Edward McClelland

Chicago, Illinois

Freelance Writer at Freelance

Editor at Chicago Magazine

312 editor, @chicagomag. Author of Chorus of the Union. Father of Lark, Birch and Rose. [email protected]

Articles

Hey, Indiana: Hands Off Our People and Bears

2 weeks ago | chicagomag.com | Edward McClelland

Indiana has an inferiority complex. And for good reason. Fitting for a state known for doing things second best, its main claim to fame is that it’s been home to the second-most vice presidents (six, behind New York’s 11). It has a sort of big city, whose nickname is India-no-place, but the rest of the state is composed of small towns with little opportunity.
Hey, Indiana: Hands Off Our People and Bears

2 weeks ago | l8r.it | Edward McClelland

Indiana has an inferiority complex. And for good reason. Fitting for a state known for doing things second best, its main claim to fame is that it’s been home to the second-most vice presidents (six, behind New York’s 11). It has a sort of big city, whose nickname is India-no-place, but the rest of the state is composed of small towns with little opportunity.
Chicago's Overlooked Role in Integrating Baseball

1 month ago | chicagomag.com | Edward McClelland

“The most notable of the early teams, the Chicago Blue Stockings, played and often beat white opponents during the 1870s, though they were denied admission to the state’s Senior Amateur Championship tournament,” baseball historian Don Zminda writes in Justice Batted Last: Ernie Banks, Minnie Miñoso, and the Unheralded Players Who Integrated Chicago’s Major League Teams.
Chicago’s Overlooked Role in Integrating Baseball

1 month ago | l8r.it | Edward McClelland

“The most notable of the early teams, the Chicago Blue Stockings, played and often beat white opponents during the 1870s, though they were denied admission to the state’s Senior Amateur Championship tournament,” baseball historian Don Zminda writes in Justice Batted Last: Ernie Banks, Minnie Miñoso, and the Unheralded Players Who Integrated Chicago’s Major League Teams.
The Next Mayor - Chicago Magazine

2 months ago | chicagomag.com | Edward McClelland

Has there ever been a Chicago mayor as unpopular as Brandon Johnson? A recent poll had his favorability rating at a cringeworthy 14 percent. As political consultant Tom Bowen delicately puts it: “This mayor is so weakened by his own hand that eight out of 10 Chicagoans would rather get punched in the face than reelect him.”Ouch. Even with the primary two years away, that kind of sentiment has already fueled early jockeying for who might succeed Johnson.
The Next Mayor - Chicago Magazine

2 months ago | l8r.it | Edward McClelland

Has there ever been a Chicago mayor as unpopular as Brandon Johnson? A new poll has his favorability rating at a cringeworthy 14 percent. As political consultant Tom Bowen delicately puts it: “This mayor is so weakened by his own hand that eight out of 10 Chicagoans would rather get punched in the face than reelect him.”Ouch. Even with the primary two years away, that kind of sentiment has already fueled early jockeying for who might succeed Johnson.
Ranking the New Illinois State Flag Designs

Jan 9, 2025 | chicagomag.com | Edward McClelland

The Illinois State Flag Commission has come out with 10 finalists — chosen from nearly 5,000 submissions — for a new Illinois state flag. Voting begins this month, and folks can choose from one of the new designs, the centennial flag (adopted in 1918), the sesquicentennial flag from 1968, or the current boring design this entire exercise was designed to remove from flagpoles.
Ranking the New Illinois State Flag Designs

Jan 9, 2025 | l8r.it | Edward McClelland

The Illinois State Flag Commission has come out with 10 finalists — chosen from nearly 5,000 submissions — for a new Illinois state flag. Voting has begun, and folks can choose from one of the new designs, the centennial flag (adopted in 1918), the sesquicentennial flag from 1968, or the current boring design this entire exercise was designed to remove from flagpoles.
The Trumpiest Election

Nov 13, 2024 | chicagomag.com | Edward McClelland

Even Chicago, the bluest of blue cities, is getting Trumpier. In the last three elections, Donald Trump has steadily increased his share of the vote here, from 12.4 percent in 2016, to 15.8 percent in 2020, to 21.4 percent last week. In Illinois as a whole, Trump’s percentage jumped from 40.5 percent in 2020 to 44.3 percent this year. Chicago, and Illinois, were part of a nationwide trend in which Democrats failed to turn out as many voters for Kamala Harris as they did for Joe Biden.
We Live in Trump’s America Now

Nov 6, 2024 | chicagomag.com | Edward McClelland

As hard as it is for liberal Chicagoans to understand, the American people voted to endorse Trump’s vision for America. This was no fluke electoral college victory against an unpopular opponent, as in 2016. This was a victory in which Trump won the popular vote. That was reflected in big cities, including Chicago, where Trump won 22 percent of the vote, a big improvement on his 15 percent in 2020.