What’s New

This story was co-published with The TRiiBE.

Today, Mayor Lori Lightfoot told The TRiiBE that it was a mistake for a member of her campaign  to send emails to Chicago Public School teachers to encourage them to help with her re-election campaign in exchange for school credit. 

On Wednesday evening, Mayor Lightfoot’s campaign came under fire after asking Chicago Public School (CPS) teachers to encourage students to help her get re-elected in exchange for school credit. WTTW Politics Reporter Heather Cherone first reported the story. 

“Late yesterday afternoon, I learned that in an effort to recruit young people to the campaign . . . a campaign staffer accessed publicly available email addresses for CPS teachers,” Lightfoot said in a one-on-one interview with The TRiiBE before a Thursday afternoon press conference. “Obviously, that was a mistake. From day one, we erected not just a line but a wall, between the campaign political side and any official side,” she said. 

The campaign staffer “understands the magnitude of the issue that has been created,” Lightfoot added.

“I explained to her personally why this could not happen, and what the implications were. I think she gets it. We have reiterated our ethics standards, and why that wall is important to the entire staff again today.”

“It was a mistake, it shouldn’t happen. And I’m confident that won’t happen again.”

Mayoral candidates such as Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas were quick to issue statements condemning the emails. Alderpersons Daniel LaSpata, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and Byron Sigcho-Lopez issued a joint statement today that characterized the emails as “coercion of government employees to support her re-election campaign.”

On Thursday, CPS inspector general Will Fletcher announced an investigation of the incident. “[W]e are currently gathering information to determine which, if any, policies have been violated,” he told WGN News. 

The district has ethics guidelines for political activity. They state, “A political campaign should not be using the CPS email system to solicit volunteers and donations. Please report the behavior and forward the emails to Ethics Advisor.”

The Chicago Board of Ethics plans to discuss the matter at its next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 23, according to WTTW. 

Lightfoot said it is unclear how many emails were sent to CPS teachers. 

Lightfoot will host a press conference at 3:00 pm with reporters. 

This is a breaking news story; stay tuned for updates.

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Despite the increased spotlight on marginalized voices in the ever-evolving film landscape, criticism doesn’t particularly reflect that. The majority of film critics still tend to be straight, white males, unrepresentative of the world around them. The Call Sheet is a new magazine that aims to disrupt that.

“The gist of it is . . . to elevate emerging artists and films that aren’t necessarily really represented enough, like women, nonbinary [people], women of color,” cofounder Rebecca Martin Fagerholm says. 

But even more than that, cofounder Erica Duffy says The Call Sheet—comprising articles, interviews, and essays—uses those writers and stories to highlight the current state of filmmaking. “Our [in]formal kind of tagline has been, ‘This magazine will take you behind the scenes of the filmmakers of today,’” she says.  

Martin Fagerholm, a film journalist and film festival director, founded Cinema Femme, a magazine for women to write about film, in 2018. 

“I was just tired of middle-aged white men’s voices being elevated about cinema,” she says. “I was like, ‘You know what? We need more female voices out there.’”

This throughline for Martin Fagerholm struck a chord with Duffy, founder and CEO of Camera Ambassador. Camera Ambassador is a local equipment rental house that provides production rentals ranging from tape and cameras to lights and other on-set needs. It’s one of three rental houses in America owned by women. Once Duffy came across Martin Fagerholm’s weekly newsletter in 2020 and found out she was also based in Chicago, they connected, and the two held regular conversations, or an “informal brain trust,” as Duffy described it. This is where the idea for The Call Sheet—named after the sheets found on movie sets, dictating each actor’s shooting assignments—first emerged.

“When Rebecca mentioned it, I kind of had this lightbulb moment,” she says, noting that team members at Camera Ambassador have wanted to create a magazine for a while, but Duffy didn’t know where to start. “I saw both of our strengths and the strength of our companies, as well [as] in our audience, and that if we came together to do a collaboration like we are with The Call Sheet, that it would just be these worlds colliding and like a beautiful collaboration and playing to everybody’s strengths.”

Despite the rarity of women-owned businesses like Camera Ambassador, Duffy wants to emphasize that it’s not an “abnormal thing,” even though the numbers are “still grossly weighed one way.” In the same way, The Call Sheet strives not only to focus on underrepresented voices in film, but to also normalize them and “slowly [change] that narrative that this is the modern filmmaker. [These are] important stories and important voices in the industry now.” 

It’s important for The Call Sheet to feature filmmakers who don’t subscribe to the older, mainstream, white male gaze. The founders also want to create a space that isn’t just for the groups they tell stories about. Martin Fagerholm points to Barry Jenkins’s 2016 film Moonlight, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, among many other accolades. The film creates such empathy and emotion that it can get any filmgoer to feel something deep, even if you’re not a queer Black boy in Miami. Martin Fagerholm wants to focus on films that do this same thing, giving “authentic, universal stories” and having marginalized writers touch on them.

Martin Fagerholm and Duffy hope that featuring underrepresented writers and films will be a draw for others who are hungry to see and create their own stories one day. But that, of course, doesn’t mean that The Call Sheet is only for one demographic. 

“I think this magazine is for everybody,” Duffy shares. “The way that the storytelling is done and the way that the magazine has been designed, it’s an enjoyable read . . . no matter who you are, where you’re from, what background you are.” The word “authentic” comes up a lot between Martin Fagerholm and Duffy when discussing the overall mood of The Call Sheet because they believe the authenticity of those writing for The Call Sheet and the stories they’re covering generates criticism about art that is real and matters. 

“I think when you can sit down with the magazine in the comfort of your own home, there’s a place of vulnerability with you in those words, and that will be something that people really gravitate to,” she says.

The very first issue debuts on January 19 in both print and digital form. Both Camera Ambassador and Cinema Femme released the cover art for The Call Sheet’s inaugural issue to Instagram, following the issue’s theme of “Healing Through Your Art.”

“Our cover story is on Emma Thatcher—she’s a Chicago filmmaker,” Martin Fagerholm shares. On December 23, 2022, Camera Ambassador shared a sneak peek of that cover story as well, including several photos from Thatcher’s first feature film, Provo. The interviews that went into making this cover story really helped inspire the rest of the issue and the theme. “Our other pieces are kind of like offshoots of that,” Martin Fagerholm says. “Different projects and different voices talking about healing through your art.”

The first issue features all Chicago-based filmmakers, which was by accident and isn’t “necessarily the future” of The Call Sheet, according to Duffy. But organically searching for filmmakers who represent the current state of film and are creating the most authentic art right now, and finding them all in Chicago, surely says something about the film scene in the Windy City. At the end of the day, they were searching for “timely, fresh voices, bringing up important things,” and Chicago-based filmmakers took the forefront of the project.

The Call SheetLaunching 1/19 at 7 PM with a free party at Camera Ambassador, 2425 W. 14th St. Unit B; digital version: thecallsheet.org and The Call Sheet app; print edition: contact [email protected]cinemafemme.comcameraambassador.com

The Call Sheet editorial team consists of Martin Fagerholm as editor in chief, Duffy as publisher, Rey Tang as assistant editor, Matt Carroll as circulation director, and Connor Smith as art director. Duffy says that the reception has already been so positive and far-reaching from the community, which poses a great opportunity for the future. Plus, Martin Fagerholm and Duffy’s respective teams have blended exceptionally well for this joint endeavor. With the ease of working together and the exciting possibility of more support, “there’s definitely a future,” Duffy says. 

Martin Fagerholm’s Cinema Femme magazine has been a really good basis to center The Call Sheet’s purpose around, and both projects aim to disrupt the status quo.

“We’re breaking down the walls,” Martin Fagerholm says. “We’re redesigning [the industry], and we’re showing a world that’s possible, which is exciting.”

Read More

Despite the increased spotlight on marginalized voices in the ever-evolving film landscape, criticism doesn’t particularly reflect that. The majority of film critics still tend to be straight, white males, unrepresentative of the world around them. The Call Sheet is a new magazine that aims to disrupt that.

“The gist of it is . . . to elevate emerging artists and films that aren’t necessarily really represented enough, like women, nonbinary [people], women of color,” cofounder Rebecca Martin Fagerholm says. 

But even more than that, cofounder Erica Duffy says The Call Sheet—comprising articles, interviews, and essays—uses those writers and stories to highlight the current state of filmmaking. “Our [in]formal kind of tagline has been, ‘This magazine will take you behind the scenes of the filmmakers of today,’” she says.  

Martin Fagerholm, a film journalist and film festival director, founded Cinema Femme, a magazine for women to write about film, in 2018. 

“I was just tired of middle-aged white men’s voices being elevated about cinema,” she says. “I was like, ‘You know what? We need more female voices out there.’”

This throughline for Martin Fagerholm struck a chord with Duffy, founder and CEO of Camera Ambassador. Camera Ambassador is a local equipment rental house that provides production rentals ranging from tape and cameras to lights and other on-set needs. It’s one of three rental houses in America owned by women. Once Duffy came across Martin Fagerholm’s weekly newsletter in 2020 and found out she was also based in Chicago, they connected, and the two held regular conversations, or an “informal brain trust,” as Duffy described it. This is where the idea for The Call Sheet—named after the sheets found on movie sets, dictating each actor’s shooting assignments—first emerged.

“When Rebecca mentioned it, I kind of had this lightbulb moment,” she says, noting that team members at Camera Ambassador have wanted to create a magazine for a while, but Duffy didn’t know where to start. “I saw both of our strengths and the strength of our companies, as well [as] in our audience, and that if we came together to do a collaboration like we are with The Call Sheet, that it would just be these worlds colliding and like a beautiful collaboration and playing to everybody’s strengths.”

Despite the rarity of women-owned businesses like Camera Ambassador, Duffy wants to emphasize that it’s not an “abnormal thing,” even though the numbers are “still grossly weighed one way.” In the same way, The Call Sheet strives not only to focus on underrepresented voices in film, but to also normalize them and “slowly [change] that narrative that this is the modern filmmaker. [These are] important stories and important voices in the industry now.” 

It’s important for The Call Sheet to feature filmmakers who don’t subscribe to the older, mainstream, white male gaze. The founders also want to create a space that isn’t just for the groups they tell stories about. Martin Fagerholm points to Barry Jenkins’s 2016 film Moonlight, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, among many other accolades. The film creates such empathy and emotion that it can get any filmgoer to feel something deep, even if you’re not a queer Black boy in Miami. Martin Fagerholm wants to focus on films that do this same thing, giving “authentic, universal stories” and having marginalized writers touch on them.

Martin Fagerholm and Duffy hope that featuring underrepresented writers and films will be a draw for others who are hungry to see and create their own stories one day. But that, of course, doesn’t mean that The Call Sheet is only for one demographic. 

“I think this magazine is for everybody,” Duffy shares. “The way that the storytelling is done and the way that the magazine has been designed, it’s an enjoyable read . . . no matter who you are, where you’re from, what background you are.” The word “authentic” comes up a lot between Martin Fagerholm and Duffy when discussing the overall mood of The Call Sheet because they believe the authenticity of those writing for The Call Sheet and the stories they’re covering generates criticism about art that is real and matters. 

“I think when you can sit down with the magazine in the comfort of your own home, there’s a place of vulnerability with you in those words, and that will be something that people really gravitate to,” she says.

The very first issue debuts on January 19 in both print and digital form. Both Camera Ambassador and Cinema Femme released the cover art for The Call Sheet’s inaugural issue to Instagram, following the issue’s theme of “Healing Through Your Art.”

“Our cover story is on Emma Thatcher—she’s a Chicago filmmaker,” Martin Fagerholm shares. On December 23, 2022, Camera Ambassador shared a sneak peek of that cover story as well, including several photos from Thatcher’s first feature film, Provo. The interviews that went into making this cover story really helped inspire the rest of the issue and the theme. “Our other pieces are kind of like offshoots of that,” Martin Fagerholm says. “Different projects and different voices talking about healing through your art.”

The first issue features all Chicago-based filmmakers, which was by accident and isn’t “necessarily the future” of The Call Sheet, according to Duffy. But organically searching for filmmakers who represent the current state of film and are creating the most authentic art right now, and finding them all in Chicago, surely says something about the film scene in the Windy City. At the end of the day, they were searching for “timely, fresh voices, bringing up important things,” and Chicago-based filmmakers took the forefront of the project.

The Call SheetLaunching 1/19 at 7 PM with a free party at Camera Ambassador, 2425 W. 14th St. Unit B; digital version: thecallsheet.org and The Call Sheet app; print edition: contact [email protected]cinemafemme.comcameraambassador.com

The Call Sheet editorial team consists of Martin Fagerholm as editor in chief, Duffy as publisher, Rey Tang as assistant editor, Matt Carroll as circulation director, and Connor Smith as art director. Duffy says that the reception has already been so positive and far-reaching from the community, which poses a great opportunity for the future. Plus, Martin Fagerholm and Duffy’s respective teams have blended exceptionally well for this joint endeavor. With the ease of working together and the exciting possibility of more support, “there’s definitely a future,” Duffy says. 

Martin Fagerholm’s Cinema Femme magazine has been a really good basis to center The Call Sheet’s purpose around, and both projects aim to disrupt the status quo.

“We’re breaking down the walls,” Martin Fagerholm says. “We’re redesigning [the industry], and we’re showing a world that’s possible, which is exciting.”

Read More

Stepping into “Exact Dutch Yellow” is like finding a cool spot of shade on a scorching hot day. The light in the darkened fourth-floor galleries mainly comes from the work itself, LED- and neon-lit installations that seem to play tricks before our eyes. 

The exhibition plumbs the history of color classification, a subject that seems tailor-made for Luftwerk, the Chicago-based artistic duo of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero. Luftwerk, which references the immateriality of light and air and the materiality of artwork, have staged similar architectural interventions across the world, from the Chicago Botanical Garden and the Farnsworth House, to sites in Barcelona and Zimbabwe. The show’s title refers to a shade renamed by Charles Darwin, perhaps one of history’s best-known classifiers, on his infamous trip through South America.

On view are LED-lit canvases which slowly shift in tone based on changing lights, like living color field paintings. Two wall-hung sculptures vacillate between light and dark, in an LED illusion reminiscent of Anish Kapoor’s work. Yet it is the final gallery that steals the show. The wall-sized The Sky at the Time Was Berlin Blue recreates a 1789 tool called a cyanometer, used for measuring the blueness of the sky. Opposite is a neon piece that spells out “Dusky,” a word repeatedly used to describe colors by an American taxonomist in the early twentieth century. Standing between the two is like watching night fall; they function as a sort of sunrise alarm antithesis, serving to calm instead of awaken. 

“Exact Dutch Yellow”Through 1/29: open daily 10 AM-5 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, chicago.gov, free

Read More

Stepping into “Exact Dutch Yellow” is like finding a cool spot of shade on a scorching hot day. The light in the darkened fourth-floor galleries mainly comes from the work itself, LED- and neon-lit installations that seem to play tricks before our eyes. 

The exhibition plumbs the history of color classification, a subject that seems tailor-made for Luftwerk, the Chicago-based artistic duo of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero. Luftwerk, which references the immateriality of light and air and the materiality of artwork, have staged similar architectural interventions across the world, from the Chicago Botanical Garden and the Farnsworth House, to sites in Barcelona and Zimbabwe. The show’s title refers to a shade renamed by Charles Darwin, perhaps one of history’s best-known classifiers, on his infamous trip through South America.

On view are LED-lit canvases which slowly shift in tone based on changing lights, like living color field paintings. Two wall-hung sculptures vacillate between light and dark, in an LED illusion reminiscent of Anish Kapoor’s work. Yet it is the final gallery that steals the show. The wall-sized The Sky at the Time Was Berlin Blue recreates a 1789 tool called a cyanometer, used for measuring the blueness of the sky. Opposite is a neon piece that spells out “Dusky,” a word repeatedly used to describe colors by an American taxonomist in the early twentieth century. Standing between the two is like watching night fall; they function as a sort of sunrise alarm antithesis, serving to calm instead of awaken. 

“Exact Dutch Yellow”Through 1/29: open daily 10 AM-5 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, chicago.gov, free

Read More

Glenn and Greg Sims photographed in Tote & Carry vests at the Kimpton Gray Hotel, November 2022 Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

“We got a lot of swagger. We don’t even have to open our mouths—they just see it,” said Greg Sims, 34. I met Greg and his twin brother Glenn when we attended “Champions of Success,” a panel discussion about the state of the fashion industry in Chicago that happened in November at the Kimpton Gray Hotel. The discussion was hosted by Michelle M. Collins, the president and founder of the consumer experience consultancy A Non-Agency. Guests at the event were an eclectic mix of local fashion professionals from all kinds of backgrounds. Most attendees were dressed to impress, but the Sims brothers were at least twice as stylish as everyone else. 

Long considered trendsetters by their crew, Glenn and Greg decided to capitalize on their remarkable sense of style in 2016. Together they created Dope Soulz, a lifestyle brand that encompasses fashion, art, and an upcoming podcast. Their clothing line includes customized T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, vests, bags, hats, socks, and other items. They mostly advertise their one-of-a-kind products via social media. Dope Soulz makes sales on Instagram and TikTok and also IRL at pop-up shops, group art shows such as the Pancakes & Booze series, or simply out of their vehicle’s trunk. The twins are adept at collaborating with other creatives and brands: the vests they were wearing at “Champions of Success” were part of a deal with Tote & Carry. 

Greg Sims: ““We like bright colors. You stand out more where you go, and you feel a little bit of that sunshine. You brighten other people’s days as well.” Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Glenn and Greg develop their work in their tidy and colorful Bronzeville studio, filled with thrifted and upcycled decor that displays their vibrant aesthetic. “We like bright colors. You stand out more where you go, and you feel a little bit of that sunshine. You brighten other people’s days as well,” said Greg, who was wearing a neon-yellow hoodie and matching sneakers when I visited the studio. Glenn had a similar outfit on, with a few differences. 

“It’s just chemistry. We come together as a collaborative force,” said Greg. According to Glenn, though he and his brother are mostly in sync, Glenn has a streetwear and retro vibe, while Greg is a bit more interested in luxe. They don’t have that introvert/extrovert dynamic common to twins. Their mom said that they “take turns being extra.”

Dope Soulz baseball caps sit on a counter amongst the eclectic decor of the Dope Soulz studio in Bronzeville Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Positivity, discipline, creativity, community, and entrepreneurship seem to be the name of the game for the Sims brothers. Those are some of the values they expect to impart with their Dope Soulz podcast, where they’ll interview guests such as the owner of a top-shelf whiskey brand and a sports agent who will talk about financial literacy. While they are still in the process of growing their business, Glenn and Greg double as instructors for the Chicago Park District. 

“We’re always around the community. I work with six-year-old tots, teenagers . . . all the way up to a veteran that just turned 91 and was one of the first Black baseball players,” said Glenn. “I’m always getting inspiration from different kinds of style and culture and definitely getting that leadership role from the elders,” he added, as he and his twin carve out a path to become leaders themselves.

Dope Soulz @dopesoulzchicago on Instagram and TikTok, or email [email protected]

Read More

Glenn and Greg Sims photographed in Tote & Carry vests at the Kimpton Gray Hotel, November 2022 Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

“We got a lot of swagger. We don’t even have to open our mouths—they just see it,” said Greg Sims, 34. I met Greg and his twin brother Glenn when we attended “Champions of Success,” a panel discussion about the state of the fashion industry in Chicago that happened in November at the Kimpton Gray Hotel. The discussion was hosted by Michelle M. Collins, the president and founder of the consumer experience consultancy A Non-Agency. Guests at the event were an eclectic mix of local fashion professionals from all kinds of backgrounds. Most attendees were dressed to impress, but the Sims brothers were at least twice as stylish as everyone else. 

Long considered trendsetters by their crew, Glenn and Greg decided to capitalize on their remarkable sense of style in 2016. Together they created Dope Soulz, a lifestyle brand that encompasses fashion, art, and an upcoming podcast. Their clothing line includes customized T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, vests, bags, hats, socks, and other items. They mostly advertise their one-of-a-kind products via social media. Dope Soulz makes sales on Instagram and TikTok and also IRL at pop-up shops, group art shows such as the Pancakes & Booze series, or simply out of their vehicle’s trunk. The twins are adept at collaborating with other creatives and brands: the vests they were wearing at “Champions of Success” were part of a deal with Tote & Carry. 

Greg Sims: ““We like bright colors. You stand out more where you go, and you feel a little bit of that sunshine. You brighten other people’s days as well.” Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Glenn and Greg develop their work in their tidy and colorful Bronzeville studio, filled with thrifted and upcycled decor that displays their vibrant aesthetic. “We like bright colors. You stand out more where you go, and you feel a little bit of that sunshine. You brighten other people’s days as well,” said Greg, who was wearing a neon-yellow hoodie and matching sneakers when I visited the studio. Glenn had a similar outfit on, with a few differences. 

“It’s just chemistry. We come together as a collaborative force,” said Greg. According to Glenn, though he and his brother are mostly in sync, Glenn has a streetwear and retro vibe, while Greg is a bit more interested in luxe. They don’t have that introvert/extrovert dynamic common to twins. Their mom said that they “take turns being extra.”

Dope Soulz baseball caps sit on a counter amongst the eclectic decor of the Dope Soulz studio in Bronzeville Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Positivity, discipline, creativity, community, and entrepreneurship seem to be the name of the game for the Sims brothers. Those are some of the values they expect to impart with their Dope Soulz podcast, where they’ll interview guests such as the owner of a top-shelf whiskey brand and a sports agent who will talk about financial literacy. While they are still in the process of growing their business, Glenn and Greg double as instructors for the Chicago Park District. 

“We’re always around the community. I work with six-year-old tots, teenagers . . . all the way up to a veteran that just turned 91 and was one of the first Black baseball players,” said Glenn. “I’m always getting inspiration from different kinds of style and culture and definitely getting that leadership role from the elders,” he added, as he and his twin carve out a path to become leaders themselves.

Dope Soulz @dopesoulzchicago on Instagram and TikTok, or email [email protected]

Read More

MWM DOM 52 SEEKS MATURE SUB FEMALEMWM DOM 52 seeks submissive mature white female who needs on going pleasure & punishment oral pleasure bondage bare bottom spanking & will train & seeking discreet LTR I can host and discreet. [email protected]

Submit your Reader Matches ad today for FREE. Matches ads are not guaranteed and will run in print and online on a space-available basis.

Read More