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Talking weather, Robyn, and child porn
01/12/2012

A Q&A with Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac by Asher Klein The Reader-sponsored Tomorrow Never Knows music festival is expanding into comedy for the first time this year, and Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac is one of the headliners along with Todd Barry and Chicago's own Hannibal Buress. (Three other local funnypeople will be opening for Cenac at his two sold-out shows: Cameron Esposito, Tony Mendoza, and Gabe Wallace.)…

Fiction Issue 2012: "Teen Jeopardy"
01/12/2012

Pure Fiction: "Teen Jeopardy" by Jessie Morrison Robbie Guajardo had never worn makeup before. It felt wet and thick, but strangely soothing, as the makeup lady brushed it across his cheeks and forehead.…

Fiction Issue 2012: "The Gentle Grift"
01/12/2012

Pure Fiction: "The Gentle Grift" by Tim Chapman Jack Dunphy drove his 16-year-old fist into the face of the kid who was sitting on him and felt the nose give way under his knuckles. Hot red drops freckled his face and then the weight was gone from his chest.…

In honor of the approaching 84th Academy Awards
01/12/2012

With Academy Award nominations a mere two weeks away, I figured it was apropos to revisit one of my favorite bits from Patton Oswalt's 2007 album, Werewolves and Lollipops. Buried deep in his set, "Death Bed" waxes poetic about the production and plot of the 1977 horror mess, Death Bed: The Bed That Eats, written and directed by George Barry—Oswalt actually refers to the movie as "Death Bed: The Bed That Eats People," which, really, would have been a better title.…

The fringe comes to the fore
01/12/2012

Highlights of the 23rd annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival by Drew Hunt and Sharon Lurye Positively venerable at the ripe old age of 23, Rhinofest continues its run as one of Chicago's annual go-to events for local fringe theater and performance art. Here are a few likely highlights of the monthlong dramaturgical smorgasbord curated by Curious Theatre Branch:…

Fiction Issue 2012: "Moving on at the Hipster Gym"
01/12/2012

Pure Fiction: "Moving on at the Hipster Gym" by Tova Burstein We've joined a hipster gym. We didn't need to buy new workout clothes like before, when we belonged to the YMCA or that posh spot on Lincoln Avenue where everyone wore the same brand of Lycra racerback and neon sweats or, sometimes, no shirt at all.…

The cryptic clarity of "Flight Patterns"
01/12/2012

RE|Dance offers two Chicago premieres in "Flight Patterns." by Laura Molzahn RE|Dance creates a clear sense of place with objects and environments permeated by mystery. One of two Chicago premieres on the company's new program, "Flight Patterns," Michael Estanich's 45-minute sextet The Attic Room features 500 tiny flying origami cranes, books used as stepping stones and building blocks, owl masks, and a large rug that can be a magic carpet or a prison cell, a haven or a shroud.…

Dan Savage sticks it to Rick Santorum
01/12/2012

Dan Savage revisits "Santorum" by Dan Savage Q I'm writing to thank you. I remember reading your definition of santorum—"the frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex"—when it first appeared.…

Editor's pick: "Red Velvet"
01/12/2012

Editor's pick: "Red Velvet" by Chris L. Terry After Uncle Paul's fifth gin and tonic of the night, he began to sense a buzzing around him, like an old neon light. He looked up to see that Winnie's Grill had got crowded with men, a knot of whom stood behind Paul, swaying in unison and singing along with the hopeful piano of Mary J. Blige's "Real Love," which played on the house stereo.…

China present and China past in "China Revisited"
01/12/2012

Headlong change is a focus of "China Revisited" at Schneider Gallery by Sam Worley Two of the loveliest photographs in "China Revisited" are by Gao Yuan, who places nude Chinese women before striking landscapes—a hazy, industrial-apocalyptic construction scene, an ocean beneath roiling clouds. The women recline before the camera as if posing for a portrait.…

Pure Fiction
01/12/2012

The 2012 Fiction Issue Here's how it works: each year since, well, last year, Reader editors have asked a Chicago writer we admire to judge the submissions to our annual fiction contest. There's no reason at all to think that the ability to pen a good novel automatically makes someone an expert at appraising other people's art, but it's worked pretty well so far.…

Sun, smog, and black metal
01/12/2012

Nachmystium front man Blake Judd heads to LA, drone-pop group Names Divine cleans up nice, and more by Jessica Hopper and J.R. Nelson Nachtmystium front man Blake Judd is moving to LA soon, and though the rumor mill is churning up lots of speculation about why, the official word from reps at the band's label, Century Media, is that Judd wants a "change of scenery." The rest of the band will stay put in Chicago, and they're adamant that Judd's move won't interfere with their tour and release schedule.…

Never mind the noodles
01/12/2012

Takashi Yagihashi shows how it?s done at Slurping Turtle by Mike Sula "We got pegged as a noodle shop initially, but we're actually an izakaya." That was the hedge a server offered on a recent visit to Takashi Yagihashi's Slurping Turtle, a bit off-message, since the chef himself disavowed a direct connection to the traditional Japanese pub in the pre-opening hype of his River North . . .…

In Rotation: Big Star manager Ben Fasman on contemporary country that doesn't suck
01/12/2012

Big Star manager Ben Fasman on contemporary country that doesn't suck Miles Raymer, Reader music critic iMaschine for iPhone Maschine is a hardware-software sampler-sequencer setup from Native Instruments, and iMaschine is its standalone companion app for the iPhone—one that's far more powerful than the $4.99 price tag might suggest.…

Fiction Issue 2012: "Sky Boys"
01/12/2012

Pure Fiction: "Sky Boys" by Steve Trumpeter Your first day on the job, the only thing they tell you is, "Don't look down." I haven't met a sky boy yet who took that advice.…

The Secret History of Chicago Music: Graced Lightning
01/12/2012

The Secret History of Chicago Music: the "futuristic rock" of early-70s Deerfield band Graced Lightning by Plastic Crimewave

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This week's Key Ingredient: a chef-to-chef challenge to cook with gold leaf
01/12/2012

In this week's chef-to-chef challenge, Erling Wu-Bower of the Publican cooks with gold leaf by Julia Thiel The Chef: Erling Wu-Bower (The Publican) The Challenger: John Anderes (Telegraph Wine Bar)…

This week's Culture Vultures recommend . . .
01/12/2012

Cityscape Bar, "Arcadia," and "Owl Scouts" at Lula by Armando Salazar Thomas Murray, founder and artistic director of Waltzing Mechanics, enjoys the view from: Cityscape Bar There are myriad rooftop bars and clubs around the Loop surrounding the spectacle that is our city's skyline.…

Fiction Issue 2012: "Thank God for Facebook!"
01/12/2012

Pure Fiction: "Thank God for Facebook!" by Timothy Moore Just when we doubted HIS goodness, Madeline, three days after her murder, posted on Facebook. "Thanks for the kind words!" she wrote.…

The week seapunk broke
01/12/2012

Internet-born dance-music microscene seapunk puts down roots in Chicago by Miles Raymer At the end of December I noticed an uptick in online chatter—especially in niche networks within Twitter and Tumblr where up-to-the-second knowledge of microtrends in dance-music culture is generally assumed—regarding something called "seapunk." The term refers in part to a style of electronic music that incorporates…

Tomorrow Never Knows
01/12/2012

Tomorrow Never Knows: Free trolleys, stand-up comedy, and lots of music?from the Walkmen to Willis Earl Beal by Luca Cimarusti The Tomorrow Never Knows festival began Wednesday and runs till Sun 1/15, with four days of shows at Lincoln Hall, Schubas, Metro, Hideout, and Smart Bar. Acts at Lincoln Hall include Tycho and Active Child on Thu 1/12 (sold out), Theophilus London on Fri 1/13, Grouplove on Sat 1/14 (sold out), and Two Gallants and Carter Tanton on Sun 1/15.…

Editor's pick: "The Fall and Rise of 'The Worst Commercial Ever Made'"
01/12/2012

Editor's pick: "The Fall and Rise of 'The Worst Commercial Ever Made'" by Brian Costello Upon its release, it was immediately damned by critics as "The Worst Commercial Ever Made." It was broadcast only once—all three minutes and 35 seconds of it—on October 7, 1979, during an episode of Vega$.…

State will let couples in civil unions file joint tax returns
01/11/2012

By Jamey Dunn

UPDATED: Equality Illinois released a statement regarding the Illinois Department of Revenue's decision on state tax returns. See below.

Illinois couples in civil unions will now be required to file their state tax returns in the same way as married couples. The new plan is a reversal from a previous policy, under which couples in civil unions could not file state taxes together.

The Illinois Department of Revenue had decided that such couples would have to file separately because they could not file their federal taxes together. Sue Hofer, spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Revenue, said the agency looked to New York, which legalized same sex marriage this year, when trying to find a way to allow couples in civil unions to file joint state taxes.

Hofer said partners in a civil union would fill out the federal form as if they were married, and then fill out the state form as a married couple. The federal return would be sent only to the state, along with the state form, to be used as a dummy to base the state return upon. Those in civil unions would still have to file separate federal returns as single because the federal government does not recognize their partnerships. Couples who do not wish to file a joint return would still file as married but would be able to file separate state returns.

Hofer said joint filing for state taxes will not result in large tax benefits for couples -- the substantial benefit comes at the federal level for couples with disparate incomes. If one person has a much smaller income, it can move the household into a lower tax bracket than the individual was in. “In Illinois because we are a flat tax state, you really aren’t going to see any significant change to your taxes. … With the state, everybody pays a 5 percent flat tax. But there will be some benefits.” She said that exemptions such as for property taxes or education expenses, could be applied a couple’s total income instead of just an individual’s earnings.

Randy Hannig, director of public policy for Equality Illinois, declined to comment specifically on the change because he said the group had not received an official announcement from the department. However, he said he is “cautiously optimistic.” UPDATE: From a prepared statement released by Equality Illinois Monday night: "Since the beginning of June when same-sex couples first started entering into civil unions, no one could speak with certainty about how this new status would affect state tax policy," said Hannig. "We immediately reached out to the Illinois Department of Revenue and started the process of figuring out a solid solution to this problem. Illinois law specifies that couples in a civil union are afforded the same rights and benefits as married spouses, so why should same-sex couples' state tax status be any different?” Illinois is the 10th state, including the District of Columbia, to allow same sex couples to file joint tax returns, according to Equality Illinois.

Hofer said the department will work in the coming weeks to get the word out about the change so couples in civil unions know what to do when filing their returns early next year. “We realize we had to make a decisions before the end of the year,” she said. “We will be talking with advocates and folks that this will impact.”

Rep. Greg Harris, a sponsor of the law that legalized civil unions in the state, said he did not know whether the department had created a final policy on the issue. “I do know in having talked to tax partners in a number of major law firms ... that this change would bring us in line with what other states do,” Harris said. He said the problems the department had in sorting out tax policy for couples in civil unions highlight a disparity that exists at the federal level. Harris, a Chicago Democrat, said because the federal government does not recognize civil unions, couples will miss out on tax benefits and have to jump through “additional hoops” to file state taxes together. “There’s still an inequality in the way relationships between same sex couples are treated and the way relationships between opposite sex couples are treated.”

Maloney, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said that the amount of funding linked to performance would likely be small at first. He said that one of the biggest challenges to the plan is the state budget. Maloney said the idea is to reward schools that are doing well, not punish schools that are under-achieving. But he said if higher education funding is cut or even holds steady, the end result would be punitive — taking away money from current funding levels — instead of a positive incentive — getting bonus funds for good performance. “The higher ed community has celebrated flat funding as a victory. That is unfortunate, but that’s where we’re at.”

Perna and her research partner, Joni Finney, who is also a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, looked at Illinois as part of a series of five state studies and plan to release data on other states in the near future. The project focuses on the possible causes of higher education outcomes in different states. Perna said that other states are struggling with issues similar to those facing Illinois. However, she said that the findings in Illinois are particularly disheartening because the state was performing very well in recent years. According to the study, Illinois was a leader on enrollment rates and college affordability during the mid-90s. “Illinois was once a state that people looked to as the model for higher education performance, as well as public policy and government, and it's not really any longer,” Perna said. She said that Illinois' more positive performance history is an indicator that higher education in the state could bounce back. “The potential is there, but there’s been a serious erosion. … Some profound things have to change.”

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Check out what's happening in the NewQuestCity Forums for Illinois .

Talking weather, Robyn, and child porn
01/12/2012

Fiction Issue 2012: "Teen Jeopardy"
01/12/2012

Fiction Issue 2012: "The Gentle Grift"
01/12/2012