THE ONLY CHICAGO HOME of the only president born and bred in Illinois is now a pile of rubble. Ronald Reagan lived in that toddling town as a young boy, and before the itinerant Reagans moved again, young “Dutch” survived…

I slept in on Palm Sunday. My Lenten penance: a very bad homily. Chicago has a Catholic church on nearly every corner and many offer evening Masses, so I knew I had options. I decided on a five o’clock Mass…