Van Morrison: Days Like This

Van Morrison made a minor comeback in 1995 with his album Days Like This.

Watch as Van the Man performs the title track.

Chicago workers cottages on the South Side

On the 3300 block of South Damen near the Target Store on the South Side of Chicago is a dazzling row of Chicago workers cottages. Brick homes in this style were especially popular after the Chicago Fire.

Simple, elegant, and cheap. What's not to like?

It appears that after these homes were built Damen was raised.

Daughter of Democratic state rep from Chicago charged with stapling primary opponent's head

Illinois politics reached another new low this week--and surely this won't be the final new low.

On the other hand we might be privy to more of what Mayor Rahm Emanuel calls "Chicago values."

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Robert Zwolinski said he was floored when he learned that one of the people who'd allegedly attacked him and stapled his forehead outside his Ukrainian Village campaign headquarters earlier this month was the daughter of his opponent in his unsuccessful Illinois House race.

"My common sense intuition said no way it would be her daughter because that in itself sounds so extreme," Zwolinski told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Jessica Soto, the daughter of state Rep. Cynthia Soto, was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 bail Friday for the attack Cook County prosecutors said left Zwolinski with a black eye, broken nose and six stitches to his forehead.

Jessica Soto and Bradley Fichter, both 26, both face three felony counts of aggravated battery in connection with the March 6 incident in the 800 block of North Ashland.

While violent attacks are not unusual in Chicago, stapling of people is rare.

Cynthia Soto is a Democrat, which the Sun-Times somehow managed to leave out of its account of the alleged assault--she defeated Zwolinksi in Tuesday's primary election.

According to Soto's General Assembly website, "[s]he has sponsored legislation reflecting her commitment to working families, access to affordable health care, better schools, and safer neighborhoods."

Just watch out for those errant staplers.

(Photos) Abandoned farm buildings near Orland Park

When I attended Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park the area around 159th Street and Wolf Road was mostly rural. West of Will-Cook Road it was even more so.

I was back last week and the area isn't as developed as I had expected. The Great Recession and Illinois' fiscal mismanagement has slowed if not stopped the growth of sprawl southwest of Chicago.

In front of the silo appears to be an old chicken coop.

West of Will-Cook Road just outside of Homer Glen is this collapsed barn.

There is fresh hay in this barn--so it may not be completely abandoned. The land between here and Century Junior High is still farmed.

On the same farm is a corn crib.

Exactly what is this hangar? I dunno.

This garage has seen better days.

These vintage agricultural buildings from the first red barn down are on the southeast corner of the intersection of Wolf Road and 159th Street--where Illinois Route 7 and US Route 6 meet.

Related post:

(Photo) The Spirit of '76 Illinois style

Chiraq: 1 dead and 21 wounded in St. Patrick's Day and Friday morning shootings

The luck of the Irish bypassed Chicago on St. Patrick's Day as one person was shot to death and at least 21 others were wounded in shootings all over the city on Thursday into Friday morning. One other person was stabbed.

Interstate 57 was shut down after a man was wounded while driving near 111th Street.

Meanwhile last week's anti-Donald Trump riot continues to be news.

Related post:

Chicago area expressway shootings double in one year

White House admits in Twitter photo: Cuba is a communist prison

Next week our leftist president, Barack Obama, will visit that left-wing Valhalla, communist Cuba.

Take a look at this White House Tweet. Even Obama's staff admits that Cuba is a massive prison.

Get a first look at the key stops @POTUS will make during his #CubaVisit next week → https://t.co/Dfbi5gPyYQ pic.twitter.com/Zgq1ChK8hR

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 17, 2016

Mammatus clouds over Oakton Street in Des Plaines

Nature blessed Des Plaines, Illinois on Wednesday evening with a display of mammautus clouds--colloquially known as cotton ball clouds--over the Oakton Street bridge on the Des Plaines River.

(Video) Blame for Chicago anti-Trump riot belongs with the protesters

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly un-tangles the media web protecting the left-wing activists who forced the cancellation of last week's Donald Trump rally in Chicago that turned into a riot.

The violence is the fault of the leftists--not Donald Trump and his growing army of supporters.

Oh, Trump won the Illinois Republican primary.

My post at Da Tech Guy:

Obama’s anti-free speech ’08 campaign set the tone for Chicago attack on Trump

Related posts:

• Exclusive: An eyewitness account of the Chicago Trump rally from a new Trump supporter
• No free speech in Chicago: Leftist mob forces postponement of Trump rally

(Video) Hillary admits to hacking threat with personal computers and devices

Inadvertently of course, but in an interview a couple of years ago at a data storage company Hillary Clinton acknowledged the dire hacking threat of personal devices such as computers when bring them to China or Russia because "they would penetrate them in a minute."

Blago's father-in-law may be out as Chicago ward boss

Although they were estranged years before disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich began his federal prison sentence, it's safe to say that without former Chicago alderman and longtime 33rd Ward Democratic committeeman Dick Mell, Blago would never have had a political career.

Like Dr. Frankenstein's creation, the monster turned on Mell when he had the first opportunity, which was shortly after Blago won his first gubernatorial election.

In what appears to be an upset, unknown Aaron Goldstein holds a narrow lead over Mell for the office of ward committeeman. Mell resigned his aldermanic post in the tradition of Chicago pols--greasing the way for a handpicked successor. In his case it was for his daughter, Deb, who is of course Blago's sister-in-law.