August 22, 2003

Chicago Guild welcomes
CWA delegates to city

By Mike Ulreich
President, Chicago Newspaper Guild

 Welcome to Chicago and the 68rth annual convention of The Newspaper Guild. Many of you have been to Chicago before, in fact, I'd dare to say that most of you have been to Chicago either as kids with your parents or as parents with your kids or on business because

Chicago is the capitol of the Midwest, the main cultural and commercial outpost of the Great Lakes region, the ultimate destination of immigrants from both other countries and other Midwestern states who migrate to the fabled big city by the lake. Chicagoans tend to be friendlier than other people, at least many Chicagoans are warmer and friendlier, because they come from those sanctuaries of Midwest virtues like Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and yes, even Michigan, which has Detroit, it's true, but no city besides New York City, perhaps, can boast the ethnic diversity of Chicago.

The city you're in now, the so-called Second City, is basically a collection of its neighborhoods, almost 80 in all, segregated between the very rich and very poor, the manor-born and the ghetto-born, the black and the white and all those in-between. Wicker Park and Bucktown for the young, Wrigleyville and River North for the trendy, historic Bronzeville for African-Americans and Little Village and Pilsen for Hispanics. (And the suburbs for everyone else.)  In every neighborhood there is something to see and do, something historic or cultural or of just plain of interest to people who want to see a good cross-section of America.

The city has prospered aesthetically under Mayor Richard M. Daley, the son of the infamous Boss. You can see the fruits of his administration at Navy Pier, the site of this year's CWA convention, and you can see the results of Daley's rule downtown especially along north Michigan Avenue, which doesn't roll up its sidewalks at anymore 5 p.m. as it did some 20 years go when Chicagoans stopped going downtown. Mayor Daley brought them back through vigorous public works projects and increased police presence. You can see the stirrings of the new multi-million dollar Millennium Park off the lakefront south of the Hyatt. However you can also see the very latest acts of the Daley administration on our lakefront airport, or should I say the "late'' lakefront airport, Meigs Field.

Former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne, who did ignite Chicago's resurgence with Chicago Fest and the Taste of Chicago as well as Blues Fest and Jazz Fest, (this weekend features Latin Fest at Grant Park) and her plans for a world's fair in Chicago, boldly attacked Daley in last Sunday's Sun-Times, saying that she was appalled at his "arrogant disregard of due process.

''If you flew over Meigs Field on your way into the city, you'd have noticed giant crosses dug into the runways. Daley covertly brought in bulldozers in the middle of the night to carve up the runways, allegedly in the name of national security. He said he feared a small plane might take off from Meigs Field filled with explosives and slam into the Sears Tower. Many Chicagoans were horrified by these "police state'' actions, taken in the name of 9/11, without notification of the City Council and done quickly to avoid wasting time with court battles with groups like Friends of the Parks. Actually the word was that he had always longed for an excuse to wipe out the little airport, seemingly used mainly by cardiologists, to create more lakefront park space, but the security concerns following 9/11 gave him the excuse, as it did other national leaders, to flout the laws and solve other problems.

Yes, Chicago is known for its Mayor Daleys but Chicago is also known historically for the collection of gangsters who ruled the town from the turn-of-the-century through Prohibition and some say right through the present day. But it was New York City who gave us Al Capone and we've been stuck with him ever since. Al Capone's hat sits not too far from my new home in Fox Lake, in a glass-enclosed case at the Mineola Hotel.

But Chicago is rightfully known in the modern-era for its fine museums, great clubs and fabulous restaurants, and the only authentic Chicago pizza in the world. I once did a story on an Italian man who claims his father invented pizza and brought it and mozzarella cheese right off the boat to Chicago. He had a small pizzeria in Buffalo Grove but whether thin crust or deep dish, I prefer thin crust in fact, if you are interested in this facet of Chicago culture I can take you to Coletti's which has my favorite thin crust pizza or Pizzo D'Oro on Northwest Highway in my old neighborhood of Norwood Park, also a fine authentic Chicago pizza while deep dish Chicago pizza restaurants like Lou Malnati's and Pizzeria Due are readily available within walking distance downtown.

If you are a baseball fan you arrived just in time to see two Chicago teams fade from pennant races at the same time. As I write this piece the Cubs, the cuddly symbol of professional baseball frustration, are a half-game out of first place and the Sox, the eternal hope of Chicago's south side, are two games out. Unfortunately, if you've never had a chance to visit Wrigley Field, will be out of town during the convention, (Ozzie Osbourne has already come and gone, singing his version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game'' at Wrigley Field last week, but his memory will linger) but the Sox will be home for games this weekend against the Texas Rangers and Sox Park, or Comiskey Park or U.S. Cellular Field, whatever you want to call it, is easily accessible from downtown by the El. Games are at 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. If you want to see a truly horrible baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers will be home to play Pittsburgh at 8 p.m. Friday night, 7 p.m. Saturday night and 2 p.m. Sunday before they take off for Cincinnati. Milwaukee is a short ( 90-minute) ride up the Kennedy Expressway to the Edens and on to I-294 and Milwaukee, our second city.

Chicago is also known for its 16-inch softball, played without mitts and a lot of testosterone, and anyone interested in seeing this sport played is welcome to accompany me Sunday to a game between my Liberty League team of 16-year-old hard ball players and what they call the old men, at Norwood Park in Chicago. We will even find you a position to play on the field and in the lineup. We also have beaches. Near the hotel you'll find two trendy Chicago beaches, North Avenue and Oak Street.

If it's a fine Chicago day you may want to walk along the lakefront using the bike path that goes north to Lincoln Park, where there's a zoo and the Chicago Historical Society. The Field Museum is located along the lakefront next to Soldier Field among a cluster of institutions which includes the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. A good time to visit the planetarium is Friday night, the Aquarium has a wonderful Oceanarium with dolphins, sharks and whales and the Field Museum is featuring an exhibit of Egyptian relics from the British Museum. At the Art Institute you can see a exhibit of "Velazquez From the Prado,'' 19th century prints of Americans in Japan, called "Yokohama-e,'' an exhibit on Chicago and the Art of the New Frontier 1890 to 1940 and the intriguing "Art of Engineering from NASA's Aeronautical research.'' Tuesdays are at the Art Institute.

But my favorite cultural institution is always free and located right on the corner of Randolph and Michigan, the Chicago Cultural Center, the former Chicago library that now features many contemporary art exhibits, the Museum of Broadcast Communications and a tourist information center.

For a complete guide to the sights and sounds of Chicago, pick-up Friday's Sun-Times and peruse the Weekend section, which also features movie reviews by the nationally-acclaimed critic Roger Ebert. (Don't read the Tribune, it's riddled with conflicts of interest).

While you're here in Chicago you are officially tourists. I've been to conventions in Minneapolis, Memphis, Buffalo, Ottawa, Cleveland, Las Vegas, St. Louis, and yes, Danya, even Peoria and now I'm proud as heck to welcome my union brothers and sisters to a great and historic union town, Chicago, located at the heart of the Midwest America.