By Sidney Madden | @sidney_madden_

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🗳️ POLITICS

Happy election year, City Cast readers! There’re a lot of local offices up for grabs including the much-anticipated midterms. Here’s what you can expect: 

Heading to the U.S. Capital?
1st District: Activist Jahmal Cole is the candidate with the highest profile — and most in campaign contributions — now that long-time Rep. Bobby Rush is retiring, according to NBC Chicago. 

6th District: Democrat Reps. Marie Newman and Sean Casten will face off in a crowded race. 

15th District: With the backing of former President Donald Trump, freshman GOP Rep. Mary Miller is challenging Rep. Rodney Davis. 

Mansion Bound
Gov. JB Pritzker, aka the richest governor in the country, and hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, aka the richest person in the state, are both preparing to dump a lot of money into the gubernatorial race. 

Pritzker had $25 million in the bank in September. (He spent a record $171.5 million in 2018, more than any other candidate had spent self-financing in U.S. history, according to Politico.) 

Meanwhile, Griffin has not yet announced which GOP nominee he’s backing.

New Boss at the DMV
After almost 25 years in office, Secretary of State Jesse White is retiring. And it’s a big deal: The 87-year-old is a popular public figure, in part because of the Jesse White Tumblers, reporter Rachel Hinton told City Cast. 

So who is vying for his seat? Former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, state Rep. Dan Brady of central Illinois, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, and Alds. Pat Dowell of the 3rd Ward and David Moore of the 17th Ward, Documenters said.

Let the races begin 🏁

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🤒 COVID-19 GUILT

Due to the return of a somewhat normal life post-vaccines and the highly contagious omicon variant, most of us know someone who has had COVID-19. Or we’ve gotten it ourselves.

And even if you do everything “right,” you could still contract the disease.

But shame and stigma has prevented some people from disclosing their positive status, leading to even more infections. 

🎧 Listen to psychologist Sheehan Fisher explain the shame and offer ways to help with the anxiety attached to this wave of the pandemic.

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📰 NEWSFEED

▪️ Illinois COVID-19 hospitalizations are reaching record highs. [WGN]

▪️ The Chicago Teachers Union is expected to vote today on whether to temporarily switch to remote learning. [WBEZ]

▪️ Downtown Starbucks workers could soon unionize. [Crain’s Chicago]

▪️ “South Side” is a treasure and so are the many restaurants mentioned on the hit show 🤤 [Eater Chicago]

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📣 CITY CAST SHOUTOUT 

First shoutout of 2022 goes to Annie Bayliss for telling peeps to subscribe to the City Cast newsletter! 
Get swag, shoutouts, and more when your friends sign-up, too

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🗓️ EVENTS

+ WEDNESDAY: Skip the small talk in Logan Square
Have deep convos at Pilot Project Brewing Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

+ THURSDAY: Chicago Recovery Plan webinar
Business owners can learn how to apply for city grants Thursday at noon.

+ SATURDAY: “Three Girls From Bronzeville” run
See the sights mentioned in Dawn Turner’s memoir Saturday at noon.

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 ​🎭 MADE IN CHICAGO

An old clip of comedian Stephen Colbert performing with his improv group No Fun Mud Piranhas at the ImprovOlympic college league is surfacing. 

Piranhas founder Chris Pfaff said it was likely “The Late Show” host’s first time on TV. [Chicago Sun-Times]

💻 Watch the clip!

🎧 Listen to Colbert tell City Cast how the improv troupe got its name.

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