Chicago 1990

On a beautiful, sunny day in early April in Chicago, hundreds of people gathered in front of two buildings, Litman Media and A+ Records, with a small makeshift podium directly across from them, the lectern in the front and a row of Mickey Mouse flags waving in the wind in the back.

"Please welcome the Governor of Illinois, Mr. Peter Florrick."

Sloan, who had just finished her speech, introduced the governor loudly to the crowd, and the flashbulbs and cameras moved to the center of the front row of the stage.

Peter buttoned up his suit, stood up, smiled and waved to the front and back, the tall guy had been governor for almost four years and was becoming more and more impressive.

Seemingly by accident, his wife Alicia was sitting still next to him, oblivious to everything.

Peter had to continue waving to people to defuse the embarrassment and quickly leaned over and whispered something in Alicia's ear.

Alicia regained her senses and got up to hug her husband while standing affectionately side by side to receive applause, and they hugged Mr. and Mrs. Daley Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Underwood.

"Thank you, Ms. Sloan ......"

Peter walked down to the stage with his arm around Alicia's shoulders, and after a few more intimate kisses and public displays of affection, Peter trotted up to the stage under Alicia's tender gaze, took the microphone from Sloan, and began to speak at length.

"Hehehe."

The couple's small gestures made Sonja laugh.

He put down the binoculars and asked Melissa, his junior assistant behind him.

"He's busy with Governor Flock's campaign business and has gone to the country,"

Melissa answered. Her father, Eli, was Peter's chief of staff in the governor's office and also served as campaign manager for the election year.

"Is Peter okay with that this year?" Sonia asked.

"Well, it should be stable."

This governorship is more important than the last one because terms will cross the ten-year round mark, and two thousand years of statewide redistricting is a matter of life and death for both parties.

The governor of Massachusetts in 1812 was the first to discover the beauty of the electoral game, ironically called the Jerry's Salamander (you can search for it if you want), which uses a numbers game to keep the majority of his party's voters in the district.

Peter has hardly solved any real problems in the past four years, but his handsome face and iron fist have satisfied the voters, and his approval rating is not too bad, because the Donkey Party doesn't want to risk a last-minute replacement, and Illinois is the Donkey Party's territory. Re-election really isn't much of a problem.

"That's good."

Because Peter had sent the National Guard into town to 'counter-insurgency' during the time he was shot unconscious, Sonia purposely avoided appearing in the same frame with him as the King and Lord of the Suffering? Otherwise, it would disappoint some of the lower class blacks.

Sloan, Linda, and Gordon, as well as other dignitaries invited to the ceremony inside and out, were on hand throughout the ceremony.

He raised the binoculars again? He raised the binoculars again to observe Mayor Daley Jr. As the four years passed, his relationship with Peter had become more and more delicate, such as after his own shooting. Had Peter publicly accused Daley Jr. of failing to keep order in downtown Chicago? There were other minor clashes and shakedowns over power, public opinion and party support, and election funding, with Peter growing more aggressive and Daley Jr. hiding a needle in a haystack? The two drifted apart? The two were drifting apart?

Of course, the veteran politician Daley Jr. is a master of expression management? Sonia saw that he always kept smiling? And from time to time, he applauded, laughed, and gave a slight jaw to follow Peter's speech.

What's the big picture? It looks like Daley, the true 'King of Chicago' of the family, will still have to put up with Peter for the next four years.

Because of Melissa's status? Sonia kept her spiteful words to herself.

After Peter's speech, it was the turn of Jesse Jackson, a pastor, politician, and black affirmative action leader.

In any case, the billion-dollar investment in the two buildings and the surrounding facilities, the high-end jobs in the media and recording industries, the suburban development, the tax revenue? Long-term appreciation of surrounding properties, etc.? Is this the kind of place where politicians like to come in and take credit for their own face? Everyone is talking about how hard they worked to convince investors to locate their corporate headquarters in their state, city, or district.

As Jesse Jackson's sermon-style rousing speech came to an end, the audience erupted into the loudest applause. The loudest applause erupted.

Sonia saw Sloan begin to greet reporters, asking them to move their positions and prepare to follow the politicians on a tour of the Littman Media headquarters building.

Peter and Alicia, Underwood and Claire, and Daley Jr. all laughing and joking? as they walked into the building across the street, surrounded by cameras and flashing lights.

"Nothing to see here."

Sonja casually rested the binoculars on the boss's desk.

"Shouldn't be long now." Melissa held up her schedule, "Peter Flock and his wife will be here early, and we can be downstairs in fifteen minutes."

"Hmm."

Sonia nodded to the big, steady Kingpin.

"Hey, Mr. Governor, Mrs. Flock."

Going down on time to greet the couple who had ditched the reporters, Sonia smiled, "Show you around?"

"Okay."

Peter Flock and himself had business to attend to, leaving together in a few days to make arrangements for a visit to China, and he had brought state and federal foreign affairs people with him on this trip.

"This is our recording studio, next door to all of them, but this is the biggest one, I call it 'The Deep Sea'."

"This is the mixing studio, one of the best in all of Chicago,"

Sonia eagerly led the way, introducing them one by one. Alicia stopped being close to her husband when there were no reporters and followed him with a smile.

"You guys get out of here, get out of here, Alicia."

Peter picked a small room and sent his wife and entourage out, "APLUS, I heard the IPO over there didn't go too well?" He lifted his chin out the window to the Littman Media headquarters.

"Yes, the record industry is upset with us," Sonja replied vaguely, "but ...... will have to do."

"I heard Ms. Sloan say that the record industry's demands are in a legal gray area, waiting for the Digital Millennium Act to be implemented in Congress before it can be decided?"

"She's a professional, and I can only go by her interpretation, but she's been too busy lately."

"Yeah."

Peter didn't mean to, and couldn't help, "Next year maybe I can help you get part of the state subsidy for the film industry, but of course there needs to be a project shooting over here, or a TV show or something."

"Haha, I'll have to build a big studio then."

"It's going to get better here."

"I hope so."

"Yeah."

Peter, always quick to talk, quickly got to the point, "What do you think of the Chancellor's case? I have a feeling that all the Donkey Party elections this year will be shaped by this proposal, to support him or not to support him."

Peter said, "Given that he's doing well economically, but has just over two years left in office ......"

The current Chancellor is not very good with women, and the Donkey Party people do not want to risk being slapped in the face by the White House intern case, but they also do not want to risk his high approval rating and have to plan for the coming Gore era.

"I can't advise you on that, but of course I'm going to support Vice Chancellor Gore next term."

"You've already made up your mind?"

"Gore? Sure."

Gore supports Silicon Valley, and Silicon Valley supports him, and Sonja couldn't have asked for a better candidate for that alone.

"Gore is more conservative," Peter said.

"Yes." Sonja agreed that Gore was indeed more conservative, especially on sensitive issues like abortion.

Peter is similar to Gore in this regard, except that he is more conservative on law and order issues.

"Pity if he hadn't been deputy commander for eight years,"

Peter laughed.

Sonia also laughed, power on the current chancellor's finesse is top, Gore assisted him for eight years, but the technology industry basic plate was dug out of many corners by him, there is no way, the vice chancellor position is a bit embarrassing, in retrospect it might have been better to continue to be eight years as a real power senator.

"Yeah, right. I think we'll have to watch Gore's performance in the White House intern case, and I think it would be better for him to make the appropriate cut with the current Chancellor to win the hearts and minds of the conservative crowd, don't you think?" Peter asked.

"I haven't thought about this very carefully, but I guess I should agree with you, Mr. Governor."

"Well, politics is really delicate,"

Peter sighed, pondering to himself.

Sonia was a bit puzzled when she saw him like this, but it is reasonable to say that at the level of governor, there is no need to worry about such standing matters, since the current chancellor has reached the end of his reign.

"Mr. Governor, APLUS, Mr. Whip and Mayor Daley Jr. are here." Melissa reported knocking on the door.

"I see."

Peter turned to chatting about the specifics of the visit, "Oh by the way, Alicia said she'd like a chance to talk to you about the case?"

"Yes, I'd like to consult on some of the details of the singer's contractual breach, and since it's not appropriate to make them public, I'll need some private legal help from her."

"OK, I got it."