Roger Simon
Roll out the welcome mat for the great Roger Simon, chief political columnist for politico.com, who’s coming home to Chicago this spring.
Simon has been named one of six Fellows in Residence at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, the public policy and public service institute founded and led by David Axelrod.
Starting later this month, Simon will spend the spring quarter on campus interacting with students and faculty, participating in public forums and leading a seminar on “the collision of media mayhem and political stagecraft.”
Simon said he and his wife, Marcia, will be living in Hyde Park, near the IOP Building on Woodlawn. “I looked up my birth certificate the other day to make sure: I will be living almost exactly 10 blocks from where I was born,” he told me. “Another coincidence: Marcia and I were married in the Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago.
“One of the real excitements of the fellowship is coming back to Chicago, which I have never stopped loving, and the opportunity to meet and work with the students at the University of Chicago. Luckily for the students, they will not be forced to listen to just me at my seminars, but also to a great lineup of guest speakers that will include Tom Brokaw, Ryan Lizza, Mike McCurry, Frank Rich, etc., etc.
“Another plus: Going to White Sox games is going to be much easier for me than it is now. Also, spring in Chicago is always fabulous. As soon as the snow melts.”
Simon’s fellow Fellows in Residence will include: Michael Steele, former head of the Republican National Committee; Ana Marie Cox, founding editor of Wonkette and political columnist for the Guardian U.S.; Howard Wolfson, former deputy mayor of New York and senior campaign advisor to Michael Bloomberg, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton; Bob Inglis, former Republican congressman from South Carolina who launched the Energy and Enterprise Initiative; and David S. Muir, European political strategist who advised former British prime minister Gordon Brown.
“The IOP Fellows program offers students a unique opportunity to interact with key players from every vantage point of the political process,” Axelrod said in a statement. “This talented and varied class of fellows guarantees a great spring of programs and conversation.”
A South Shore native and University of Illinois graduate, Simon spent 12 years as an investigative reporter and columnist for the Sun-Times before he went on to become a New York Times best-selling author and, in my estimation, the best national political columnist in the country. Along the way, he also was a columnist for the Baltimore Sun, White House correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and political editor of U.S. News World Report.
During his fellowship here, Simon will continue to write his politico.com column, which appears weekly in the Sun-Times through Creators Syndicate.
One more thing: If you’re not already following him on Twitter (at @politicoroger), you should be.