When long-running city news magazine site Chicagoist was sold to the owner of DNAinfo.com and subsequently shuttered last year, hometown hero Chance The Rapper stepped in with a plan to buy and revamp the site to its former glory. Making the announcement that he’d purchased the site in his song “I Might Need Security” earlier this year, Chance stoked excitement that the site would be able to return to its former level of journalistic integrity in covering the news and culture of the Windy City.
Now, with the site back on track in reporting local news with a youthful perspective, Chance is stepping in to help explain some of the terms his fans (and local constituents in upcoming elections) may not understand — for instance, “Aldermen.” While these elected officials hold an important and powerful position in local politics, many people are unaware of what aldermen actually do or why they’re needed. To explain, Chance puts his comedy chops to good use, stepping into character as local reporter “Champ Bennet” to offer an educational — and funny — primer on “Elderly Aldermen” and how they help and hurt the wards they work for.
Hannibal Buress pops up, as do some colorful puppets, to help chance both explain and lampoon the incumbent aldermen and highlight young, aspiring candidates with plans to revitalize and revamp a system that can often seem labyrinthine and corrupt. The video also includes a reminder: Elections are coming up in February 2019, so Chicagoans have plenty of time to educate themselves and make plans to use their voices come election day.
