John Lillig
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jclillig2.bsky.social
John Lillig
@jclillig2.bsky.social
English Teacher, Loyola Academy
Advisory Board, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame
A.B., English (Georgetown), M.A., English (DePaul), J.D. (DePaul Law)
Visiting Student (University of East Anglia)
Sport & Athletics Bluesky: @jclillig.bsky.social
Pinned
Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Go forward knowing that, sooner rather than later, the great avenues will open again where free men will walk to build a better society.

- Salvador Allende (1908-1973), final radio address, 9/11/73
R.I.P. Steve "The Colonel" Cropper.

(@millerscave.bsky.social's photo of his Stax poster made me think to post this).
December 4, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Reposted by John Lillig
The countdown of the 885 Greatest Cover Songs begins tomorrow at 8am on XPN. We'll start at 885 and go until we hit #1. #XPNCountdown
December 3, 2025 at 9:57 PM
R.I.P. Steve "The Colonel" Cropper
Sam & Dave - Soul Man (Official Audio)
YouTube video by RHINO
www.youtube.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:08 PM
R.I.P. Steve "The Colonel" Cropper
[Sittin' On] the Dock of the Bay
YouTube video by Otis Redding - Topic
www.youtube.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
📢 MINNESOTA/ST PAUL:
ICE and Border Patrol are here. Please share these resources (in Somali, Spanish, and English) widely!

(Thread) #minnesota #msp #stpaul #minneapolis #twincities
December 3, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
Thanks to Penn Today for their coverage of the #XPNCountdown penntoday.upenn.edu/news/greates...
The greatest cover songs, from Whitney Houston to Metallica | Penn Today
Through Dec. 11, WXPN counts down the 885 greatest covers, as voted by listeners.
penntoday.upenn.edu
December 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
There are many songs about this city, but Tom Waits wrote one of the best, simply titled "Chicago." Out today, Mavis Staples' new album kicks off with her fantastic version of the song. I'm so glad to hear this quintessential Chicago singer putting her own stamp on it.
Chicago
YouTube video by Mavis Staples - Topic
youtu.be
November 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
A new book by @adamm0rgan.bsky.social explores how early 20th-century editor Margaret C. Anderson outraged the literary establishment. Here’s what we learned. buff.ly/43eP6Zr
How an Early 20th-Century Editor Outraged the Establishment
A new book explores how Margaret C. Anderson went against the literary grain. Here’s what we learned.
www.chicagomag.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
Abolitionist John Brown was executed by the state of Virginia on December 2, 1859.
December 2, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
wrote about the old german church being torn down in logan square, to be replaced with four single family homes;

flizikowski & kaiser, 1896, built after their second church on the site burned down

www.postcard-past.com/evangelical-...
Evangelical Lutheran Christus Kirche, Chicago
Chicago will still have hundreds of underused former churches once the former Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Logan Square is completely demolished, but this outcome is a letdown through whichev...
www.postcard-past.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
Eric Foner, "What the Fugitive Slave Act Teaches Us About How States Can Resist Oppressive Federal Power," The Nation -- February 27, 2017
www.thenation.com/article/arch...
What the Fugitive Slave Act Teaches Us About How States Can Resist Oppressive Federal Power
The actions of attorneys general in California and other states have their antecedents in the fight against that draconian law.
www.thenation.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by John Lillig
Tom Stoppard, Award-Winning Playwright of Witty Drama, Dies at 88
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins.

-Gustave Flaubert, 'November' (trans. Andrew Brown)
#everynightapoem
December 1, 2025 at 4:01 AM
"Instead of ringing his bell, I stood on the tennis court and tried to make out the song, but the words were indistinct. I formed a snowball out of fresh snow— snow too feathery to be good packing—and lobbed it at the window."

- Stuart Dybek, "Farwell"
November 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
"Snow had obliterated the outlines of sidewalks and curbs and that night the pier looked as if it was a continuation of the street, as if Farwell lengthened out into the lake."

- Stuart Dybek, "Farwell"
November 30, 2025 at 3:58 AM
"It had never seemed as quiet - no traffic, or stalled cars groaning, or snow shovels scraping for blocks around. We came out on the boulevard and left two rows of footprints across it. Our shadows passed through the shadows of trees etched in the snow by the moonlight."
November 30, 2025 at 3:54 AM
"We turned down 26th St. walking past the boulevard, the stoplights looking pink behind the blowing snow. It was a business street and there were occasional cars passing slowly with fuzzy headlights." - Stuart Dybek, "The Long Thoughts"
November 30, 2025 at 3:51 AM
"We walked along past the button factory and then down the
dark block past the church and grammar school we had both attended. The spire of the church threw a shadow over the street. The neighborhood didn't look so bad at night under the snow." - Stuart Dybek, "The Long Thoughts"
November 30, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Reposted by John Lillig
‘Superior Donuts’ gets a superior revival at The Artistic Home

The Chicago classic, first produced in 2008, comes back to the Chicago stage after garnering national acclaim.
‘Superior Donuts’ gets a superior revival at The Artistic Home
The Chicago classic, first produced in 2008, comes back to the Chicago stage after garnering national acclaim.
depauliaonline.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Reposted by John Lillig
Rogers Park, and implications from what has been done here, in international news. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What Chicago's fight against ICE can teach us all about how to resist oppression | Zoe Williams
A harrowing US podcast documents a community’s struggle against immigration raids – and warns us about herd mentality, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
CALUMET SKYWAY
November 29, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by John Lillig
First, join the picket line tomorrow morning from 11 AM-12 PM at Target in Columbia Heights with Boycott Target, Washington Teachers’ Union, Free DC, and many more allies. There will be live music and some special guests! #WeAintBuyingIt (2/3)

freedcproject.org/event-list/b...
November 28, 2025 at 8:30 PM