When it comes to violence, formerly incarcerated individuals are subject-matter experts. Violence has affected our lives on every level, whether we created it or whether we were the victim. Violence is as old as America, and it’s unfortunate that it disproportionately impacts the most disinvested communities.

Violence is a community problem. To me, that means it’s all state sponsored, whether it’s stuff that happens in communities or through policy and legislation. It’s centered around a lack of resources and opportunities that allow communities to thrive, behold, and be a part of the American experience. Those things help create and produce violence by extension, because their systemic nature is never addressed. Slavery was never addressed. Then sharecropping, then redlining, then gentrification.

We live in a state where more than 1.5 million people have been convicted of a felony [according to Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJAI)]. Most eventually return to the community where they were arrested. If we as ex-cons create opportunities to reduce recidivism, that is a benefit to society.

ECCSC does behavior modification and social justice work that changes the way that those returning think about gangs, drugs, and violence. We represent experience and expertise on how to prevent more at-risk youth from going to prison. With our connections, resources, and partnerships, we’re able to link formerly incarcerated persons to labor opportunities and training that can help them become tax-paying, law-abiding citizens.

That’s the definition of public safety: We’re no longer shooting and killing one another. We’re no longer robbing and stealing. Now we have an income, and a different mindset of what community and being a good citizen looks like.

Ex-cons are the most permanently underclass and discriminated against group in this country. So we’re always looking for partners that will say, “You’ve served your debt to society. Now it’s our time to give you an opportunity to provide for the common good.” We have manhood and mentoring services, we’ve got a trauma-informed prevention program, and we have [our support group program] Phoenix—rising from the ashes to success. Everyone can use support, and ex-cons need support groups more than anyone so that we can encourage them to stay on the right path, not to reoffend, and to build networks of trust. Now we’ve become a fulcrum to help them see that change is possible.

Ex-cons are subject matter experts, so I don’t know why we’re not called to the table more to help society with these issues; it’s unfortunate that society doesn’t figure out ways to better use our talents and gifts.

Tyrone F. Muhammad is an entrepreneur, author, and activist. After serving 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, he founded Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change (ECCSC) in 2017. The organization is dedicated to preventing violence and reducing recidivism through job training, mentoring services, and building community networks for formerly incarcerated individuals as well as local youth. ECCSC’s Support Your Local Weedman initiative provides professional development opportunities in CBD production and sales to those hurt by anti-drug laws. This summer, SYLW will open a storefront in Washington Park.

This is a paid sponsored content article from Green Thumb Industries. 

Learn more about Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change at www.eccsc.org.

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Sugar daddy sites have risen in popularity over the last several years as society becomes more comfortable with unconventional relationships. As more and more people seek either companionship or financial security, sugar arrangements have become very attractive.

Unfortunately, the popularity of sugar relationships has caused an influx of sugaring sites to pop up. Some sites do their part in vetting the members, but others invite scammers, leeches, flakes, and fakes.

We’ve done the leg work for you and have found the best sugar daddy sites where a sugar daddy can meet a sugar baby and vice versa. These sites strike the delicate balance between safety and fun. We review what’s best about a site for daddies and what’s best for babies.

These are our brand new rankings for 2022.

The Best Sugar Daddy Sites and Apps in 2022

RankSiteBest For1.SugarDaddy.comOne of the oldest and more reliable sites2.Seeking ArrangementBest reputation3.Secret BenefitsBest mix of daddies and babies4.SugarDaddyMeetVerified income feature5.SugarDaddyForMeQuickest way to find an arrangement6.Ashley MadisonJudgement free sugar dating site7.What’s Your PriceBest for women to set their own price8.Sugar SearchBest database of local sugar daddies9.R/SugarBabyFree way to find sugar babies10.Elite SinglesMeet intellectual sugar babies and daddies11.Established MenBest for daddies seeking a long term arrangement12.RichMeetBeautifulMost secure and discreet site13.Miss TravelBest for sugar babies who like to travel14.Wealthy MenMost straightforward sugar dating site15.AgeMatchFind younger women16.SudyBest sugar dating app17.SugarBookBest sugar app for babies

1. SugarDaddy.com – Best overall site

Sugardaddy.com is one of the most reliable sugar daddy sites around and has been around for quite some time. The site is hailed as one of the greats because it verifies all of its members (daddies and babies) and there are almost 10 million members and counting. At any given time, the site is active with several thousands of users and nearly 2/3rds are babies looking for someone to take care of them.

Free members can actually enjoy tons of features (like sending kisses, using the advanced search feature, and responding to paying members), but a membership is well worth it and pretty affordable compared to its competitors. It’s a credit-based system and costs around a quarter per credit. Privacy is a top priority on Sugardaddy.com, making it easy to discreetly enter into relationships.

What it’s like for daddies:

70% of the users on sugardaddy.com are babies looking to be spoiled. With millions of users, this makes being a daddy on the site extremely easy and entertaining. Credits can be used to get in touch with the babies and they won’t cost you much. Because privacy is taken so seriously on this website, there’s no need to fear your identity being revealed. Furthermore, daddies can rest easy knowing they won’t be scammed by any members given that they are all verified.

What it’s like for babies:

Sugar babies tend to love the ease of this site and how slick it is. Other sugar baby sites tend to look shady or seedy, but sugardaddy.com is slick and modern. It makes it easy to layout exactly what you’re looking for in a daddy. One drawback is the fact that most of the users are babies, so there’s some stiff competition out there. But with millions of daddies online searching, finding the right one shouldn’t be too difficult.

2.  Seeking Arrangement – Most popular sugar daddy app

Seeking Arrangement is the largest, most successful, and most referenced sugar daddy site available. There’s a large possibility that you’ve heard of it. If you aren’t already signed up and are wondering if it works, the answer is yes. Seeking Arrangement boasts over 10 million users in over 130 countries. The website itself is very discreet and the Seeking team works tirelessly to protect its members from anything that might jeopardize physical or financial safety. Read our full review here.

What it’s like for daddies:

Seeking has one of the best female-to-male ratios for sugar daddies. There’s also an understanding on the site that relationships are no-strings-attached, and women are both very sexual and extremely beautiful. Maintain anonymity by putting revealing photos or face pictures into private galleries that you grant access to. This is not a free sugar daddy site for the daddies, but it is for the babies.

What it’s like for babies:

Seeking Arrangement makes it easy for young women to sign up. There’s a way to check out each daddy’s net worth, so you can be better informed of what type of arrangement they’d be able to handle. The site is also 100 percent free for babies!

3.  Secret Benefits – Best gender ratio

SecretBenefits.com is one of the most popular and stylish sugar daddy dating websites. It has a modern and fresh look along with an easy-to-use interface which has encouraged millions of attractive and wealthy individuals to join and search for a positive sugar dating experience on the site. Due to its popularity and stellar reputation among the site’s members, there is a constant flow of new hopeful sugar daddies and sugar babies as well as a very active member base.

Anyone can signup, create a profile, and search for free. Sugar babies can enjoy the site and its features for free. If a sugar daddy finds a sugar baby of interest, they need to purchase credits to open a chat with them. There should be no lack of potential candidates among the millions of members as the gender ratio is about 50/50.

What it’s like for daddies:

Signing up as a sugar daddy is very fast and painless. You can also choose to start a very basic profile to search for potential sugar babies in your area before committing too much time or money. Another great feature if you’re looking for a discreet relationship is you can hide your profile at any time as well as go invisible for 24 hours and browse profiles in secret. These features help maintain your privacy while discreetly allowing you to find your perfect sugar baby.

What it’s like for babies:

Sugar babies love using Secret Benefits not only because it’s free, but also because the site’s outstanding support team keeps the riffraff out which provides a safe platform full of serious and active sugar daddies that are not looking to waste anyone’s time. Getting your profile verified via a short intro video also encourages daddies to reach out once they see that you are the real deal. The success rates for legit, happy, and ongoing sugar daddy relationships are extremely high on SecretBenefits.com, so it’s really just about getting signed up and putting yourself out there to find exactly the type of daddy you’re looking for.

4.  SugarDaddyMeet – For rich men who can spoil

SugarDaddyMeet, one of the original sugar dating sites, doesn’t sugarcoat its true intentions. According to the site, it’s only available to men who live in the 20 richest countries in the world. By attracting affluent men, it also attracts beautiful young women. Verifying income and wealth are two major features on SugarDaddyMeet, making it one of the best sugar dating sites for the ladies.

What it’s like for daddies:

For one, you’ll need to actually be rich to get approved for SugarDaddyMeet. Those who meet the requirements are introduced to a world of beautiful females. The platform itself feels like other social media sites that you may already be familiar with. It’s very casual and generally a breeze finding a mutually beneficial arrangement.

What it’s like for the babies:

This site has plenty of features that make women feel safe using it. You can verify income and let the site know what you’re looking for in a sugar daddy. Using a handy algorithm, it’ll match you up based on your preferences. A free membership is all you’ll need!

5.  SugarDaddyForMe – Speedy matching process

This chic site is slick in design and even better in matching capabilities. It doesn’t hide the fact that it’s a tried and true sugar daddy site designed for arrangements. This is made clear for both the women and the men who join SugarDaddyForMe.

What it’s like for daddies:

You should know first that the payment structure is unique. The membership tiers are based on how much time you want to buy rather than what you have access to. SugarDaddyForMe will want to verify your income, but there’s not much to it after that. You’re essentially brought into the SugarDaddyForMe world within minutes, making this platform one of the fastest ways to find a date.

What it’s like for babies:

This is a free sugar daddy site for you! Signing up takes only minutes and you’ll be glad to know that SugarDaddyForMe will want to know what your ideal arrangement would be. This can all be altered later if you change your mind.

6.  Ashley Madison – Find a casual companion

Ashley Madison is the site that people hate admitting they love. Sure, it’s received some shady press over the years, but it works marvelously. Though linked to affairs, it’s a perfect site for those in open-relationships to find fun arrangements with other folks. It’s a completely open-minded and judgment-free space for people to explore sensual relationships.

What it’s like for daddies:

Ashley Madison can be used as a sugar site. It follows a credit-based payment structure that allows men to communicate with women. There’s nothing on Ashley Madison to weed out the sugar babies from the rest of them, so you’ll need to use the age preference feature to find the ladies and chat to see if they are interested. Women are free to join, making it a great breeding ground for relationships with younger college-age women.

What it’s like for babies:

Men on Ashley Madison are usually looking for excitement, and sugar babies know how to have fun. There are a lot of wealthy men looking for younger women on the site, so if you specify that you are looking to set up an arrangement, you’ll have no problem finding a handsome catch.

Want even more about Ashley Madison? Check out our full review.

7.  What’s Your Price – Bid on dates

On many sugar sites, the idea of an arrangement is implied but not always enforced. In other words, SDs don’t feel like spending or SBs ask for too much. On What’s Your Price, the intention is clear. It’s about an agreement or arrangement that works for both parties. What’s Your Price will set everyone up with their ideal situation so that the minutiae of finances don’t cloud the fun! And it was created by the established folks behind Seeking, so you know it’s legit.

What it’s like for daddies:

You will feel like you are shopping for gorgeous women through an online marketplace. We hate to boil it down to an online shopping experience, but that’s kind of how it works! You will be shown tons of ladies who have a price in mind. Then, you can bid on anyone you find attractive or worth your time. You can also send virtual gifts and make bids as low as $10. You don’t have to be “wealthy” to join.

What it’s like for the babies:

What’s Your Price puts you in total control, which is a nice alternative to the chaotic free-for-all approach that other sites have. The only negative to What’s Your Price is that there is a lot of competition. There are 3 million members and counting, which means that your ad is going to have to be competitive.

8.  Sugar Search – Check out “Members Currently Online” before chatting to avoid flakes

It’s just as it sounds. Sugar Search is an easy to use search engine to find a local sugar daddy.

Sugar Search only operates in a few cities. Sorry babies and daddies, if you’re not in NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, or Philadelphia, this isn’t the site for you.

Sugar Search goes to admirable lengths to ensure all the accounts are legit. Some slip through the cracks, but the moderation team is pretty on top of it.

Best of all, the site has great customer service and makes it easy to cancel a membership if you’re over it.

What it’s like for daddies:

It’s a super simple sign up process for daddies. Fill in a few fields, verify some personal info, and you’re set. Sugar Search has a great daddy to baby ratio, so it shouldn’t be too hard to meet a baby. The chat feature is slick and easy to use. If you want your profile to appear toward the top of search results, opt for the Diamond Membership. It really does increase the amount and quality of matches.

What it’s like for the babies:

Babies, you won’t be disappointed. Sugar Search is the ultimate sugar daddy search tool if you’re in one of their cities. Sugar Search requires daddies to verify their personal information, so you won’t encounter too many fraudulent accounts. Do your own due diligence by chatting with a prospective daddy first. The sheer volume of options means you’ll likely connect with someone shortly after you sign up.

9.  Reddit (r/SugarBaby) – Top sugar forum

Reddit is a site that gets a ton of volume. As a general forum for a huge range of topics, people come to Reddit to get information about virtually anything you can think of. It works for sugaring, too, on the subreddits that are related to the subject. If you don’t already know, a subreddit is a specific message board. For the best sugar daddy action, visit the /r/SugarBaby board. We should also warn you that sexy photos flood the page!

What it’s like for daddies:

This subreddit has over 80K users, making it more intimate than most but still giving you a ton of options. The best part is that it’s one of the only free sugar daddy sites on this list. Men aren’t allowed to post, but you can browse through the photos and proposals of the women on the page.

What it’s like for the babies:

You can post on this forum photos and a description of your ideal relationship. If a guy sees you on the page and is interested in pursuing you, he will direct message you through the platform! To post, you will need to go through a verification process, but it’s not complicated.

10.  Elite Singles – Dating site for educated daddies and babies

Elite Singles was not designed specifically for sugaring. It’s a premium dating site that caters toward educated and successful individuals looking for someone who is like-minded. As a baby, you should be seeking something serious when you join Elite Singles. This site is made for real relationships, not a one-time hookup. A majority of the people on this site are college-educated, regardless of age, so that’s another thing to keep in mind.

What it’s like for daddies:

Elite Singles is ideal for the man (or woman) who is interested in meeting an intelligent, independent person to shower with affection or anything else. One of the best things about Elite Singles is that nobody is flakey. People are genuinely searching for their other half and they aren’t greedy for cash because they are successful themselves.

What it’s like for the babies:

This is an app best suited for the baby who isn’t just in this for the money. You don’t need to be wildly successful to get on Elite Singles, but you should have a semblance of independence and perhaps a college degree (or working towards one). This isn’t the quickest way to find a sugar daddy, but it is a place where you’ll meet successful people.

11.  Established Men – Great for long-term sugar dating

If you couldn’t gather from the name, Established Men is a dating site created for successful men looking for a relationship. Men who are established and wealthy often don’t find much time to date around. This site makes finding a partner very simple. It’s not a hookup site but rather a place that caters directly to wealthy guys who want a relationship. Though not exclusively for sugar relationships, women aren’t charged for a membership, making it feel like a free sugar daddy site for them.

What it’s like for daddies:

Established Men is not a free sugar dating site for men, but that shouldn’t be a problem if you are, in fact, established. Through the platform, you are able to send gifts and interact with the beautiful ladies that this website attracts. There are new members daily, so you’ll never run out of options!

What it’s like for babies:

Step into the world of Established Men. These are individuals who know their worth, so they might be tough to please. What’s nice about the site is that these guys aren’t expecting you to come to them with a set arrangement. They just want to spoil someone special with bags, shoes, and more.

12.  RichMeetBeautiful – Encrypted sugar daddy site

Contrary to popular belief, RichMeetBeautiful is not just for rich men. Anyone who is reasonably well off can still engage with beautiful men and women through the platform. It’s also one of the most secure sugar dating sites because it uses encryption security.

What it’s like for daddies:

RichMeetBeautiful claims to be rich in several ways: experience, romance, passion, style, and so on. It also explicitly says “no sugar dating” on the homepage. You’re probably asking yourself why it even made the list. It’s a site for successful individuals to meet one another through a scientific matchmaking algorithm. If you want to find a younger woman to spoil, you will absolutely be able to.

What it’s like for babies:

RichMeetsBeautiful is not explicitly for sugar dating. It is a site where you can converse with men who enjoy spoiling their significant others. It’s built for long-lasting relationships, so be prepared to meet people who want to find real love.

13.  Miss Travel – Best for the adventurous

Miss Travel puts an exciting spin on sugar dating. Rather than finding a companion locally, this site encourages people to find partners from places they’d love to travel to! It adds a whole new element to the fun of sugar dating, and women can join this site for free.

What it’s like for daddies:

SDs in open relationships or looking for fun outside of a relationship love to use this site while they travel for business. However, it’s also convenient for men who want foreign women to come to them. There are a ton of beautiful women who use Miss Travel because they are looking for an adventure with a well-to-do man.

What it’s like for babies:

Ever wanted to travel the world? This is one of the best ways to make that happen. The daddy you find will likely pay for the entire trip. There’s also an exciting “Create a Trip” feature that allows you to plan a wonderful vacation right there on the site.

14.  Wealthy Men – A no-frills approach to sugaring

Wealthy Men is the most straightforward sugar daddy website available to users, and it’s very reliable too. It promises young women that they will meet the wealthy man of their dreams. And, it has a guarantee for its paid members that they’ll find someone in three months. Members can rest assured that Wealthy Men will absolutely work for them.

What it’s like for daddies:

We’ll be honest: Wealthy Men does not make it that easy on the guys initially. You will have to prove that you make at least 85K by providing documentation stating so and comment on how much you’re willing to spend on a baby. While this is annoying, it maintains the integrity of the site.

What it’s like for babies:

This is one of the best sugar daddy sites out there. The financial aspect works in your favor. But you’ll want to pay for it, as the free version doesn’t allow for messaging.

15.  AgeMatch – Best for relationships with significant age gaps

AgeMatch doesn’t market itself as a sugar website. Instead of sugar daddies and young models, it pins itself as a dating platform for people with a very large age gap between them. This works for arrangements because most of the companionships on this site are between successful older men and stunning younger women.

What it’s like for daddies:

Some men don’t want arrangements and prefer the idea of spoiling someone who enjoys their company. For those types, AgeMatch is perfect. You will feel like you are on a real dating site and not a shady or seedy arrangement site, which is a nice alternative to the normal setup.

What it’s like for babies:

The expected age gap works in your favor, but the fact that sugaring is more implied than explicit does not. You won’t be asked about your preferred arrangement. However, there are plenty of wonderful successful older men at your disposal and you are welcome to present them with your terms.

16.  Sudy – A sugaring mobile app

Sudy is a fantastic app in terms of usability. It functions really well and is set up in such a way that makes it easy to meet someone new. There are some things about Sudy that aren’t perfect, which is why it’s at the bottom of our list, but it’s certainly a great option for someone who would rather use their phone than a desktop to find a date.

What it’s like for the daddies:

To join, you’ll need to make over 200K. Once you verify this, you will be introduced to the world of beautiful ladies (there’s a 4:1 male to female ratio). Gorgeous women like to know that you make enough to entertain them, so the verification works in your favor. Sources report having trouble deleting their profiles though, so that might be a turn-off for you.

What it’s like for babies:

There are more women than men, which means it’s competitive. But at the same time, Sudy is also very safe. The Sudy staff work tirelessly to moderate the platform and remove suspicious or fake profiles.

17.  SugarBook – Great for alternative arrangements

Sometimes arrangements aren’t all money-based. There are ambitious women (or guys) out there who desire connections, advice, opportunities, and financial help. Sources say that SugarBook is ideal for that type of relationship with a sugar mama or sugar daddy because each interaction begins by laying out expectations for one another.

What it’s like for daddies:

You will need to verify your income before getting accepted to SugarBook. This is technically a free sugar daddy site for men, but the premium option will show you many more profiles. We’ll admit that it’s limited on the free side.

What it’s like for babies:

You can join for free or pay for more features, that’s totally up to you. Try the free version first, though, because the features just include access to more daddies and a more specific search. You might find what you’re looking for on the free version alone. You’ll have a chance to create a profile where you can explain what you’re interested in.

Have Questions About Sugar Daddies and Babies? Here Are Some FAQs

What Does a Sugar Daddy Do?

A sugar daddy’s role is relatively simple. His “job” consists essentially in using his wealth to spoil the sugar baby. This might include fancy dinners, high-end alcohol, even vacations all around the world. In return, the sugar daddy expects a certain degree of companionship. 

Where Can I Find a Sugar Baby?

Finding a sugar baby is basically the same process as finding a sugar daddy. You simply need to leverage the sites and apps that exist specifically to unite would-be sugar babies with sugar daddies. One of the best sites for this is Seeking, though there are many others (the reviews for which you can see in the above article). 

What Does a Sugar Baby Do?

A sugar baby simply provides companionship to a sugar daddy. In exchange for being spoiled and receiving gifts, dinners, vacations, etc., a sugar baby is expected to provide companionship and affection to the sugar daddy. This isn’t necessarily always sexual, as that depends on the sugar daddy and the terms that you establish. It’s a good idea to be upfront about expectations from the get-go to ensure that everything goes smoothly. 

Is It Ok to Have a Sugar Daddy?

Some people may be wondering if it’s morally okay to have a sugar daddy. Well, that depends. Is the sugar daddy married with kids and doing this on the side without anyone knowing? That’s definitely a questionable thing to do morally speaking. But if no one else is at risk of being hurt by the relationship, and everything is consensual, then it’s perfectly okay to have a sugar daddy. 

Are Sugar Daddy Sites Legit?

Sugar daddy sites can definitely be legit. That said, sugar relationships have become more popular and so many sites have popped up lately. Not all of them are legitimate, so it’s important to be careful. A good idea would be to stick with the sites reviewed above, especially the biggest and most well-established ones. 

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Nealshow Productions premieres Pat Radke’s and Dave Satterwhite’s malaprop-fueled road-trip comedy. Candyce (Lee Satterwhite), in WWI helmet and goggles, is at the wheel of a middle-school-art-project stand-in for an automobile. While nominally a rideshare driver, he doesn’t seem to be especially savvy about geography, money making, or anything worldly. Candyce is going through some sort of existential crisis, which is exacerbated by frequent solipsistic phone calls from his very Boomer dad, Barney (Scott Minches), and a succession of bizarre talk-radio and off-kilter music that often comes off as his inner monologue.

The Coming Out Party
Through 6/25: Thu-Sat 8 PM; Jarvis Square Theater, 1439 W. Jarvis, nealshowproductions.website, $20.

When he picks up his first (and only) fare things get even screwier. Pat (Leslie Halverson) and Dave (Gail Harder) are in the midst of their own psychodrama before hopping into Candyce’s cab and making it a circus on wheels. While gender ambiguity certainly undergirds many of the exchanges between these three troubled souls, the most winning aspect of the play is its assault on language. Pat, especially, is fond of using stock phrases incorrectly, but everyone who speaks takes familiar expressions and mangles them in hilarious and sometimes memorable ways. Coleman Zurkowski’s original music contributes to the near-recognizable but just off vibe of the entire piece by blending dance, pop, and Kraut rock into a fitting soundtrack for the journey that this trio is on. I could’ve done without the predictably dark ending, but it’s a hell of a ride before they get there.

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Like the rest of the world, Second City has been through its share of upheavals in the past two years. Longtime owner, CEO, and executive producer Andrew Alexander stepped down in June 2020 in the wake of increasing public allegations about institutional racism at the comedy powerhouse. Anthony LeBlanc stepped in as interim executive director, followed by Jon Carr, a veteran of theater and improv comedy in Atlanta, who came on board in December 2020. Then Carr stepped down earlier this year. Meantime, the company itself was bought by a private equity firm, and the instructors at the Second City Training Center in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto have all been fighting for union representation.

And that’s not taking into account everything happening outside Second City’s doors: a pandemic, a failed domestic insurrection, the Russian war on Ukraine, and courts and legislatures across the U.S. seemingly bent on rolling us right back to the 1850s. 

Do the Right Thing, No Worries If Not
Open run: Tue-Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 7 and 10 PM, Sun 7 PM; Second City mainstage, 1616 N. Wells, 312-337-3992, secondcity.com, $33-$114.

What’s remarkable about Second City’s latest mainstage offering, Do the Right Thing, No Worries If Not, is that it ignores almost all of that. And I gotta say, I think that’s a good thing. We know things are terrible. Does anyone really need to pay Second City prices to hear the same commentary we can find dished out for free on late-night television (or in the current January 6 hearings)?

But that’s not to say that the 110th revue, directed by Jen Ellison in her mainstage debut, is lacking in politics. By virtue of the diversity of the cast and the way their intersecting identities are dissected, sent up, and ultimately celebrated, this show tells us that the very act of unapologetically being who you are is a big political statement. And one that is absolutely essential to the survival of the species.

And as the title tells us, adjusting to each other with grace is also a political act. We’re going to fuck up. The big question is if we’re willing to listen and learn—which, as the “yes, and” gurus have been telling us for a minute, is one of the reasons improv can change your life.

In 2018’s Algorithm Nation or the Static Quo, Second City’s 107th revue, the company leaned hard into darkness with scenes involving gunshots and an over-the-top parody of a female Trump supporter. But as Brianna Wellen noted in her Reader review (where she quoted former Second City cast member Tawny Newsome’s observation that women were required to wear dresses onstage as recently as 2012), “when there are so many other progressive and innovative shows happening in the city, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to see where a theater that wanted to keep women in dresses fits in.”

In Do the Right Thing, the cast seemingly wears whatever the hell they want. And they’re unafraid of crafting vignettes that delve right into the heart of identity. 

So for example, we have a brilliant scene set at Dick’s Last Resort, where Claire McFadden’s waitron hands out obscene nicknames at a birthday party for 12-year-olds. But when informed that one of the guests, played by nonbinary actor Kiley Fitzgerald, uses they/them pronouns, McFadden’s character falls apart in a spectacularly cringeworthy display of liberal self-recrimination. When she tries to hand Fitzgerald’s character a name tag reading “HERO,” Fitzgerald tries to explain that they don’t want to be called a hero; they just want to live their life enjoying the same things everyone else gets. Including name tags reading “BIG SLUT.”

In an audience participation call-and-response musical segment, Evan Mills (the sole returning mainstage performer from previous revues, and the co-creator/co-director of Queer Eye: The Musical Parodynow running at Second City’s UP Comedy Club) asks us to raise our hand if we’re from various states, if we’re single, etc. (He also acknowledges the zeitgeist with “Raise your hand if the news is hard to read,” and “Raise your hand if you think the world is ending.”) Finally he whittles the demographics down to “Raise your hand if you’re from Michigan, half Filipino, queer with a gay dad, and left-handed. [Pause.] Yeah, I thought I might lose some of you on that one.”

But in addition to the performers embracing their individuality, there is a theme of duality running through the show as well, shored up by the title’s implication that we’re all a combination of our best impulses and our worst. Literal twins are onstage in a sketch where McFadden as an ob-gyn shrinks herself down, a la the 1966 sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage, and is projected into the uterus of expectant mom Julia Morales, just to make sure the babies are chill and relaxed. (Fitzgerald also plays an ob-gyn in a later sketch—but they’re a dinosaur and their tiny arms just aren’t ideal for manipulating a speculum.)

Sometimes that duality comes out in observational humor on race. Morales and E.J. Cameron are the proprietors of “Blackbuster”—a retro video rental store whose motto is “For every white movie, there’s a Black movie as good or better!” So if you want The Wizard of Oz, you get The Wiz. If you want Edward Scissorhands, you get Barbershop. If you want Forrest Gump, you get . . . Radio (though Cameron has to blow the dust off that one). Morales and Cameron are also standouts in an office sketch where they have to code-switch with their white boss, played by Andy Bolduc with a hearty air of gormless bonhomie. (Product shout-outs to LaCroix—pamplemousse flavor, especially—and Patagonia apparently are the lingua franca for talking to white people.)

Ellison, her cast, and musical director Jeff Bouthiette have built a show that isn’t trying to impress us with faux-edginess. Instead, it’s a thoughtful and often sweet showcase for actors who exhibit a great combination of complementary skills, and who work together with seemingly seamless generosity. A late-night car scene between longtime friends McFadden and Bolduc, where they both finally start coming clean about their mutual attraction while role-playing cockney chauffeur and upper-class Brit boss, is a lovely mini-play. A first-act closing scene pays homage to high school detention, a la The Breakfast Club, but with a surprising and poignant reveal.

It’s also hard to ignore the physical comedy chops of this cast, especially Mills, whose rubbery physique and mobile facial expressions remind me of a silent-film comedian, and Fitzgerald, who, in addition to their hilarious dinosaur doctor, turns a disquisition on fatphobia triggered by their “breaking” a chair into an increasingly chaotic and hilarious aria of grievances while wriggling all over the stage. 

Speaking of wriggling: In a second-act musical number, McFadden takes on the persona of a French chanteuse, crooning a song about how good life can be. Soon we find out that she’s an earthworm. And she’s cut in half when rain sweeps her onto the sidewalk. But duality again saves the day; Mills’s earthworm finds and recombines with her, and life goes on. If earthworms can patch things up and keep going in the face of a storm, surely we can, too. 

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As I lay in bed drenched in sweat, battling COVID, it came to me as in a fevered dream . . .

The city council had overwhelmingly approved Mayor Lightfoot’s idea to spend untold millions on a casino.

Even as Alderperson Brendan Reilly warned them that it may wind up being as bad as the hated parking meter deal from 2008. And Reilly should know—as he was fooled into voting for the parking meter sale.

When I got over my COVID—yes, folks, I’m feeling better—I realized it had not in fact been a dream. It was reality. The council approved the casino on May 25 by a vote of 41-7.

And ever since I’ve been wondering—is this deal actually as bad as the parking meter one?

At first I thought—no, nothing could be that bad. For one thing, only five alderpeople voted against the parking meter deal. So you can argue we’ve made progress with those two extra no votes.

But upon reflection, I’ve concluded that in some ways it’s worse.

As evidence (and comic relief), let me introduce as exhibit A a column about gambling by Steve Greenberg of the Sun-Times. But before I do that . . . 

Listen, I realize it’s hard to top the parking deal for awfulness.

At Mayor Daley’s insistence, the City Council voted to borrow over a billion dollars from a consortium of wealthy investors.

In return, Daley and the council agreed to give those investors the proceeds from the parking meters for the next 75 years. Meaning . . . 

We got a little more than a billion. And they will get . . . who the hell knows? Six billion. Seven billion. Ten billion. I’m not sure I’ll be around in the year 2083 to find out.

Say what you will about the casino, I don’t think it will divert that much money from our coffers.

Plus, the casino must be built. So construction workers will get jobs.

And the casino will need employees, so people will get jobs. Let’s hope those people are Chicagoans. Though so far there is no residency requirement.

On the other hand, the casino deal shares this awfulness with the parking meter deal:

The mayor rushed it through the council, who barely had time to know what they were voting on.

There was no independent cost-benefit analysis. So we don’t know what the casino will cost, which means we have no idea how much of a profit it will yield, if it yields one at all.

In fact, the Lightfoot administration still hasn’t told us how many public dollars will be spent building the casino. At the moment, they’re sorta pretending there will be no public cost. A proposition I find very difficult to believe.

Moreover, Mayor Lightfoot used some of the same hard-sell tactics as Mayor Daley did with the parking meter deal.

Back in 2008, Mayor Daley told us we needed to sell the meters to offset a property tax hike.

Then he hiked our property taxes anyway.

Similarly, Mayor Lightfoot and her City Council allies—chief among them Alderperson Walter Burnett—say they need to bring in casino revenue to offset a property-tax hike.

They say they needed the casino revenue to fortify the police and fire pensions.

Then they conceded that the casino’s revenues “only will be a drop in the massive bucket the city needs to fill each year in order to pay for the pensions,” as Becky Vevea and Mariah Woelfel of WBEZ put it.

So your property taxes will go up anyway—just like with the parking meter deal.

Having said all that, why do I conclude the casino is worse? Because we should know better.

In many ways, Chicagoans lost their virginity—politically speaking—with the parking meter deal.

Back in the Daley years, there were a few of us pointing out the city was run by scammers, who feed bullshit to the public. But generally, we were a bunch of lefties on the fringe.

For the most part, Chicago voters were true believers—couldn’t even imagine voting for anyone other than their beloved Mayor Daley.

If you criticized him, they told you to leave. Preferably to Detroit, which was positioned as what Chicago would be without Mayor Daley.

But with the parking meter it was undeniable that the city was run by scoundrels. And almost every alderperson vowed never to fall for such chicanery again. And now here we are 14 years later falling for it—again!

There’s another way the casino deal is worse.

A casino is set up to make sure its patrons lose. The more money they lose, the more money the casino takes. And ultimately the more money gets paid to the city.

So we’ve linked our economic future to soaking the saps who throw away their money at a casino. And that brings me to Steve Greenberg’s column.

It’s about a different kind of gambling—sports betting. But it’s the same basic point—the system’s set up so that gamblers lose.

Using a recently published survey of gamblers, Greenberg writes:

“This is kind of scary: 39% admitted they typically risk 50% or more of their monthly take-home income in total wagers. What are they doing with the other half, sewing $20s into kites?” 

And . . . 

“Meanwhile, 60% of respondents said they bet on sports to earn extra income. Similarly effective ways of doing that: playing the lottery, investing in your cousin Earl’s latest cryptocurrency and chucking your piggy bank into a wood chipper.”

And . . . 

“Quick question: Are all sports bettors full of it or just most of them? Because 75% of respondents reported breaking even and 24% claimed they win at least 75% of the time. Do you know who wins 75% of the time? No one you’ve ever met or ever will meet.”

Finally . . .

“On the other hand, only 11% answered that they win ‘rarely.’ One only can assume they’ve been betting on the Cubs.”

Very funny column, Steve Greenberg. Unfortunately, when it comes to the casino, Chicago, the joke is on you.

The Latest from the Ben Joravsky Show

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Los Bitchos are an LSD-laced sugar cube melting in your mouth. The London-based four-piece make tripped-out 70s-inspired cumbia that sounds like it belongs in the 1966 Czech film Daisies—Věra Chytilová’s new-wave masterpiece, banned in part for a scene where two teenage girls have a food fight. “Wasting food,” the authorities said, which was really a sideways justification for censoring a libertine response to a corrupt culture that glorified worker productivity while creating an economy of scarcity. What’s the point of proving you’re good in a world that’s just plain bad?

That Daisies attitude seems to inspire Los Bitchos’ visual aesthetic too. On the cover of their 2022 debut, Let the Festivities Begin (City Slang), the bandmates wear party hats and mod minidresses and toast over cocktails from behind a buffet of treats. The pointed frivolity of the image feels like the cheekiest hello: “The party bitches are here!” In their music videos, Los Bitchos leans heavy on grindhouse chic, introducing each member as a character a la Charlie’s Angels, but they skirt sexploitation in favor of feminine camp and camaraderie. The video for their biggest single, “Las Panteras,” which has the emotional push-pull of a Looney Tunes chase sequence, most directly references the Angels franchise; the women track down and face off with a criminal named Pantera who can shape-shift between a house cat and a panther. In their follow-up video for the relatively mellow surf-rock tune “Good to Go!,” Los Bitchos transform into jailbirds on a game show where they compete against Pantera for their freedom. The audio and visuals combine in a nod to the relationship that cumbia and psych rock have to low-budget genre films (which all the cool kids know is where subversive themes thrive), but of course they’re also partaking in the rich history of rock ’n’ rollers presenting themselves as larger-than-life characters on absurdist adventures to which fans can feel proximity through their art. And that’s the appeal of Los Bitchos—they’re seriously good musicians who don’t care to be serious.

Los Bitchos, Rudy de Anda, Wed 6/22, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $20, 21+

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