Chicago 365 Election Night Central: To the Runoff!

     The time is 10:36 PM. The votes have been cast. The votes have been counted. And with 98.4% of precincts reporting, the ABC 7 Election Center has the (almost) final results:

• Rahm Emanuel: 207,755 (45.4%)
• Jesus "Chuy" Garcia: 155,239 (33.9%)
• Willie Wilson: 48,408 (10.6%)
• Bob Fioretti: 33,830 (7.4%)
• William "Dock" Walls: 12,633 (2.8%)

     Right off the bat, Wilson, Fioretti, and Walls are finished. However, since Emanuel failed to secure at least 50% of the vote, nothing has been decided tonight. Instead, Emanuel and Garcia will now head to the runoff election on Tuesday, April 7 to decide who becomes the next Mayor of Chicago. Moreover, this will be the first time that Chicago has seen an April election in 24 years. Hang on Chicago, it's gonna be a crazy 6 weeks in the political sphere.

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Chicago 365 Election Night Central: Halfway Counted!

     It is 8:15 PM. The polls have been closed for over an hour, and with 71% of the precincts reporting, these are the current vote totals from the ABC 7 Election Center:

• Rahm Emanuel: 151,874 (45.6%)
• Jesus "Chuy" Garcia: 113,377 (34%)
• Willie Wilson: 34,600 (10.4%)
• Bob Fioretti: 24,448 (7.3%)
• William "Dock" Walls: 9,067 (2.7%)

     Stay with Chicago 365 for all your Election 2015 Coverage.

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Chicago 365 Election Night Central: The Polls have Closed!

     It is now 7:10 PM, and the polls have closed on the 2015 Mayoral Election(except for a few select places that are staying open till 8 to make up for a late start). One major difference between tonight and Election Night 2014 is that there won't be long lines of people waiting to vote at some polling places into the wee hours of the morning. For this election there was no same-day registration, which is what snarled the lines at the polling places last time around. Anyway, the polls have been closed for just over 10 minutes, and our first update from the ABC 7 Election Center has all 5 candidates for mayor in a dead heat with 0 percent of the vote with 0 percent of the precincts reporting. Stay with Chicago 365 for all of your Election Night updates.

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Chicago 365 Election Night Central: Here We Go!

     After several months of jawing back and forth, it is finally time for the ballots to be cast in Chicago's 2015 Election. Will Rahm Emanuel be able to capitalize on a final push and the endorsement of President Obama to hold off his challengers? Will he be able to hold on to such a commanding lead so that he can sail on through to a Second Term without having to face a run-off? The most recent poll from Sunday has him at 48.3%, well above any of his challengers, but still shy of the required 50% to avoid a run-off. Out of 12 polls taken, he has an average total of 43.1% of the vote, with only 1 poll placing him at the magical 50%. And what about all those Alderman races? I'll be watching the returns, issuing hourly updates, and I'll be sure to break the news right here on Chicago 365 when the result becomes final.

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A Musical Legacy at the Show

     As part of the festivities for Women's Day, there was a musical performance by the cast members of First Date, a Broadway musical about the chances we take to find love. Of course, having a musical performance at the Auto Show is nothing new. One of the long standing traditions from the Chicago Auto Show is that of the musical revue. Back in the middle of the 20th Century there would always be a stage show celebrating some facet of motoring in America. At the 1940 show, the festivities were even capped off by an 18-foot tall woman(obviously using stilts, but as a side note, the tallest man in the world at the time did make an appearance at one auto show) with a 16-foot wide dress that opened up to allow the cars to be driven through it.

     The following year, the theme was "Non-Stop America", which featured 20 "Queens" representing different Chicago neighborhoods acting out a two-act dramatization of the history of the car. In later years the show's revue was called Wheels of Freedom, and another year featured a six-member choir and dancers in matching outfits. In 1958, the revue infamously featured a cameo by the Ford Edsel as a part of the proceedings. In recent years, the revues have faded away, but recently we've seen excerpts from musicals instead, such as the I Love Lucy preview at the 2013 show, as well as the aforementioned performance on Women's Day.

Frozen out at the Auto Show

     We've talked about the Test Tracks. We've talked about Toyota's glimpses into the future. We've talked about Women's Day. The time has now come to announce that the Frozen craze has spread to the Chicago Auto Show. Back on Monday(which was Family Day) there was a stage at the entrance to the North Hall featuring(you guessed it) Anna and Elsa, singing(you guessed it) Let It Go. It was good. The kids loved it. It was another sign of Disney invading the world. And it was all at the Chicago Auto Show. We'll be back with more updates through tomorrow's final day of the show.

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Test Track Mania!

     As part of the more than 1 Million square feet of exhibit space at the Auto Show, there are several interactive areas, ranging from DJ booths, to simulators, to the test tracks. There are three of them at this year's show, put on by Toyota, Chrysler, and Ford. The first one we'll discuss is the Toyota track. To answer your first question, no they're not giving rides in the FT-1. The track is branded as the Camry Experience, with Toyota Ambassadors taking you around a track showing off some of the features of the new Toyota Camry. After being driven around, they even give you Fluff Ice(think of it as Ice Cream with he consistency of cotton candy).

     Going over to the Chrysler track, you can choose from either a Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat to ride along in. After choosing, you wait in line. I chose the Fiat, because it was the shortest wait(and life's too short to wait in lines, man). The ride-along involved some driving around, before an acceleration test at the very end. I'll tell you something about those cars though: they may not look like it, but Fiats can MOVE. After the ride, I went through and got a bag from the Ambassadors(I swear I've gotten like 10 different bags so far at this thing).

     Then it was on to the Jeep tracks. These featured several different Jeep models being put through 5 different tests that determine how their vehicles get "Trail Rated". First, they tested out the suspension system on each vehicle. Then the trucks rode over a series of boulders to test out their maneuverability. Then each Jeep was judged on it's ground clearance, before a promotional video demonstrating the Jeep's fording capability. After that, there was the final test, the one that can be seen from any other point in the show: the Steep Incline. What this involves is taking the vehicles up a 35-degree hill, stopping at the top, and then going back down. There are a lot more things to do and see at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show, but the Test Tracks are a steady and reliable draw year in and year out, not to mention being a fan favorite.

Here's to the Ladies!

     Aside from being a place where you can see the Toyotas of Tomorrow, yesterday was also Women's Day at the Auto Show. The focus of Women's Day is to increase engagement from females with the show, and it seems to be working. Attendance at the show had trended towards a 60/40 gender split in favor of Men, but over the last few years, the female attendance rate has been gradually going up. To this end, cars with special convenience features have been gaining traction at the Show, such as cars that open up in back using only the touch of a remote button. This innovation makes everyone's life easier, but "Especially a mom, a mom's life is in the car, because you've gotta take your kids different places, you've got to have your own piece of life, and you've got to be comfortable in the car.," said Ronni Roseman, an attendee.

     Beyond offering convenient cars, there was also a program entitled "Women Driving Excellence". This featured various segments throughout the day, all devoted to celebrating women in one way or another. At 11 AM, Nissan offered up its Honoring Trailblazing Women Presentation, where Andrea Metcalf was the MC for a panel featuring Dr. Suzet McKinney, Lucy Moy-Bartosik, Dorri McWhorter, Debi Lilly, Anita Alvarez, and even ABC-7 reporter Janet Davies. After that, there was a session with the ladies of the ChicagonistaLIVE Show, there to talk Auto Show, hand out prizes, and make their presence known. Wrapping up the Women's Day fun was a Social Video panel put on by Verizon, where Beth Engleman and Shawna Coronado shared some tips for putting together good videos. All told, Women's Day 2015 helped to reach out to more Women, who turn in to more customers, who ultimately turn into more car owners. And that's the ultimate goal at this Auto Show. Stay with Chicago 365 for more updates as we head into the second half of the Auto Show.

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Toyota Touches the Future

     Here at the Auto Show, all of the major auto companies have a display. It's like the Rule 34 of cars: If you can think of it, it's here. One such company is Toyota, with their display area devoted to cars of all kinds, from sedans, to trucks, to even a special hybrid vehicle wrapped in livery advertising the upcoming special exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium. However, the real fun stuff at the Toyota area comes from their concept displays. First off, the Toyota FV-2, which looks like this:

     I chatted with one of the product ambassadors on the floor, and she told me that the FV(Fun Vehicle)-2 can be ridden either sitting down like a motorcycle, or standing up like a Segway. Either way, the transparent shell in front(the piece that is standing up in the picture) is intended to act as a windshield to protect the rider from the elements. Additionally, the exterior of the vehicle(as seen) can be customized to create different digital effects, ranging from a solid color to a dazzling array of different colors. Simply put, Toyota has created a Light Cycle:

     The resemblance is uncanny. But making Tron come to life isn't the only thing that Toyota is unveiling this week. Across the way from the FV-2, another Toyota Ambassador was on a car platform introducing the world to the Toyota FT-1:

     A couple of years back, Akio Toyoda(the President of Toyota), was thinking up ways to jazz up Toyota's current racing fleet. After commissioning his designers to come up with ideas, the results were blended into the FT-1, which was first put together by Calty Design Research in the virtual platform of Sony's Gran Turismo auto racing game. After several steps, the car was brought into the real world to symbolize Toyota's latest concept for the car of the future, appearing for the 2nd consecutive year at the Chicago Auto Show.

     Both the FV-2 and the FT-1 are merely concepts for now, with potential street dates not even on the drawing board as of now. Still, being able to show off these concepts to the viewing public is something the Toyota Ambassadors enjoy, as expressed by a gentleman named Daniel who was interpreting the FT-1. "[we're] showing people stuff they've never seen...[we're] here to talk about cars." Daniel and all of the other Ambassadors are doing just that, exposing people to the future of Toyota, right here at the Chicago Auto Show.

Trivia Tuesday: A Salute to Bacon

     Even though we're in the middle of covering the largest Auto Show in North America, we still have to do trivia, don't we? That being said, here we go. The answer to last week's question is this: At the Inauguration Ceremony, the National Anthem was belted out by none other than Jim Cornelison. And now, on to this week's question:

At the minimum, how many different festivals were held in the city last year celebrating Bacon?

 

     We'll be back next week with the answer and more trivia, and stay tuned all this week for more coverage from the Auto Show.

I'm at the Show!

     As I mentioned in the previous post, Chicago 365 will be dropping into the Chicago Auto Show periodically during its run to report on what's happening, and I'm actually here right now, coming to you live from the Official Media Center, complete with my Official Media Credential(seriously, check it out!)

     Anyway, even through all of this excitement I'm still managing to do some exploring. So far I've hit up 2 test tracks, sat in a $97,000 Cadillac Escalade, checked out the Alfa Romeo display(they didn't list prices, but I have a sneaking suspicion that "Alfa Romeo" is Italian for "hella expensive"), and caught a glimpse of Elsa singing "Let It Go"(because of course Frozen would have a place at the Auto Show). I'll be back later, but right now I'm heading back out to the show floor. 1 Million square feet of cars aren't going to explore themselves!

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Chicago 365 goes to the Auto Show

     That annual rite of February known as the Chicago Auto Show has returned for its 107th Edition. In between all of the cars and people, the show also features several special extras, such as the presentation of the Driving Engagement Award by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, a special app designed to make it easy getting around the show, Specialty Days celebrating families, women, and Hispanics, several dedicated TV specials on local stations proving highlights of the 2015 Show, a teen video contest to produce a 30 second safe driving PSA, and a Social Media video challenge. To top all of that off, the Auto Show comes into 2015 having undergone a complete redesign of their website, making all of the more popular parts more upfront and ready to be seen by the public. For the next week, I'll be dropping in with periodic updates from the show, sometimes heading down to McCormick Place to check out the proceedings, sometimes dropping in with refreshing vignettes from the show, but in whatever format, stick with Chicago 365 as your source for all things Chicago Auto Show 2015

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Chicago 365 World Series Central: We've Been Bounced

     Unless you were either living under a rock or partaking in way too many recreational substances back in August, you've heard of Jackie Robinson West. I covered them extensively in this blog back then, from their encounter with Mo'ne Davis and the Taney Dragons, to the hometown celebration of their U.S. Championship, to everything in between(including that time when they were the most popular baseball team in the city). It was a glorious run that will live on in the memories of Chicagoans forever. The record books, not so much.

     This morning Little League Baseball announced that JRW will be stripped of all victories from their postseason run(including their miracle comeback in the Regional Title game and their Finals game versus South Korea). Apparently the team illegally included players from outside the city limits to create a Superteam. In addition to being stripped of its wins, the team's manager has been suspended, the head of the local Little League Disctrict has been fired, and JRW is also suspended from playing until they get their act together. Going forward, the fate is unclear, but we can all rally around the kids, remember how they made us feel, and look forward to the next baseball thrill to hit Chicago(maybe the Cubs and Sox will actually put a watchable product on the field this year)

Trivia Tuesday: The Inaugural Anthem

     We're back! And there's more trivia to boot! First off, the answer to the previous question: After thumping the Packers at Soldier Field on December 7, 1980(after using a full-on blitz on Green Bay's backup QB) Dan Hampton said that the loss "couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of pricks". Charming. And now, on to this week's question:

Last month, the new Governor and other constitutional officers of Illinois were inaugurated. Who sang the National Anthem at the Ceremony?

 

     As always, I'll be back next week with the answer, as well as more trivia.