🌱 Konkol On 'Beefs' / CTA Fare Drop / Zoo Lights / Bulls / Beer

I'll admit, I've got beef with Portillo's. Too many out-of-town friends think that the Oak Brook-based fast-food chain is home to the quintessential "Chicago beef," mostly because there's a location next to the Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's that they once visited with their mom.

So, when Portillo's went public on the stock market Thursday to fund its planned national expansion, my first thought was: America can have 'em. But folks from Montana to Maine should know they won't be getting the best Italian Beef our city can muster when a Portillo's three-lane drive-thru opens in their town.

For the best, you've got to Mr. Beef on Orleans, or one of my other favorites.

KONKOL COLUMN: Portillo's Goes National But Best Beef Isn't Coming To Your Town

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Blah. High: 56 Low: 46.

• Where do you go for the best Italian Beef? Take the Patch Poll.
• Two aldermen filed an ordinance calling for the repeal of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's vaccine mandate. They aim to make sure policies that puts city employees on no-pay status requires City Council approval. It's not an anti-vax proposal. It's a matter of union rights. (ABC7)
• The CTA is slashing prices. Despite ridership that's at about half pre-pandemic levels, transit officials announced a plan to reduce the price of popular unlimited ride tickets and eliminate the dreaded 25-cent transfer fee. (Patch)
• Worth A Listen: The first Black director to make a film with an all-Black cast hailed from the South Side. Most people have never heard of William Foster, who's short comedy film, The Railroad Porter tells the story of a Pullman porter whose wife is being wooed by a waiter. This is his story. (WBEZ)
• A Chicago political consultant who was the target of some of Ald. Jim Gardiner's nasty text messages is facing questions about her work at City Hall. Patch news partner South Side Weekly reports that Joanna Klonsky worked for City Hall while getting paid by Mayor Lori Lightfoot's political action committee. (South Side Weekly)

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For A Good Time, Click:

• Christmas Ale Release at Begyle Brewing (noon)
• Bruce Bruce at Chicago Improv Comedy Club (9:45 p.m.)
• Wine & Cheese Festival at Eataly (7 p.m.)
• Tree ID Walk at Garfield Park Conservatory (10 a.m.)
• Bulls vs. New Orleans Pelicans at United Center (7 p.m.)

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Just The Links:

• A Chicago police officer accidentally shot two fellow cops.
• Beware: These onions will do more than make you cry, FDA warns.
• A sure sign Christmas is coming: Tickets for "Zoo Lights" at Lincoln Park Zoo are on sale.
• Two joints serving fancy cocktails and "croque monsieurs" are coming to Portage Park.

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— Mark Konkol

About me: Mark Konkol, recipient of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting, wrote and produced the Peabody Award-winning series "Time: The Kalief Browder Story." He was a producer, writer and narrator for the "Chicagoland" docuseries on CNN and a consulting producer on the Showtime documentary "16 Shots."