63 Comments - Saluki - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 11:57 am: Tried to forget about it. - Square Pegs - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 11:58 am: Watched Pat Quinn get signatures for Mayoral term limits at our local park’s Independence Day celebration. - Publius - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:06 pm: I walked in the Loami and Jerome parades for Tony DelGiorno. Great crowds and good community spirit. - Huh? - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:06 pm: Kept trying to get my CapFax fix. - Nick Name - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:09 pm: I binged-watched Game of Thrones. - Just Me - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:10 pm: I went camping and asked my group of friends who their favorite founding father was. I was shocked and amazed at how many of my friends knew the names of some of them and could reasonably explain why. (And none of them chose Washington which I thought was interesting because he is the obvious answer.) Mine was Benjamin Franklin. - @MisterJayEm - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:10 pm: “Did you do anything politically oriented during the long Independence Day weekend?” I drank all my beer cold. Take that, Britain! – MrJM - G'Kar - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:11 pm: I watch the parade in my little town. When Darren LaHood marched by, we made eye contact and he purposely crossed the street, as we have had a few “conversations” in the past. - Anon211 - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:11 pm: Marched with my state senator in a 4th of July parade. No boos or heckling! - 47th Ward - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:12 pm: I’m in Nebraska and went to a local 4th of July parade. Governor Pete Ricketts was working the route, saw my Cubs hat, and came over to shake hands and talk a little baseball. I can’t stand his politics but I’m a big believer that his family is serious about making the Cubs a winner. They’ve been in a month-long slump, but seven All-Stars, including the starting infield, ain’t too shabby. - illini - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:13 pm: Same as MrJM, but I had some good wine as well. - olddog - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:15 pm: I took part in the grand (re-)opening of the Illinois State Museum in Springfield. It was grand to see all the families with young children there. - Skeptical - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:17 pm: Marched with John Curtis who is running for State Representative-this is WIU. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:17 pm: Like I’ve been doing for a very long time, I had a cold adult beverage (this year, I had Yuengling laying about) and watched “1776″. No matter what I did on find 4th, I’ve found a way to watch “1776″ on that date. I was amused by parade tweets, but that’s yeomen’s work for anyone doing 1, 2, some going 3 parades. I was tired thinking of parades, let alone walking in 2 or more. I was reminded parades are the “jumping jacks” of politics. Too true, and yeomen’s work too. - Annonin' - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:18 pm: Speakin’ of the 4th and politics wonder what happened to the coverage of BigBrain and his parade schedule. He was jumpin’ all over. How did he do? - Keyrock - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:23 pm: I waited for Governor Rauner to march by in a parade, so I could boo. And it was pretty close to the Orrington Hotel, too! But he never did. Neither did Sen. Kirk! As usual, the Republican candidates received a silent response. A warm welcome was given to Jan, Toni, Tammy, and others. Silence for Susan Mendoza. - Gooner - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:25 pm: No. My activities were limited to painting my kids’ room and whining about traffic. I learned that next time, I’m hiring a professional to paint. - Anonymouth - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:26 pm: === Silence for Susan Mendoza. === People up north still bitter about the Biss? - Belle - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:29 pm: Whined about BREXIT and the affect on the market. - FormerParatrooper - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:31 pm: I pulled my old worn Flag out that my Grandfather gave me new when I enlisted. This Flag has been my talisman on an incredible journey of my life. It has been on training missions, combat missions, not quite combat missions, it took flight in an F15 over Iraq ( without me unfortunately) during the period before OIF. It flew in Panama in Just Cause, in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait during Desert Storm, it flew from Kuwait to Tikrit at the beginning of Iraqi Freedom. I parachuted with her, rappelled from helicopters and she shows her age. She was at my retirement as well. She flies every 4th of July, Memorial Day and the Army Birthday/Flag Day. She is torn, has a few holes and isn’t as bright as she was, and neither am I. She represents my political feelings, everything we do should respect all she has stood for. - Jerry Callo - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:32 pm: I read the Declaration of Independence, after happening upon a radio show about the process of drafting the document. Marvelous. - Louis G. Atsaves - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:37 pm: Marched in the Highland Park Independence Parade in the Republican group. Had around a hundred marchers, including many teenagers and kids and even a little dog. We had a truck and float plastered with our candidate signs. Not a single heckler in the People’s Republic of Highland Park this year? We couldn’t get over that. That’s a first for us! Usually we get heckled by the many collectivists who live there. Attitudes changing this election? - ??? - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:43 pm: I exercised my right to bloat with beer and BBQ. - Honeybear - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:46 pm: Got the girls up with 1812 Overture. We had John Adams playing on the big screen while we went about our chores and had a really great discussion with the girls about the requirements of maintaining democracy. - Daniel Plainview - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:50 pm: - Usually we get heckled by the many collectivists who live there. - Are those “collectivists” now “collecting” a nice $125k per year addition to their household income, too? - Steve Rogers - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:54 pm: I put out my flag on July 2 (our actual independence day) and again on the 4th (the observed independence day). No flag on the 3rd. - ChicagoVinny - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:56 pm: I ate lots of red meat and watched stuff blow up, which *sounds* like a metaphor for politics. - walker - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 12:57 pm: Marched with Jan and local Dems in Arl Hts. Mixed reviews. My high point was when a guy came into the street to yell in my ear “Go back to where you came from you Commie.” Had to laugh. - burbanite - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 1:01 pm: Parade heckling with the assistance of Capt. Morgan. - DuPage Bard - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 1:03 pm: the 3 B’s Burgers Brats and Beers- nice to have a 3 day weekend. - A guy - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 1:18 pm: 3 parades. All very well attended. Villa Park, Bartlett, Wheaton. Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove and Hinsdale reported record crowds as well. Slept through the fireworks at night. Lot of walking. Lot of candy heavin’. - Illinois Bob - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 1:25 pm: I’m cleaning out my basement getting ready for sale, and I came across my Dad’s old WWII 8th Air Force Jacket and hat, and looked at the triangle folded flag they had draped on his casket in 2011 (air force blue, of course). It reminded me of the price so many paid from freedom from government tyranny, and why this year’s elections aren’t good ones to “sit out”. - Keyrock - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 1:36 pm: “People up north still bitter about the Biss?” – Yes. Blame Madigan. - Anon211 - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 1:39 pm: The “collectivists” in Highland Park, where medium family income is $140k and the average home is worth more than a half million dollars. Where do I sing up for this collectivist thing I keep hearing about. Sounds like a pretty good deal. - Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 1:49 pm: I had a house guest. We did see After the Fall at the Art Institute. American artists of the 1930s. - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:03 pm: I saw the local politicians parade down the street, shook hands with many of them - but was really there cuz the VanillaTwins were riding in a big float and a part of a parade for the first time. I was surrounded by fly-over folks ignored by the politically powerful until they started rebelling against The Expert Know It Alls wrecking their lives and dreams. Democracy is good, even when you lose. Good people. Doing their best, obeying the law, and tired of getting screwed. - Dee - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:07 pm: Went to Frontier Days in Arlington Heights and saw Jakob Dylan. Is it only me, or was his voice awful and terribly off key? My ears were still ringing when I watched the best fireworks display I have ever seen at Arlington Park on the 3d. - Dome Gnome - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:16 pm: I kept trying to get my Capitol Fax fix, too, but I did it from the relaxed setting of a Minnesota lake. Gorgeous. On Saturday night, the north side of the lake tried to outdo the south side of the lake in a fireworks kabooom-off. I’m not sure who won, the Hatfields or the McCoys, but a good time was had by all. - Anonymouth - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:23 pm: === “People up north still bitter about the Biss?” – Yes. Blame Madigan. === Heh. I think the people up north need to get over it. - MSIX - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:26 pm: I sat on my butt doing nothing important, much like a certain group of legislators we know. If it qualifies as politics for them, then it does for me as well. - Huh? - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:27 pm: I am wondering why nobody has written the American version of the Tchaikovsky 1812 overture. The music is about the battles for Moscow during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. I get that it is a rousing piece of music. Where else can you get bells and cannons at the same time. But it isn’t about our history. - Amalia - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:30 pm: watched the movie Suffragette again. + never forget that all women got the vote after all men in the state of Illinois. - Mongo - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:31 pm: I watched a 4th of July favorite, the movie “1776″. I’m not a musical guy, but the interplay between Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was, well, hilarious. The movie reminded me of Illinois too. Dang it, in the end, sides with two very different views reached a compromise. - Double Nickel - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:32 pm: Started watching The West Wing on Netflix. Show had a fantastic cast. - Mongo - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:33 pm: OW, I posted and then read. Congratulations on your taste. - Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:35 pm: Cuddled a scared pup while my usually quiet West Side SPI ‘hood once again sounded like Baghdad with the jerks and their fireworks. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:37 pm: - Mongo - “Your Obedient, (drum roll) G. Washington.” I’d say great minds, if I can, sheepish… Lee. - Cook County Commoner - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:44 pm: I am in the VFW, and I tried to get seating for the WWII honorees at the local festivities I attended as far away from the Tammy Duckworth and Hillary Clinton campaign people as I could. Duckworth especially. Sen. Kirk is a favorite among vets in the north suburbs for the great job he did at Lovell Federal Health Care Center in keeping it open and turning it into one of the few jewels in the VA system. - Norseman - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:47 pm: === Side SPI ‘hood once again sounded like Baghdad with the jerks and their fireworks. === AA, St. Louis area has to be worse. Ads all along the road for 4 for 1 sales. Must have been a lot of takers. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 2:59 pm: Cheered the Cubs beating with bats those Crains-like collectivist Reds from Cincinnati. Strange that the Sox were also playing a day game cross-town. Both teams being home at the same time is rare enough; at the same time hardly ever happens. Would have loved to parlay a Red Line double-header night game at Cominskey. - Steve Rogers - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 3:00 pm: Yes, the 1812 Overture is Russian, but it is about the celebration of victory, which is why it fits well with Fourth of July fireworks. For more relaxing firework music, I’d suggest the aptly titled, “Fireworks Music” by Handel. Excellent music. - Commonsense in Illinois - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 3:03 pm: I turned off tv and radio…read nothing…talked politics with no one. Best weekend in a long, long time. - Warthog - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 3:27 pm: Word, you may have witnessed one of the very few wins the Cubs have produced lately. Good thing the Reds are on the schedule. - Honeybear - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 3:28 pm: Ahhh, forgot the best part. I smoked stogies with my spouse on the screen porch and watch the nearby fireworks. And a correction on my previous post. Got the girls up with this US Army Fife and Drum music. I couldn’t even get through the first piece before my eye involuntarily started twitching from the shrillness and THEN switched to 1812 by Tchaikovsky. - the Cardinal - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 3:55 pm: Added bunting to my array of patriotic decorations and my American Flags. Watched fantastic fireworks display in the western burbs. No parades, those days are over unless a personal friend is the candidate and asks me to walk. I will gladly loan a couple of my kids to walk though. - frisbee - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 4:02 pm: paddled one of our scenic Illinois rivers and supported a local state park campground, well worth the $10 a night especially since the rain scared away most of the people - Blue dog dem - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 4:30 pm: I passed a petition prohibiting politicians from walking in parades. - Why Not - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 6:36 pm: Actually found an old Blagojevich tee shirt and wore it to the beach for laughs. At least it was red white and blue. Got some interesting comments. - JoanP - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 7:00 pm: No. Sadly, I had to miss our neighborhood parade, which features, among others, Toni Preckwinkle dressed as the Statute of Liberty and Barbara Flynn Currie dressed as Uncle Sam. But I had to be somewhere else. - Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 9:02 pm: Honeybear, you’re not raising those girls right if you’re playing Army music. Get the Navy band going! PS: Bob, my Dad was 8th Air Force in WWII as well. Still have his patches and aviator glasses. - Last Bull Moose - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 9:31 pm: My wife and I put fresh flowers and a flag on our sons grave. His headstone says I bought your freedom Make me proud Our other children say that is a high challenge. But I think they are meeting it. Hope I am too. - Union Leader - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 10:47 pm: What every good union worker would do on the 4th of July, I worked. Participated in a parade and went to a block party. - 21st State - Wednesday, Jul 6, 16 @ 11:12 pm: Paratrooper and Last Bull Moose: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! so moving, your responses here’s to serving those who served, amd their families, each and every day Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.