Most Inspiring Chicagoans, began the Folded Map Project as a tool to examine segregation in Chicago. Her medium is photography of crosstown addresses like 6329 S. Paulina and 6330 N. Paulina and portraits of “Map Twins,” the people who live in them, which made the story particularly relevant in the heightened racism awareness after the death of George Floyd.

Johnson has encouraged the Map Twins to meet, to share experiences and to discuss what’s missing from their neighborhoods.

One South Side Map Twin said he would like a movie theater, a bowling alley, an after-school center for kids; his North Side twins couldn’t think of anything they lacked.

“With Chicago having streets that extend 15-18 miles from neighborhoods that are under-resourced to neighborhoods that are over-resourced, it just provided an opportunity for people to see it very clearly and to use photography as a means for them to expand their understanding, questions and thinking about what role our city has played in perpetuating this ongoing issue,” Johnson said (October 26-November 1, Vol. 28, No. 41). www.streetwise.org

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5 'Where I Stay'

StreetWise collaborated with Rivet to present the “Where I Stay” cover story and podcasts about Angelica, who was homeless for 20 years after her mother kicked her out at age 12.

The eight-part series, available weekly at www.streetwise.org/whereistay and wherever you find podcasts, is hosted by Jesse Betend and journeys through the child welfare and criminal justice systems as well as alternative economies that can feel like the only option for survival. Stylistically, Betend said Angelica’s story unfolds like Franco-Belgian comic book that treat serious issues.

“StreetWise saw this as a great opportunity to branch into a new medium to leverage its magazine coverage of homelessness, poverty, inequity and inequality, and life in Chicago,” said StreetWise Executive Director Julie Youngquist.

“The podcast featuring local, original art, and set to the sounds of those in the independent music scene, bridges advocacy and culture in a way that lifts the story off the page.”

Angelica told StreetWise Editor Suzanne Hanney she wanted to tell her story because she doesn’t look like the Google image of a homeless person: with torn shirt, living under a viaduct, during a blizzard. Instead, Angelica was “invisibly homeless,” not on the street but “doubled up” with friends – who did not provide the resources she needed, Chicago experts said. Her story resonated with them -- and with years of StreetWise coverage -- because it incorporated common aspects of homelessness: family dynamics, poverty, mental illness and more (November 23-29, Vol. 28, No. 45).

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20 most inspiring chicagoans

“Honoring the everyday heroes among us who are making our amazing city even stronger is so important, especially during these challenging and unprecedented times,” said StreetWise Executive Director Julie Youngquist (September 21-27, Vol. 28, No. 37). “Our 20 honorees of 2020 represent a wide variety of courageous people who selflessly work on behalf of others and represent the philanthropic spirit of the city.”

On October 1, during our virtual StreetWise Fundraising Gala presented by the Kadens Family Foundation, these 20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans were honored: Aleta Clark, founder of Hugs No Slugs Bryan Cressey, founder of Above and Beyond Recovery Center David Dietz, social responsibility program director at the National Basketball Association (NBA) Seth El-Jamal, program director for the Chicago Chapter of Friends of the Children Dr. Ngozi Ezkie, who has been a leading voice in containing the pandemic in Illinois Matthew Hoffman, custodian of You Are Beautiful, a project to better the world in little ways Adam Hollingsworth, the Dreadhead Cowboy Ella Jenkins, “First Lady of Children’s Music”

Tonika Johnson, social justice artist and photographer, founder of Folded Map Project Kristi Katz, Chicago Director of Field Operations with Jose Andre’s World Central Kitchen Diane Latiker, who founded the award-winning Kids Off The Block, Inc. in 2003 in her own home Ed Marszewski, director of the Public Media Institute, cofounder of Marz Community Brewing Co. and founder of Community Kitchen, which prepares 1,000 hot lunches a week for Chicagoans Lamell McMorris, founder of Greenlining Realty USA in West Woodlawn Dr. Izabel Olson, founder / CEO of Salt and Light Coalition Julian Posada, founder and president of LiftUp enterprises Chris Redd, actor, writer, rapper, standup comic returning to Saturday Night Live for his fourth season Olatunji Oboi Reed, founding president and CEO of Equiticity Britney Robbins, founder of The Gray Matter Experience Jesse Teverbaugh, director of student and alumni affairs at Cara LaSaia Wade, founder and executive director of Brave Space Alliance

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The Census

The U.S. Census every 10 years determines how much federal money states receive for programs like Medicare, Medicaid, TANF, Housing Choice Vouchers, school breakfasts and lunches; and also seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

StreetWise covered the census March 30 (Vol. 28, No. 13) “You Count! The 2020 Census” and June 22-28 (Vol. 28, No. 35) “You Still Count!”

Faced with the potential loss of two House seats from population loss and an undercount as bad as in 2010, the state of Illinois spent $40+ million on outreach for the 2020 census – more than any other state. Grants went to Regional Intermediaries (RIs), or “trusted messengers” for hard-to-count communities such as immigrants, LGBTQ, people of color, low-income or homeless people.

Their common denominator was a mistrust of government. This year, between the pandemic and the death of

George Floyd, more people fit that description.

That’s where the trusted messengers were important, said Regan Sonnabend, vice president of marketing and communications and census director at the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, an RI for LGBTQ people, for opportunity youth and for homeless people. The YWCA subcontracted with StreetWise, which joined the YWCA earlier this year, in reaching out to the latter. StreetWise vendors brought census information to their magazine sales locations and to their housing and service providers.

The pandemic also limited the usual face-to-face contact required for outreach, so the RIs got creative with Facebook and WhatsApp and even car caravans decorated with census information that honked their horns as they snaked through undercounted neighborhoods. The message after Floyd’s death was not only that “you count,” but to get yourself counted so that Chicago can receive federal resources to help you.

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‘Anguish & Action’ after the death of George Floyd

On May 25, George Floyd died after 8 minutes and 46 seconds under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, as shown in a haunting eyewitness video. In a special 36-page “Anguish & Action” edition June 8 (Vol. 28, No. 29), photographer Kathleen Hinkel captured protests in Chicago’s Loop, in Wrigleyville, Bronzeville, Uptown and Union Park.

Rendel Solomon, a StreetWise Most Inspiring Person for 2019, contributed an essay that “your but stinks” if you are still saying things like, “BUT other groups have faced discrimination” to justify an unarmed Black man’s death at the hands of a law enforcement officer.

StreetWise Chairman Emeritus Pete Kadens pondered how great the world would be “when none of this silly stuff like skin color or the numbers on a bank statement [matters], but rather things like work ethic, how you treated people who could do absolutely nothing for you and the quality of your inner character.”

The symbolism of Floyd’s death overshadowed the man himself, StreetWise Vendor Donald Morris noted, but it was a personal loss to his family and friends.

Floyd’s death ignited racial awareness across all color lines in Chicago, accentuated the racial inequities of the pandemic and influenced our coverage for the rest of 2020. In August, StreetWise did two editions for Black Owned Business Month: August 17-23, Part 1, on restaurants (Vol. 28, No. 32) and August 31-September 6, Part 2, on service and retail (Vol. 28, No. 34). Even the December 7 Holiday Gift Guide (Vol. 28, No. 47) sought out Black entrepreneurs.

The Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago, October 12-18 (Vol. 28, No. 39) forced to go virtual during the pandemic, featured buildings in underserved neighborhoods on the West and South Sides.

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1 Coronavirus

The Coronavirus is the top story of the year because social distancing to avoid contagion has shut down businesses and cultural events since April and impacted nearly every aspect of American life. The story continues into 2021, with no end in sight.

Because of shelter-in-place restrictions, StreetWise made the tough decision to discontinue publishing a print edition until it was again safe to congregate.

Shortly after moving from Uptown to the South Loop, StreetWise Magazine went to digital-only editions from April 13-19 until July 6. We led by example, so that all vendors understood the gravity of the situation. The office remained open, however, to provide emergency financial support and essential services such as counseling, meals and hygiene kits, including essential PPE, to vendors.

We encouraged supporters to purchase a digital issue or subscription to the magazine to continue to support their vendors in the interim. We printed a series of “I’m Still Here” stickers for vendors to post at their spots as reminders.

The August 3-9 Women & Coronavirus edition (Vol. 28, No 30) covered the disproportionate impact on women, according to a Women Employed panel.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April said 12.3 million jobs altogether were lost in three sectors where women comprise the majority of workers: retail, leisure and hospitality, health and education.

The edition also featured an Alpha Kappa Alpha panel that asked why African Americans were just 12 percent of the U.S. population, but 20 percent of COVID-19 cases. The answer? Where they live: in densely populated areas; where they work: in occupations where it is difficult to social distance, such as nursing, nail techs, tourism and transportation; and their unequal access to health care.

On October 16, Chicago Public Schools officials called safe, in-person instruction an “issue of equity” after they noted that Black and Latinx students were signed up for remote learning at lower rates than in previous years (October 26-November 1, Vol. 28, No. 41). CPS had loaned out 128,000 Chromebooks and set a goal of enrolling 100,000 students for free high-speed internet. However, only 38,000 students did so, because of outstanding debt the City was addressing. www.streetwise.org

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A. Allen Reflects on the StreetWise editions that came out in 2020

INSIDE STREETWISE

A large "You Are Beautiful" design welcomes vistors at Oakwood / 41st Street Beach off of South Lake Shore Drive.

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When I think about the Top Ten stories in StreetWise this year, I am reminded of “You Are Beautiful.” It put me in a good frame of mind to see Matthew Hoffman’s signs posted in Uptown and around Chicago.

I can’t help but think of my customers and StreetWise supporters such as the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. We vendors are very grateful for the YWCA stepping up and providing jobs for us, working on the U.S. census. Our job was to go out and advocate to homeless people that they should be counted regardless of where they stay. Some of these homeless people come to Catholic Charities on LaSalle Street for free meals to-go. A lot of my customers work at Catholic Charities and appreciated me being involved with the census as a vendor and me bringing this message to the people who picked up meals.

I am also grateful for the “Anguish and Action” edition about the protests after the death of George Floyd. It was mostly pictures, a collector’s edition. It is undated; vendors buy it for $2 and sell it for $5 even now. It’s a good magazine to have in case you run out of the weekly edition.

Last but not least, the Suicide Prevention edition was interesting. I’ll never forget a customer saying to me, “I know all about suicide. I’ve tried it eight times.” It was sad to hear, but I’ve met all kinds of people in my line of work and it keeps work interesting.

Because of the pandemic and people working from home, business at my regular Chicago & Franklin location became too slow. I got a lead from another vendor about a Starbucks with a drive-through at Clark and Ridge in Andersonville and so I now I sell there from 8 to 9:30 a.m. weekdays. Another new location for me is Mariano’s on Foster and Sheridan, where I work 4 to 6:30 p.m. weekdays. Both are closer to where I live. I don’t know if I will ever go back to my old Chicago & Franklin location, because my regular customers there communicate with me on Venmo.

Either way, the Top Ten editions have done me well as I continue to increase my sales.

Streetwise 12/7/20 Crossword To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Sudoku

©2020 PuzzleJunction.com

57 Starch from cuckoopint root 59 Fit for farming 63 Reo maker 65 Detective’s clue 67 Resting on 68 Magazine release 69 Female deer 70 Cunning 71 He loved Lucy 72 The “E” of B.P.O.E.

6 7 8 9

Kuwaiti ruler 30 Tumbler Kidney-related 32 Oncle’s wife Tenets 33 Wrath One of the 36 Stuffed Clantons 39 Bar mitzvah, 10 Secession e.g. advocate 41 Friend 11 Salacious look 44 “A Doll’s 12 Monthly util.

House” wife bill 46 Nobility 14 Gin cocktail 49 Ghoulish 17 Haile Selassie 51 Bandage disciple 53 Red seaweed 21 Put on board 55 Baker’s unit 24 Biscotto 56 Choir voice own flavoring 58 Trunk growth 1 Like some salts 26 Form of ether 60 Get-out-of-jail 27 Atomic 2 Cavort money 3 Misstep weapon 61 Coupling 4 Lemnos locale 28 Sound 62 Expires 29 Unconven5 Billboard 64 Operative listing Copyright ©2020 tional PuzzleJunction.com 66 “Certainement!”

Copyright ©2020 PuzzleJunction.com

©PuzzleJunction.com

lastSudoku week's Puzzle Answers Solution

Solution

Sudoku Solution

Find your nearest StreetWise Vendor at

PuzzleJu

Crossword Across 1 First name in jeans 5 Chinese nurse 9 Concentrated, in a way 14 Team members 15 Like candles 16 Town in England 17 Like some sandwiches 19 Model wood 20 Swab 21 Type of test 23 Saws 24 Express pleasure 25 Refines, as ore 28 Legal wrong 30 Bleed 33 Flick 59 Hollywood 34 ___ system favorite 36 Persia, today 60 Gawk at 37 Workers 61 Billiards shot 38 Fit of fever 62 Kind of pool 39 Deprive of 63 “___ there, speech done that” 41 Reprimand 42 Lt.’s inferior Down 43 Legal claim 1 Hang over 44 Cheat one’s head 45 Wall Street 2 Big show order 3 Political 46 Monocle part second banana 47 Genealogies 4 Lodge 52 I problem?

5 Looks for 55 Amphitheater 6 Ceremonial 56 Netherlands staffs city 7 Cut down 58 Change, as a 8 Jekyll’s clock counterpart

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9 Musical rhythms 10 Kind of motel 11 Lock part 12 Additionally 13 Close by 18 Champagne glass 22 Shipping weights 23 Static ___ 25 Strike down 26 Numbskull 27 Olympic swimmer Janet 28 Link 29 Fairy tale villain 30 Hardship 31 Throat dangler 32 Down and out

34 Lavish affection (on) 35 Diplomacies 37 Mars or Mercury 40 Wail 41 Good judgment 44 Retro car 45 Yearns 46 Allow to be known 47 Cultivate 48 District 49 Military meal 50 H.S. math 51 Was a passenger 52 Brink 53 Kind of force 54 Foreboding 57 Knock off

www.streetwise.org

How StreetWise Works

Our Mission

Orientation Participants complete a monthlong orientation, focusing on customer service skills, financial literacy and time management to become a badged vendor.

Financial Literacy Vendors buy StreetWise for $0.90, and sell it for $2. The profit of $1.10 goes directly to the licensed vendor for them to earn a living.

Supportive Services StreetWise provides referrals, advocacy and other support to assist participants in meeting their basic needs and getting out of crisis.

S.T.E.P. Program StreetWise’s S.T.E.P. Program provides job readiness training and ongoing direct service support to ensure participants’ success in entering the traditional workforce.

THE PLAYGROUND

To empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development resources and immediate access to gainful employment.

Solution

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THE CHICAGO PREMIERE

THE MOST SPECTACULARLY LAMENTABLE TRIAL OF

MIZ MARTHA WASHINGTON James Ijames Directed by Whitney White By

The recently widowed “Mother of America”—attended to by the very enslaved people who will be free the moment she dies—takes us deep into the ugly and thorny ramifications of America’s original sin.

RADICALLY VULNERABLE, OUTRAGEOUSLY HILARIOUS

APRIL 2 – MAY 17 | steppenwolf.org | 312-335-1650 MAJOR PRODUCTION SPONSOR

2019/20 GRAND BENEFACTORS

2019/20 BENEFACTORS