The last two Chicago mayors took some news media heat for not sending their kids to public schools, as did Chicagoan Barack Obama when he pushed for education reforms. So, this particular issue is obviously not out of bounds in that city and nobody in public life there should expect otherwise. Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates has, in the past, pointed with pride to the fact that all three of her kids attended public schools. While others often chafed at reporters’ questions about their children, Davis Gates did just the opposite, centering her children as part of who she is as a progressive activist.

With September 16 officially Batman Day, the annually celebrated recognition of DC's hallmark superhero, Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center will host two screenings of writer/director Christopher Nolan's landmark Batman film The Dark Knight, the two-time Academy Award-winner that – until the recent advent of Barbie – held a 15-year record as the highest-grossing domestic release in Warner Bros. history.

Offering visitors the chance to experience what it's like being in the front row of Spartan athletics, the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Art Gallery will house Photo Finish: Sports Photography at UD through September 29, this special exhibit timed to coincide with the beginning of the new school year and, of course, the start of collegiate football season.

With award-winning, Billboard-charting, internationally touring artists performing on the banks of a mighty river, the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest returns to Davenport for its 37th incarnation on September 15 and 16, the LeClaire Park event – hosted by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society – featuring nine thrilling Main Stage concert sets, nine additionally incendiary sets on the neighboring Tent State, and the return of the MBVS' popular blues-education and -appreciation initiative Blueskool.

Their musical experiences having collectively earned them Grammy Awards, Chicago Music Awards, and opening sets for some of the biggest names in reggae, the Midwestern world-music artists of Gizzae headline a September 15 concert event at Davenport's Redstone Room, these talents having previously collaborated with the legendary likes of Ziggy Marley, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Carly Simon, and Talking Heads.

With the group's 2023 album Villagers hailed by Treblezine as "a richly layered record whose graceful arrangements land with a particular nuance," the experimental rockers of Califone headline a September 21 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, their latest release inspiring Beats Per Minute to rave that "Each minute of Villagers feels like home."

Composed of Robert Clayton "Uncle Snap" Sharpe and Brian Andrew "Rooster" King, the country-rap duo The Lacs bring their "The Party from the South" tour to East Moline venue The Rust Belt on September 21, their 2016 release Welcome to Dodge City (with Hard Target) inspiring Country Music International's Penney Holley to rave, “I have had the absolute best time listening to this CD,” adding that “every beat, every chord, every lyric, every word of this entire album hits home to me.”

Outdoor adventurers are again invited to paddle, mountain bike, and run their way to the top in the eagerly anticipated, 17th-annual Taming of the Slough Mississippi River Adventure Triathlon, the River Action-sponsored test of endurance set to take place on Saturday, September 16.

Formerly known as the QC Cancer Awareness Ride, the annual Gilda's Club Quad Cities fundraiser Red Door Ride will enjoy its 16th revival on September 16, this beautiful, 3.5-hour, 150-mile beautiful ride along the north Iowa side and south Illinois side of the Mississippi River culminating in a special Rust Belt concert featuring the exhilarating '80s-rock talents of the Spazmatics.