From: Dan Sinker <dansinker@buttondown.email>
Date: Fri, Sep 5, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Subject: A Benediction for Chicago on the Eve of Occupation
To: <tim.sisco@gmail.com>
Hi there,
It's been a minute. It has been a hard summer, and my writing had to take a dip. But I wanted to get something written trying to capture my love for this city that's about to have troops roll in. Everyone please stay safe.
A Benediction for Chicago on the Eve of Occupation
No matter what happens in the coming weeks, we are Chicago. We rose from the ashes. We never quit.
We are the lake in the morning, the sun rising over the water, its reflection drawing a line straight to our shores.
We are the Haymarket Martyrs, the Pullman strikers, always demanding better than what we've got.
We are the words of Sandburg and Algren and Brooks and Wright.
We are the 90s Bulls, making the impossible possible.
We are the dipped Italian Beef. Messy, sure, but incredible.
We are the humidity in the summer, the frostbitten cheeks in the winter.
We are smoke-kissed rib tips.
We are elotes on the street. We are pirogis in a pot.
We are Curtis singing Hush now child.
We are the Soul Train dance floor, the National Barn Dance, the Warehouse on a hot summer night.
We are the beach in the last days of summer, drawing every moment out.
We are the downtown canyons, wind-whipped in the winter, how do you make it through?
We make it through.
We are celery salt and tomatoes and onion, sport peppers and a dill pickle and relish so green you swear it's not real.
We are the dreams of millions.
We are imperfect, but we are perfect.
We are forever.
We are everything.
We are Chicago.
There will never be more of them than there are of us.
End Hits
I EDITED A BOOK: I haven't written about this yet, but for my day job I edited a really wonderful book full of incredible and inspiring essays about creation and defiance and building new paths and new lives. It's called We Are Civic Media, and it's out now from Northwestern University Press. Buy directly from them and get 25% off with the code CIVICMEDIA: https://nupress.northwestern.edu/9780810149069/we-are-civic-media/
GIVE A LISTEN: To Says Who, the weekly current events podcast I've been doing since 2015 with Maureen Johnson. This week's episode, which focuses on Rudy Giuliani's very strange car crash is a great jumping-on point if you've been looking for one: https://sayswhopodcast.com/episodes/mr-giulianis-wild-ride
I'D LOVE IF YOU BOUGHT SOMETHING: This newsletter is free, but buying something from my little webstore is always appreciated. How about a "Trying" patch for eight bucks or a sticker sheet for six. Or perhaps a throwback Punk Planet T. Whatever you grab, I appreciate it.
Mostly, thanks again for subscribing. Feel free to forward this along to whomever you think might enjoy it. You can access every entry on the web. You're the best.
I'm glad you're here,
Dan
Read this post on the internet: https://dansinker.com/posts/2025-09-05-chicago/
This was issue #68 of Unfinished Business, a newsletter by Dan Sinker. You can subscribe or unsubscribe.
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