Chicago Daily Observer

Barrington, Illinois is not Beijing. Last year Canadian National Railway (CN) announced that it would buy a suburban railway, an effort to divert freight traffic from Chicago. But in trying to avoid the Charybdis of the city, CN met the Scylla of suburbia. The Surface Transportation Board (STB), which must approve the deal, has never seen such outcry. On August 27th hundreds protested in Barrington. On September 9th the fight moved to Washington for a congressional hearing. A new bill would make it harder for the STB to approve a merger that does any local damage. Some call it nimbyism; others, democracy.

Irrespective of the different plans of the two American presidential candidates, a reduction of American troop numbers is also happening steadily, from 171,000 in October to 145,000 at last blush. At the same time, the size of the Iraqi forces is creeping up, from 115,000 two years ago to 229,000 today. This week the province of Kadisiya, south of Baghdad, became the tenth out of 18 to come under Iraqi, rather than American, operational command.

The Iraqi army, alongside the Americans, recently began a big push against al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in the mixed-sect Diyala province, perhaps now the bloodiest, just north-east of Baghdad. Basra and Anbar provinces, in turmoil a year and a half ago, are quiet.

The sad thing is that one might reasonably have expected better from Mr Obama. He wants to improve America’s international reputation yet campaigns against NAFTA. He trumpets “the audacity of hope” yet proposes more government intervention. He might have chosen to use his silver tongue to address America’s problems in imaginative ways—for example, by making the case for reforming the distorting tax code. Instead, he wants to throw money at social problems and slap more taxes on the rich, and he is using his oratorical powers to prey on people’s fears.

Edward Hopper

Until March 10th 2008

Isolation, introspection and the empty spaces of modern life; these are the hallmarks of Edward Hopper’s instantly recognisable paintings. This exhibition centres on his most productive years, from the mid-1920s to the 1950s, with famous works such as “Chop Suey” and “Nighthawks”. But it also includes a handful of lesser-known early pieces, such as “Night on the El Train”, a 1918 etching that hints at many of his later themes. A man and a woman sit in a railway carriage, their relationship ambiguous, their distance from the viewer exaggerated by a line of empty seats. Few artists have so ably captured the nuances—and loneliness—of modern living.

The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Ave. Tel: +1 (312) 443–3600. Open: Mon-Wed, Fri 10.30am-5pm; Thurs 10.30am-8pm; Sat, Sun 10am-5pm. See also the museum’s website.

There are few better ways to spend a winter evening in Chicago than nestled in the upper tiers of the Symphony Centre. This season, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has a rich array of offerings, from Shostakovich and Stravinsky to Debussy and Bartok. Those seeking something other than Western classical music will find rich pickings too. “Rhythm, Ragas and Roots” will feature flamenco and Indian classical music. The programme follows Osvaldo Golijov’s “Ainadamar”, a one-act opera inspired by the life of Federico García Lorca, a Spanish poet.

CHICAGO BRIEFING
September 2007

Cook County’s struggling health-care system; death of a lobbyist; hybrid cars for Chicago, and more…