Both sides now

When grassroots organizations pressed for the elimination of the sales tax on food and drugs, 48th Ward Alderman Marion Volini, an Independent, and 47th Ward Alderman Eugene Schulter, a Machine guy, held a press conference to announce their co-sponsorship of a City Council resolution calling upon the Illinois state legislature to approve the measure.

The two of them took turns reading paragraphs of a press release addressing the issue. It was an unlikely pairing of elected officials from different sides of the political fence. A cameraman at the back of the room turned to the person standing next to him and pointed to Volini and Schulter.

“Can you believe this?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.