A political writer's unsolicited advice for VP Harris

Plus: Merging CTA, Metra, and Pace. [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( Daily Reader | September 17, 2024 Not that she asked, but I have some advice for Vice President Kamala Harris. Don’t listen to Frank Bruni! OK, that’s harsh. Let me start with some praise. Bruni is a columnist for the New York Times. And in a [recent column]( about last week’s presidential debate, he started with a wisecrack that was so good, it left me wishing I’d come up with it. He wrote . . . “In Kamala Harris’s big general-election debate four years ago, she faced off against an opponent with [a fly on his head](. In her immeasurably bigger debate on Tuesday night, she confronted an opponent with bats inside his.” C’mon, MAGA, even you gotta admit that’s pretty funny. But then Bruni went on to chastise Harris for not offering more policy specifics in the debate. Bruni continued, “She was evasive, period, routinely answering questions by not answering them and pivoting to statements of principle, pitches for her policy proposals or indictments of Trump. At one point she promised that she’d clearly explain inconsistencies in her positions over time on fracking and on the criminalization of unauthorized border crossings. She didn’t.” Look, I know what I’m about to write is guaranteed to get me in trouble with high school civics teachers everywhere. And I kinda loathe myself for even thinking this. It sounds so jaded and cynical—like I’ve been up all night drinking whiskey, smoking cigarettes, and reading the collected works of John Kass. But . . . Vice President Harris: if you want to win this election please, please, please do not offer any more specifics about fracking. (As I suspect you already knew, since you avoided the question to start with.) The reality is many people don’t care about fracking even though many of those same people know they’re supposed to care. Yes, Bruni’s correct—Kamala Harris danced like Ginger Rogers on several questions. I don’t blame her. Politicians duck and dodge policy-related questions because they don’t want to say anything that might give their opponent an opportunity to hideously distort their position so it sounds more frightening than it is. Also, it really won’t win you many votes cause the vast majority of voters clearly don’t care about policy. They think it’s boring. Their eyes glaze over at the sound of it. They tune out. Want proof? Consider my [endless effort]( to get Chicagoans to care about [municipal financing](. It’s an issue that determines [how much they pay in property taxes]( you’d think they’d want to pay attention. In reality, it’s like getting a kid to eat broccoli. Perhaps that’s why Mayor Johnson and his allies thought they could get away with proposing to preserve affordable housing in Pilsen by raising property taxes. Which is what their proposal to expand the Pilsen TIF would effectively do. Oh, no, I mentioned the dreaded T word—the third rail of any article. Alarms sound as readership plummets. Want more proof? Okay, ask yourself this. Which of the following articles would Chicagoans be most likely to read? - An explanation of how TIFs raise property taxes - An analysis of how rising property taxes fuels gentrification and forces lower-income people out of their communities. - More coverage about the alligator in the Humboldt Park lagoon Calm down, Chicago! I sense you’re getting excited at the prospect of more alligator stories. As far as I know, there is currently no alligator in the Humboldt Park lagoon, though you can be sure we’d be getting around-the-clock news coverage if there were.  Oh, no—I think I just disparaged the voters. On second thought, Madam Vice President, don’t listen to me. I’m even less helpful than Bruni. 🎙 [Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show]( 🎙 ◈ [Joe Hustle]( by Richard Lange. A noir set in LA . . . his real name is Joe McDonald but everyone calls him Joe Hustle, ’cause he’s always hustling. ◈ Charlie Kolodziej on the [Chicago Public Library’s cookbook clubs]( ◈ [Ben Joravsky]( (2022) on how TIFs raise property taxes ◈ Activist and former seventh Congressional District candidate [Kina Collins]( on the city hall shake-up ◈ Political strategist [Joanna Klonsky]( on the presidential debate ◈ Sun-Times editorial board member and columnist [Rummana Hussain]( on Laura Loomer [‘No new revenue without reform’]( A plan to merge the CTA, Metra, and Pace could bring massive changes to public transportation. But what exactly does it do? by [Reema Saleh]( | [Read more]( → [The Englewood Jazz Festival celebrates 25 years of music and community]( Thu 9/19-Sat 9/21 at Hamilton Park by [Aaron Cohen]( | [Read more]( → [London miscreants Powerplant offer a thrillingly misshapen vision of egg punk]( Sat 9/21 at Co-Prosperity by [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → [Against domestication]( D Rosen exposes the false binary of violence and care. by [Erin Toale]( | [Read more]( → Since 1971, the Reader has been connecting Chicago’s people, places, and perspectives, from Rogers Park to South Shore. How has the Reader made you better at living in Chicago? Share your story with us, and we may share it in an upcoming campaign. 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