I’ve been off-line since Labor Day, side-lined by some health issues - what the medical professionals feared was a stroke.
I’m happy to say it was not a stroke.
It may have been a mini stroke, so I’m still taking it easy.
Loyal readers may know that I moved headquarters from Chicago to Brooklyn last June.
I love it here.
I still miss so much about Chicago though.
But in moving I feared I would miss the fight for justice and democracy that has been so much a part of my political life in Chicago.
Make no mistake. Political corruption in Chicago is an endemic thing. The Democratic Machine has changed over the years but has not disappeared. It has just morphed into new forms.
Ex-alderman Eddie Vrdolyak has gone in to jail and out again. Ex-alderman Eddie Burke has been convicted and sentenced to two years.
Chicago is routinely named the most corrupt city in the United States, according to a UIC study. We've had 30 aldermen convicted of corruption since I moved there in 1973 to do political organizing.
We’ve had some political wins against the Machine.
There was that amazing, historic day when we elected Harold Washington as the first Black mayor.
Then we elected him again.
And then Lori Lightfoot.
But it turns out I won’t be missing a thing when it comes to city corruption.
Corruption in my new home has shown up.
Federal agents raided the homes of three of Mayor Eric Adams' top aides on Wednesday, according to an administration official familiar with the matter.
The FBI searched the Manhattan home of the first deputy mayor, Sheena Wright, which she shares with her partner, Schools Chancellor David Banks. Agents also searched the Queens home of the deputy mayor for public safety, Phil Banks.
The searches represent federal law enforcement officials' deepest incursion yet into the mayor’s inner circle, a trio close political observers often refer to as “the family.” Phil Banks is one of the mayor’s closest allies, and their relationship dates back to their days in the NYPD. Schools Chancellor David Banks is the deputy mayor’s brother, and is in a relationship with Wright. In a brief statement Friday morning, David Banks said he was cooperating with a federal inquiry but could not comment further.
The 2025 New York City mayoral election will be held on November 4th.