Category Archives: Events

Marching Illini visit the Loop and play the Three-In-One

I was sitting in my office overlooking Monroe and Dearborn Streets at noon today and suddenly heard the sounds of a marching band. I looked out the window and saw the Marching Illini assembled about a block away at Madison and Dearborn. After listening several pieces, including “Illinois Loyalty,” from my 19th floor perch, I wandered down to street level to catch the rest of the performance, including the “Three-In-One” in the video above. You can also see and hear the video on my YouTube channel.

The band director said that the “Three-In-One” was first played in 1926 and that this year marks its 90th anniversary. The entry for the Marching Illini on Wikipedia states:

The musical portion of the Three-In-One consists of three distinct Illinois pieces: “Pride of the Illini,” “March of the Illini,” and “Hail to the Orange.” “Pride of the Illini,” written by Karl King with words by Ray Dvorak expressly for the Illinois Bands, was published in 1928. Harry Alford’s “March of the Illini” was also published in 1928, but was used during Chief Illinwek’s performance from the beginning in 1926. ″Hail to the Orange″ was written by Harold V. Hill with words by Howard R. Green in 1910. The three pieces were eventually combined into a medley and given the title, “Three-In-One.” The “Three-In-One” drill and music are an important part of the University’s heritage.

Enjoy the performance, but please excuse my off-key participation in the singing of “Hail to the Orange.”

Supermoon over Evanston

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The largest supermoon in nearly 70 years lit the cloudless sky over Evanston Monday night, November 14, 2016. The world is being treated to supermoons in 3 successive months this fall, but the November supermoon tops them all.

Due to the elliptical orbit of the moon around the earth, its distance from our planet varies. A full moon is characterized as a “supermoon” when its orbit brings it closer to the earth and it therefore appears at least 14% larger than a typical moon and 30% brighter. Tonight’s moon is about 30,000 miles closer to the earth than usual. The moon’s orbit has not brought it this close to earth since 1948 and it won’t be this close again until November 24, 2034.

Benedictine Sisters of Chicago march to reclaim their neighborhood

My daughter Mary Grace spent four years walking from Howard Street two blocks south on Ridge Avenue to St. Scholastica Academy, her high school. Although nearby areas in south Evanston and further east in Rogers Park certainly had some problems with crime, we never had any concerns with the short walk in the area dominated by the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago and the all girls Catholic high school founded and run by that order.

That peaceful neighborhood was rocked two weeks ago when 18-year-old Antonio Johnson, of Evanston, was chased down, shot and killed in front of the St. Scholastica monastery.

The sisters, who have been in Rogers Park since 1906, and socially active on a number of issues, conducted a silent prayer walk and a blessing with holy water at the site of the shooting. They were joined by community members on Wednesday to retrace Johnson’s final steps.

“We reclaim this space for non-violence,” said Sister Benita Coffey. “We’re still women of peace, living community life here and wanting desperately for this neighborhood to become a place of peace.”

Read the rest of the article on nbcchicago.com.

Opening Day at Wrigley Field – Celebrating 100 Years

Today is opening day at Wrigley Field, which is celebrating its 100th birthday. The Cubs are playing their home opener against the Phillies under chilly conditions and winds that are expected to gust more than 30 mph.

The tweets are already rolling in:

The first pitch is thrown out by 4 Hall of Fame Cubbies…

And Mayor Rahm Emanuel is tweeting from the game….

The Cubs score first, in the 2nd inning…

Crains Chicago Business says that billionaire investor Warren Buffett is interested in putting some money into the Cubs. It was reported yesterday that the Ricketts family is examining options for financing the $500 million renovation of Wrigley Field, including bringing in outside investors. The Ricketts family shares Buffett’s Omaha roots.

After three innings, the Cubs hold a 2-0 lead…

Oops, there went our lead…

Not a sellout, but our Chicago weather certainly hasn’t helped…

Our Cubs trail 4-2 in the 7th and the stands are emptying out. Maybe they were literally fair weather ’cause today sure is not “fair weather” – 40°, overcast and windy.

And finally…