Free Republic

The Chicago City Council on Friday voted to rename its Lake Shore Drive expressway in honor of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, the first non-Indigenous settler in the area who has been recognized as one of the city's founders. In a 33-15 vote, the council approved renaming the road, "Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive," keeping the original label in the new name as part of a compromise among council members. Council member David Moore, one of the leading aldermen pushing for the name change, said this week, "None of us would be here, including Lake Shore Drive, if this...

Chicago’s most iconic and picturesque roadway has a new name — and it’s a mouthful of history: Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive. The Black man of Haitian descent who was Chicago’s first non-indigenous settler finally got the honor his champions say he has long deserved, thanks to an on-again, off-again compromise that was back on again — and approved — at a City Council meeting Friday. Three Hispanic aldermen joined 12 white aldermen in voting against the compromise.

Will County billboards that warned motorists about bridges stoked public-safety fears and helped convince state lawmakers of the need to approve a $45 billion infrastructure plan. The billboards and their impact arguably deserve to rank among the top political stories of the year, if not the decade. Construction unions paid to display the messages “Cross bridge at your own risk” and “Bridge ahead in critical condition” on electronic billboards near Interstate 80 bridges over the Des Plaines River in Joliet. The billboards heightened motorists’ fears about crumbling infrastructure and generated bipartisan support for the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois program. Marc...