“I guess I’d better die now…. Otherwise a lot of people are going to be really disappointed!” —from “As Del Lay Dying,” an excerpt from The Funniest One in the Room by Kim “Howard” Johnson, April 3
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Your article “The Right to Rant” [Michael Miner, April 3] about the Okons was really informative. Our alderman has repeatedly stated that his vote on zoning issues reflects the community vote. The vote is usually taken within two weeks’ notification. Therefore, neighborhood organizing has become, and will continue to be, crucial in how the 47th Ward is developed. A SLAPPS suit like the ones the Okons have had to endure because of a developer like [James] Jaeger is cruel punishment for a couple who cared enough about their community to organize in the first place. I’m thrilled that a law like the Citizen Participation Act now exists to give the neighborhood voices more protection from lawsuits like this. We are organizing a fund-raiser and celebration of grassroots organizing at O’Donovan’s on April 25, 6-9 PM, for this couple’s legal fees to show our support as a neighborhood. Hopefully, the act will do its job, and they won’t need the money. Then it really will be a celebration. Organizers everywhere, keep your fingers crossed.
From Someone in the Rock World Who Takes Australia Very Seriously
Former Reader driver
This review is spot on as far as the pacing of the Mayfield documentary goes. While it’s hard to gripe at a free viewing of a film, I couldn’t help but think this documentary was a good 45 minutes too long.
