Ron Grossman – Page 49

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a campaign eventApril 9, 2016, in the Queens borough of New York

With middle class faltering, socialism no longer a dirty word

June 11, 2018 at 2:20 a.m.

As a teenager I read the "Communist Manifesto," which blew my mind like few books ever have. I'm not a joiner. I never belonged to the Socialist Party, the Democratic...

Eight of Robert "Bobby" Franks' friends from the Harvard private school he attended acted as pallbearers at the 14-year-old's funeral on May 25, 1924. Franks, the youngest son of millionaire Jacob Franks, was killed by Richard Loeb, 18, and Nathan Leopold Jr., 19, on May 21, 1924. The funeral service was held at the Franks home at 5052 Ellis Ave. and then Bobby's casket, guarded by six motorcycle police, was taken to Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. At the time of the funeral, the killers were still at large.

The original ‘affluenza’ case: Leopold and Loeb

May 26, 2022 at 11:24 a.m.

On a sizzling August day in 1924, a riot took place outside a Chicago courtroom as spectators fought for a chance to see attorney Clarence Darrow, the famed "defender of...

President Barack Obama gives a speech in Washington, D.C., on March 28, 2016.

Is Obama ‘the worst president’ — or is racial prejudice behind this perception?

May 11, 2019 at 3:09 a.m.

I can't be the only reporter whose inbox is regularly refilled with denouncements of Barack Obama as "the worst president in American history." I put quotes around the phrase because...

Jesse Owens, left, and Ralph Metcalfe were friendly rivals in 1936 when they competed as members of the U.S. Olympic track team. They are shown in New York during the Olympic tryouts before going to Berlin in 1936.

Ralph Metcalfe: Olympian with Jesse Owens went on to Chicago politics

June 2, 2021 at 4:46 p.m.

Look closely and you'll see a Chicago legend flash across the screen in "Race," the new movie about the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Ralph Metcalfe, an alum of Tilden Technical High...

Protesters speak out during a Donald Trump campaign rally March 11, 2016, inside the UIC Pavilion.

Why it’s time to halt anti-Trump protests

May 23, 2019 at 12:36 p.m.

If there is a genetic marker for carrying a picket sign, I've got it. I've protested racism, sexism and economic inequality. I've passed the trait on to my offspring. At...

Single-minded devotion can appear in unexpected places, such as on a train, embodied by a man engrossed by a text written in a dead language.

The inspiring passions of others — witnessed on a train, a riverbank

May 11, 2019 at 3:07 a.m.

Not long ago, I found myself in a New York subway car, looking over the shoulder of a little old man hypnotically focused on a school notebook. Occasionally, he would...

The start of election canvassing at the election board at the city of Chicago on Nov. 5, 1964.

What if you really could vote early and often?

May 12, 2019 at 1:10 p.m.

Political junkies love this time of year, when they can boast of their knowledge of caucuses, recite the latest poll numbers and debate the obligations of superdelegates. But that is...

Justice after the GOP’s recalcitrance: Obama as a Supreme

May 23, 2019 at 3:58 a.m.

In that netherworld between waking and sleeping, I conjured up a storybook ending to this nightmare of an election season. Goodness knows, we could use one. Republican presidential candidates have...

A sign promoting Dan Gilbert's bid for Cook County sheriff is illuminated above 3808 N. Central Ave. on Nov. 1, 1950, in Chicago.

Who was Chicago’s Dan Gilbert? ‘The world’s richest cop’

May 12, 2019 at 1:10 p.m.

Dan Gilbert was a big shot, the kind of guy whose name rated boldface type in gossip columns throughout most of his 80 years. His 1970 funeral was a who's...

Empty lots surround a portion of Chicago's Marshall High School, a hallowed place for many who grew up nearby decades ago.

Remembering Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood, and other places of childhood

June 11, 2018 at 6:25 a.m.

I mourned my friend the way I met him, with a sentimental journey to the West Side. We were students at the University of Chicago 60 years ago. No sooner...

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