Rahm Emanuel went to New Trier West High School.
His children will attend the University of Chicago Lab School.
This puts his family in a conundrum.
They’ll have connections to the two most elitist areas of Chicago: Hyde Park and the North Shore. So exactly how are they going to be stuck up?
Will the Emanuels be North Shore snobs or Hyde Park snobs?
Your Ward Room Blogger lives across the street from Evanston, and wrote a book about Obama’s years in Chicago, so he’s met plenty of both. Here’s a guide to telling the difference.
COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY
Hyde Park: Black friends
North Shore: Jewish friends
VACATION HOME
Hyde Park: Drafty, 100-year-old Michigan cottage, inherited from great-grandfather. No Internet, just hardbound copies of Henry Esmond and This Side of Paradise.
North Shore: 10,000-square-foot Door County mansion with boat launch and private beach, built in 2002.
SIGNATURE QUOTE:
Hyde Park: “In Hyde Park, we don’t judge people by the color of their skin. We judge them by how many books they’ve read.”
North Shore: Father to a security guard during a dispute at a graduation ceremony in Ravinia: “I make more money than you.”
HIGH SCHOOL
Hyde Park: University of Chicago Lab School, Kenwood Academy
North Shore: New Trier, North Shore Country Day
FAVORITE SPORT
Hyde Park: Reading
North Shore: Polo
FAVORITE LOCAL COLLEGE
Hyde Park: University of Chicago
North Shore: Lake Forest College
FAVORITE IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE
Hyde Park: Harvard
North Shore: Yale
MOST FAMOUS LINE DELIVERED BY A LOCAL CELEBRITY ACTOR
Hyde Park: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” (Mandy Patinkin, The Princess Bride.)
North Shore: “Oh, it’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!” (Bill Murray, Caddyshack.)
BUYS CLOTHES AT
Hyde Park: Lands’ End Catalog
North Shore: Neiman-Marcus in Northbrook Court
OVERSEXED LOCAL MUSICIAN
Hyde Park: R. Kelly
North Shore: Liz Phair
POLITICAL STATUS SYMBOL
Hyde Park: Claiming you knew Barack Obama before he was famous.
North Shore: Telling people you went to New Trier East when Rahm went to New Trier West.
STATUS ADDRESS
Hyde Park: Anywhere within sight of Obama’s house
North Shore: East of Green Bay Road. (“In Kenilworth, we have the kennel side and the worth side.”)
BOOKSTORE
Hyde Park: Seminary Co-op, where Obama has been a member since 1986.
North Shore: The Book Stall, where Donald Rumsfeld signed “Known and Unknown.”
ENTERTAINMENT
Hyde Park: University of Chicago Lecture Series
North Shore: Ravinia
RADIO AND TV STATION
Hyde Park: WFMT, WTTW
North Shore: WFMT, WTTW (a.k.a, “Wilmette Talks To Winnetka.”)
After a certain point, you can’t tell the difference.
