Six weeks ago, “Zoom” was what I used to adjust the size of the font on my laptop. Now a Zoom of another sort is what I use to attend classes, visit with family, and conduct interviews. For restaurants, wineries and an endless number of small businesses, the new technology offers an opportunity to connect with their customer base and-if possible- to expand it.

***

 I scoffed when a friend wintering in Las Vegas told me he’d had to place a delivery order for groceries nearly two weeks in advance. Convinced that the situation in Chicago was far better, I started calling local groceries and delivery companies, only to discover that the situation in Chicago was much the same. Frustrated,  I suited up and went to Whole Foods.

Days later, I tried again. The wait times were shorter, but “quick” was a word that has-seemingly- been erased from the vocabulary. Then I received an email from the publicist for the City Fresh Metra Market on north Clinton Street, virtually the only venue still open in the French Market food hall just north of Ogilvie Station. It seems I could place an order before noon,  and then pick up the groceries after 12 p.m on the following day.

I called. Manager Rey Suarez said the pick-up option was new, adding that it was a response to conditions created by the Coronavirus. The market also delivers, but picking up the groceries myself was easier and more efficient. 

The City Fresh Metra Market is an offshoot  of the full service City Fresh Market on Devon Avenue. I used the online shopping list for the Devon Avenue store to put together my order. Items that weren’t available at the French Market location were sent downtown during the 24-hours between placing the order and picking it up.

Taking advantage of the larger store’s Eastern European slant I wound up ordering two items unique to that location: a puffy, circular  flatbread called “somen” and a sour cherry “preserve” imported from Romania.

Promptly at noon the following day, I drove to the entrance to the market at 131 N. Clinton ( one-way going south), pulled over, and called Rey to tell him I was outside. Minutes later, he came out carrying my order and put it in the trunk. As it turned out, the three Asian eggplants on my list were the only items that weren’t available. 

As customers and purveyors adjust to the “new normal,” the overall timeline for pick-up and delivery is getting shorter. These aren’t “new” services, but for a lot of consumers, it’s a personal first. What happens post-Coronavirus is anyone’s guess, but it’s for sure that ordering online and then opting for delivery or pick-up is an efficient way to shop.

City Fresh Market, 3201 W. Devon Avenue  773.681.8600

City Fresh Metra Market, 131 N. Clinton Street 312.575.0230

***

Shaw’s Crab House

Chicago

On Wednesday, April 22 at 6pm, Chef Naoki Nakashima will be hosting a sushi rolling session at Shaw’s Crab House via Facebook. A sushi kit, priced at $30 (per person, plus tax), can be pre-ordered until April 21 at noon. Pick-up is at Shaw’s Crab House, located at 21 E Hubbard St. between 11 am and 5:30 pm on April 22. 

The sushi kit includes ingredients to make a tuna and cucumber hand roll, a salmon avocado hand roll, and a yellowtail scallion hand roll. Also included are an edamame guacamole Asian salad and a passion fruit pot de creme. 

The kit, which would have been part of the on-site demonstration, gives viewers the opportunity to hone their skills, albeit online.

Stag’s Leap Winery

Stag’s Leap Winery produces superb wines, with prices beginning at $32 and topping out at $200-plus a bottle. One of the best ways to learn about this winery-or any winery- is to attend an on-site tasting. But with the country locked down, on-site anything isn’t going to happen any time soon. So to reach their clientele, as well as their potential clientele, the winery has decided to do “virtual” tastings via Instagram. While two of the virtual tastings have aired, there are two more scheduled.

• 4/23: 2018 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, 2016 The Leap Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
• 4/30: 2016 Block 20 Merlot, 2015 Audentia Cabernet Sauvignon

Stag’s Leap in Brief

Stag’s Leap Winery in the Stag’s Leap District in the Napa Valley was founded  in 1888 by newlyweds Horace and Mary Chase, together with W.W. Thompson. By 1895, the winery was producing 40,000 gallons of wine. Retail production stopped in 1908, and while the vines continued to be grown and cared for, retail production  didn’t resume until 1972. The timing was good.

During the last quarter of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st, the market for table wines in the United States has “exploded.” The only country that consumes more wine is France, and domestically produced wines outsell imports by a rate of two to one.

In the “Wine Encyclopedia” (Portable Press, San Diego), the various authors’ include Stag’s Leap in a listing of the “significant” wine producers in the Napa Valley, the area they say is “the top premium  wine-growing region in North America. ” A few pages later, they write, “Warren Winarski,(who, together with his wife Barbara, owns the winery) is famous, not only for the victory of his 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon at the Paris Tasting in 1976, but because he has always been ahead of the pack in producing wines of optimal quality in Napa Valley.”

In short, Stag’s Leap is a five-star winery in the premier wine growing region in the United States. 

Read More

Why has feeding Illinois government workers’ pensions funds taken precedence over other desperate needs, especially as the coronavirus has added another crippling dimension to state’s already deadly fiscal crisis?

Here’s a surprise: Illinois taxpayers don’t have to.  Not even to conform to the state’s constitution requirement that no government worker’s pension benefits can be diminished.

No doubt that diverting hundreds of millions from pensions  into such pressing or desperate needs as education or health care for the poor would raise a huge stink from organized labor

Thanks to union pressure, the state acts as if  “fully funding” pension benefits are the highest priority, as if it were the be-all and end-all of the state’s existence and the indisputable reason for raising the Illinois income tax.

Yet, legal precedents and caselaw appear to allow the pension funds to be reduced to zero, as if they were a car’s gas tank that is allowed to run to empty before being refilled.

I discovered this by reading an article in the Fall, 2014 John Marshall Law Review: “Is welching on public pension promises an option for Illinois? An analysis of Article XIII, Section 5 of the Illinois Constitution,” by Eric M.Madiar.  A Springfield lobbyist and former chief legal counsel to former state Senate President John Cullerton, Madiar is a recognized expert on Illinois pension law, including the caselaw since the pension protection provision was adopted in the 1970 constitution.

Here’s how I read the caselaw as he presents it: The constitution does not require a certain level of funding; the constitution only requires that, as a contractural right, the benefits cannot be diminished and must be paid. He wrote:

Not long after the clause took effect, public employee groups began a long-standing litigation effort to require the legislature or local governments to pay the systems’ unfunded liabilities and fund the system on an actuarially sound basis. The Illinois Supreme Court addressed this issue on three different occasions and the employee groups’ efforts proved unsuccessful, as explained below.

Based on the statements of convention delegates Green and Kinney, the Supreme Court has held the clause does not mandate that the pension systems be funded at a specific funding percentage or according to a specific funding schedule. Rather, the Pension Clause requires that the pension benefits be paid when the pension benefits become due. In addition, the court has favorably relied on the statements of Delegate Kinney that pension recipients would have a cause of action to compel the payment of benefits should a pension system defaults or be on the verge of default. [Emphasis added.]

I want to make clear that this is not something that Madiar recommends. And I raise it to help educate the public that has been falsely led to believe that the constitution requires “full funding.”

As politicians genuflect to the idea, pension funding continues to gobble up money needed for other services. Gov. J.B. Pritzker budget directs that $100 million initially (more than double that in later years) generated from his proposed graduated income tax be used to fund pensions. Even if he doesn’t persuade voters to approve a constitutional amendment to impose the new tax, he would feed about 20 percent, of $8.6 billion, of the state’s operating budget into the funds. Twenty percent.

Wait, it gets worse. Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, a Democrat, has asked for a $40 billion bailout from the federal government because of the costs of the coronavirus pandemic. That includes $10 billion to help rescue the pension funds. The  request of American taxpayers to help bail out Illinois last-gasp pensions stands a snow-ball’s chance and, in my view, is simply a political move to make Republicans who are (correctly) sure to oppose it look flinty and evil. (For comparison purposes, $40 billion is about the size of the entire state budget.)

Besides, $10 billion would be a pittance, amounting to tossing a spoon into the Bessemer furnace that the pension funds have become. The state admits to unfunded pension debt amounting to about $140 billion. That’s a joke. Moody’s Investors Service says the real amount is $240 billion, if more realistic actuarial projections and true investment returns are a part of the  calculations. And that was before the current stock market crash and coming recession. 

Meanwhile, as the Chicago Tribune reported, “almost 20,000 adults with disabilities are awaiting admittance to programs funded by the state that would help them live on their own. The average waiting time is seven years.”

Reducing and redirecting pension funding to more immediate and critical demands would require legislative action. That’s  wildly imaginative and virtually impossible, considering the grip that organized labor has on Illinois’ government.

But think about it; as Illinois, Chicago and other jurisdictions get sucked further and further into the black hole of unrecoverable indebtedness, how can funding pensions for lavish benefits that come due sometime in the future be justified?

Letting the pension funds fall to zero and defaulting on the payments would be suicidal. Or would it? If the state could prove that it’s the only way to prevent bankruptcy–a legal thicket with unknown outcomes–would the courts find the saving the state has a higher purpose that “fully” (whatever that means) pensions? Let the unions sue and find out.

For decades, Illinois pols allowed those funds to shrink while they shifted revenues into other accounts to make the budget appear to be balanced. That was back when Illinois wasn’t as deeply in the toilet financially and well before the additional burdens imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Shifting some of those funds now to serve the more immediate and critical needs of Illinoisans is more than prudent. It’s necessary.

[email protected]

www.dennisbyrne.net 

My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

The message came Friday afternoon,

taking the day from snow white to blue.

E-learning continues, “in-person” comes to an end,

we’re sad even though it’s no surprise to me — or to you.

The governor is protecting us,

that’s most important – it’s what he has to do.

But he said no “in-person” school…

Excuse me, but I’m pretty sure I’m a mom, wife, homemaker, writer, teacher and a person, too.

This at-home learning is tricky,

every family experiences something unique to them.

I’m lucky, I know, because my kids like to learn, follow rules,

But to the governor, I’m giving him a big “Ahem!”

There’s no “in-school” learning that’s true.

But there’s absolutely a person (or many) involved day to day.

There’s a mom, dad or sibling, a person helping kids to grow.

And the teachers working to inspire in any new way!

So let’s change the language here:

“In-school” learning is over for now.

“In-person” will happen for days and weeks,

as the heroes among us figure out how.

All kids deserve to learn,

to feel proud of their unbelievable year.

It goes beyond Math and English,

I’m hopeful they’re learning empathy and how to combat fear.

We may not get to hug our teachers again,

to show them how much we care.

But we can support them, be their subs,

be the “in-person” until we end this nightmare.

We’re staying home for learning,

“in-school” classes are a thing of the past.

I know this feels impossible,

but, I will say, we can take on this task!

That doesn’t mean anything’s “perfect,”

what does that mean, anyway?

Just make your “in-person” learning something that fits,

for your own family day after day.

My biggest hope is for safety and health,

Behind closed doors it’s different for all.

Call for help, find support,

we can’t let anyone fall.

We’re all taking on new roles in our homes,

there are challenges that are overwhelming and cause stress.

But please count your blessings – find gratitude.

We can’t control much of this, we can only do our best.

Last week I left my house to pickup a prescription at the pharmacy drive through window while wearing a disposable paper mask. The pharmacy technician could not understand me, so to communicate effectively, I untied the mask. Granted, we were talking through a glass window, but this alerted me to the fact that if someone with normal hearing could not understand me, communication will pose great challenges when we return to the workplace.

Most people who enter our office have difficulty hearing. Talking through a mask muffles speech, which creates a barrier to overcome. Visualizing the mouth while having a conversation gives cues for communicating. The masks that we recently ordered have a clear window over the mouth. We’re confident that using these masks will help. However, this is far from an ideal solution.

We are quite concerned about what our patients are experiencing right now. With social distancing, we are communicating at a distance of six feet which is difficult if not impossible with a loss of hearing. Going to the grocery store, socializing with others, or processing and collecting information at a medical appointment is more difficult than it used to be. If conversation is not understood, ask the person to write down what is being said. Request a written summary after any medical visit.

Thinking into the future is important for us so that we can plan for communicating with our patients. Masks pose so many concerns. Talking on the phone while wearing a mask makes conversation sound mushy. Wearing a mask is uncomfortable. Eyeglasses steam up. The list goes on. We will need to have a generous supply of masks on hand.

Anyone who walks through the door of our office will need a mask to enter. A huge shout out and thank you to our partners at Starkey Hearing Technologies for making it possible to obtain the personal protection equipment that we will need before opening our doors.

We are all going to have to try a little harder. Remember to speak slowly and distinctly. Face the person you are talking to. Don’t turn your head when you are having a conversation. Ask the person who you are communicating with if they understood your directions.

We all look forward to the future when life becomes a little easier. Until then, be cognizant of the communication difficulties created by wearing a mask. Be patient. Be kind. We all deserve it.

With all the Coronavirus stories clogging up the airwaves and print media, there are quite a few stories that have gone unnoticed or unreported for lack of a better word. I guess one could say the Virus is probably the most important story in most of our lifetimes. Imagine for a few fantasy seconds that the virus never happened.

Without question, a mass killing in Canada by a lone gunman posing as a Police Constable would be headline news, the slaughter of 18 innocent people was relegated to the back pages of most dailies and a mere blip on the newscasts. Another weekend in Chicago a City that is under a stay at home order has another horrific violent weekend with 35 people shot and another 5 murdered. Nineteen days in April all under stay at home orders, the violence totals are 175 people shot and 43 murdered.

DUH! Some folks are not staying at home. However, the Mayor has seen fit to drive around selected neighborhoods badgering people to get into the house and practice social distancing. One Major Chicago paper made no mention of the shooting violence whatsoever and the other one covered it only on line. I’m not a news professional of course, but life does go on for close to 2.6 million people that have not contacted the virus.

One Major paper in Chicago today had 27 Coronavirus stories covering the entire online edition before low and behold there was a story, READY! about Prince Harry and his bride Meghan not being comfortable anymore with the British Tabloids. Easy to be a critic I guess but it is a tad frustrating. Another rather interesting story that slipped on by unnoticed was that 65 years ago today Richard J. Daley was sworn in as Chicago’s Mayor. A run that began in 1955 and ended with his death in 1976. Machine politics from its infancy to one of the most powerful political organizations in the world. His run was so complete it paved the way for his son who was elected Mayor in 1989, after the death of Harold Washington. The Chicago Machine rumbled on.  Between them, father Richard J and son  Richard M. Virtually ruled Chicago for 42  years.

Without getting into the merits of either Daley’s regimes, and actually 42 years of running a big City it would take an entire library to list all the pros and cons, though the great Chicago Columnist Mike Royko did write a brilliant book on Richard J called “BOSS.” The Daleys had lots of things in common, but the most glaring ones were their comedic Malaprops and distortions of the queens English. The senior Daley at times would become so frustrated he just let loose and the reporters loved it. His most famous Malaprop below is still making the rounds. Somehow Richard M mirrored his dad when it came to letting loose with the press but we’ll get to him a little later.

“THE POLICEMAN IS NOT HERE TO CREATE DISORDER THEY’RE THERE TO PRESERVE DISORDER.”

Then came his hysterical introduction of Chicago’s Poet Laureate. WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE WITH US TODAY THE POET LARIAT OF CHICAGO”.

THEY HAVE VILLIFIED ME: THEY HAVE CRUCIFIED ME: THEY HAVE EVEN CRITICIZED ME.

Coming to grips with looters with this classic.”WE HAVE TO FACE IT: IN AMERICA TODAY THE WAY TO HAVE FUN AND CELEBRATE IS TO BREAK A STORE WINDOW AND TAKE SOMETHING. THAT’S THE WAY IT IS TODAY IN AMERICA, AND WE HAVE TO ACCEPT IT.

Next, we have one that’s kinda in vogue today.”THE NEWSPAPER IS THE LOWEST THING THERE IS.”

Not all of Daley’s quotes were of the humorous variety, one in which I had a  front row seat. When Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 Chicago witnessed some of the worst rioting in the country. Vast sections of the west side were burning and the looting was fierce. Many were shot and killed and it seemed to be nonstop. Frustrated by the arsonists and looters Daley issued his infamous shot to kill order. He gave the order to the Police Superintendent to shoot to kill arsonists and to maim looters. Even as angry as he was it was the most chilling blunder imaginable. I had thought about it while on the westside, when a teenager ran by me with a Gumball machine in tow.  Imagine if Chicago’s cops followed that order.

When Richard J. died in office in 1976, the City was Daley free until 1989 when his son Richard M was elected Mayor. Almost immediately the Malaprop,   humorous misuse and distortions of words received a rebirth.

Richie (I went to De La Salle high school with him, he’ll always be Richie)  may have had a prophetic moment when it comes to describing then Governor Rod Blagojevich. “I’VE SAID CUCKOO ONCE, I’LL SAY IT AGAIN (CHIRPING) CUCKOO.” In my opinion the most on the money description of Blago ever. Shortly after he went to prison for corruption and said he wanted to teach Shakespeare to the inmates. Man Daley was right, they don’t make nest big enough for that Cukoo.

When asked by a reporter how effective his gun control law would affect people he responded “WHILE HOLDING UP A RIFE: IF I PUT THIS UP YOUR BUTT YOU’LL FIND OUT HOW EFFECTIVE IT IS.”

This one when Democrat Neal Hardigan lost the Governorship to Jim Edgar.

I WORKED FOR HIM. I RAISED MONEY FOR HIM. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? TAKE OFF MY PANTS.” I think old Richie has something going with his pants or shorts, it always seemed to come up, or off depending.

Finally, this last one that is still kicked around today.” SCRUTINY! what else do you want? Do you want to take my shorts? Give me a break, how much scrutiny do you want? Go scrutinize yourself, I GET SCRUTINED, EVERY DAY. DON’T WORRY FROM EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU. IT DOESN’T BOTHER ME.” A change a pace from the Coronavirus and maybe Harry and Meghan who somehow managed to sneak in.  But let’s face it, its damn hard to upstage the Daleys in a normal world. Stay safe and watch out for the Mayor if your outside breathing fresh air.

Elden Selections

Finally some good news in the midst of an ongoing Chicago winter and sheltering-in-place: Burgundy wines under $35 delivered right to your doorstep! The mere mention of Burgundy has long evoked wistful sighs and murmurs of anticipation but these ethereal wines are often out-of-reach or generally inaccessible due to price and availability.  Elden Selections hopes to change all that with their online Burgundy-specific wine shop.

Elden Selections focuses on Burgundies that are small-production and estate-bottled all delivered right to your door (shipping included). Always on the lookout for hidden gems, they also strive to have 30 Burgundies available that are under a $35 price point. Ranging from Region and Village-designated wines to Grand Crus, there are higher-priced wines available too, but anyone who has looked for a good Pinot Noir from anywhere in the world (let alone Burgundy) knows that $35 is quite an achievement for this very finicky grape.

I recently had the pleasure of getting to try out Elden Selections’ website as well as to taste a lovely sampling of 6 of their wines.  The website itself is very straightforward and offers a thorough but abbreviated primer on Burgundy including its regions, geology, quality designations, and even how to read a Burgundy label. Given how confusing Burgundy can be, this site offers a wonderfully approachable way to start learning about it as well as to taste some of the various regions at more palatable price points.

Eleanor Garvin and Dennis Sherman

My first question was how Elden Selections picks their wines and at these price points? Owners Eleanor Garvin and Dennis Sherman have lived in Burgundy for the past 30 years and have established relationships with local producers whom they like and respect.  Living there enables them to become fully immersed in each harvest so they are truly “hands on the grape” as they select the wines that become available to us as consumers.

The wine selection process begins before harvest as Eleanor and Dennis observe the year’s weather and vintage conditions.  Next, wines are sampled in their respective grower’s cellar before bottling and then again once bottled. The wines are then taken back to Elden Selections and tasted in private and with friends.  If everyone still loves the wine, it becomes one of their offerings (often not available in the U.S.) that we get to experience as well.

I happily made my way through 6 sample bottles (three whites and three reds), all interesting and diverse in their own ways.  One of my favorites was the 2015 Domaine Mouton, Givry 1er Cru, Clos Jus ($52) from the Côte Chalonnaise.  Tasting of dried cranberry and dusty herbs laced with earthy tobacco whiffs, vibrant acidity backed fine-grained tannins on the lingering savory finish.  I loved it just to drink alone but it really came into its own with Filet Mignon.

The 2016 Domaine Jean Fery, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru ($69) from the Côte de Beaune was a more black-fruited expression.  From the excellent but challenging 2016 vintage, this wine comes from the Savigny valley on east-facing, iron-rich slopes.  Blackcurrant, clove, and black pepper notes cascaded through the long spicy finish.  Incidentally, Domaine Jean Fery has also been a biodynamic vineyard since 2006.

The last red, the 2014 Domaine de Suremain, Château de Monthelie ($52) was from the Côte de Beaune and produced from 4 different parcels of vines.  Black cherry, leather, and forest floor notes hallmark this elegant and complex wine with many more years coiled in it.

The white wines were also terrific.  The 2016 Château Cary Potet, Montagny 1er Cru “Les Burnins” ($42) was from the Côte Chalonnaise. Montagny is known for its terrific White Burgundy and this wine was a perfect example of that. Montagny’s southerly location typically yields excellent grape ripeness and this round wine tasted of fragrant orange blossom interlaced with stony minerality.  A year in French oak added a hint of smoke, spice, and a complex textured mouthfeel.  Lively acidity complimented the rich finish peppered with slight butter notes.

The 2016 Jean Dauvissat Père et Fils, Chablis ($34), from the left bank of the Serein River, tasted of mouthwatering lemon drops and orange peel.  Scintillating mineral and mushroom notes accompanied tingly acidity through the long linear finish. A lovely expression of Chablis which can be one of the most delightful white wines around with its chalky minerality and trademark acidity.

While 85% of Savigny produces red wine, the white wines from this area can produce beautiful wine with nervy minerality. The 2017 Domaine Jean Jacques-Girard, Savigny les Beaune tasted of ripe red apples, sweet spice, and fresh saline notes.  Zesty acidity and a pleasantly supple mouthfeel rounded out the intertwined fruit and earthy flavors.

Once you’re made it through the wines, there is also a tantalizing collection of recipes on the website ranging from Beef Bourgoignon and Venetian Pea Risotto to Fresh Apricot and Pistachio Cake.

Bread Oven at Domaine de Cromey

And if you’re in the day-dreaming mood, once the world re-opens, Elden Selections has a luxury manor house with 6 en-suite rooms at Domaine de Cromey, located just south of Beaune, France.  They also have their own wine school, Wine School at Cromey if you want to take your Burgundy knowledge to the next level.  In the meantime, definitely check out Elden Selections and take advantage of getting some wonderful new (and affordable) wines delivered right to your door.

Domaine de Cromey

https://domainedecromey.com/

With most sports around the world on pause, revisit iconic sports moments from the past to help fill that void.

Michael Jordan, the greatest player in basketball history, announced his second comeback to the NBA on Sept. 25, 2001. This time with the Washington Wizards where Jordan proved he could still produce memorable moments.

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• NBA lookback: Michael Jordan as a Wizard

  from ChicagoNow Staff Blog by ChicagoNow Staff
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• The Other News Stories/ Mass Killings/The Daleys J and M/ Politics and Vaudeville Acts/ Like Father like Son/

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• Imagine the Challenges of Hearing Through a Mask

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• A Poem: You Are a Person, So Am I. And a wife, mom, teacher, worker and more.

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