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December 2011

	01/03/12 The Most Important Injury of 2012: The Concussion Traumatic brain injuries linked both sports and political news in 2011. As lawsuits and science about concussions advance, expect more in the new year. Posted at 1:58 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/30/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: December In a December story about late Iraq War veteran and Peru native Anthony Wagner, John Keilman captured many of the economic, political, and social tensions of 2011. Posted at 3:00 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/30/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: November The Occupy movement brought the idea of the 99 Percent to the fore in 2011, and confused journalists and politicians with its passive resistance to ideology. Posted at 1:00 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/30/11 Most Memorable Chicago Stories of 2011 With the year coming to a close, we asked our Twitter followers and Facebook fans to send us their picks for the top Chicago stories of 2011. Here's a list of the most memorable, plus some additions from our staff. Posted at 11:00 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/30/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: October Theo Epstein takes the reins of the long-suffering Cubs, ushering in a new era of superstar management. Meanwhile, a Cub you might remember from his sole MLB at-bat keeps trying to return. Posted at 9:30 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/29/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: September 2011 was a long, fascinating year for Groupon, Chicago's biggest Web 2.0 company and the fastest-growing one in history: preparing for its IPO, fighting off the SEC. If corporations are people, puberty is no less awkward for them. Posted at 3:30 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/29/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: August One of the most important lessons from the 2010 Census became clear in 2011: a Latino baby boom means that one-third of children under the age of five in the city are Latino. Posted at 1:00 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/29/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: July Talk of the weather will do: July brought a host of weather stories, including some ominous clouds that may represent an entirely new kind of cloud. Posted at 10:11 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/28/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: June From Governor Sunshine to Mr. Unpopularity, one thing never changes: Rod Blagojevich always has a politician's smile waiting for his fans. Posted at 4:25 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/28/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: May Mayor Daley leaves office, ending an era in Chicago politics: "It's all television money and polling now. It's not parades. It's not torchlights and songs." Posted at 1:05 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/28/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: April The final Cabrini-Green high rise is demolished over the course of the month, bringing to a close one of the most complex chapters in the city's history. Posted at 9:57 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/27/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: March Gov. Quinn brings the age of the death penalty to a close, representing a long-fought-for victory for activists and a tremendous amount of work by the city's best journalists. Posted at 4:30 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/27/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: February The top story of February was probably the biggest yet least surprising story of 2011: a former Daley fundraiser officially becomes Da Mare-elect, and faces a lot of problems left over from Da Mare. Posted at 1:44 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/27/11 2011: The Year in Homicides A timelapse of (almost all of) the 2011 homicides in Chicago, mapped onto the city grid. Posted at 1:11 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/27/11 12 Months, 12 Pictures, 12 Stories: January The very end of January brought an epic snowstorm, two of the year's best photographs, and memories of the blizzard that ended Michael Bilandic's hold on the mayor's office. Posted at 9:22 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/26/11 Derrick Rose's Top 10 Plays of 2011 A highlight reel of the Bulls' star and reigning MVP shows his quickness, his court vision, and the ups that allow him to operate above the rim. Posted at 4:32 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/23/11 How Charles Dickens's Screw-Up Chicago Brother Turned the Second City Against Boz When Charles Dickens toured America for the last time, he gave Chicago the cold shoulder, as well as his widowed Chicago sister-and-law. The local press attacked him as a Scrooge and a hypocrite, but the real story was a sad and complex one closer to Bleak House than A Christmas Carol. Posted at 1:35 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/23/11 Ron Paul, Race, and the Iowa Caucuses Ron Paul is getting the attention his fervent supporters believe he deserves... but not the coverage. When he was publishing his now-infamous newsletters, was the GOP candidate a racist, opportunist, or just clueless? Posted at 11:05 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (7)
	12/22/11 The Chicago Reporter and Lisa Madigan Nail Bank of America on Racial Bias in Countrywide Lending A 2007 investigative report by the Reporter turns into a $355 million settlement in 2011. But there's more to the story, and to the problem—a very long history. Posted at 3:52 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/21/11 The Crazy Target Lady is Actually the Best Comedian in America If the somewhat disturbing Target commercials blanketing the airwaves during the Christmas shopping season are the price we have to pay for Maria Bamford, it's worth it. Posted at 12:03 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/21/11 Chicago Gang Territory vs 2011 Chicago Homicides A look at the overlap of Chicago gang-controlled areas of the city and how that compares with the distribution of homicides in 2011. Posted at 10:27 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)
	12/20/11 Annals of Benton Harbor: Riots, Race, and Jack Nickalus Jonathan Mahler, Mick Dumke, and Alex Kotlowitz: three writers on Benton Harbor, Michigan, its economic and social challenges, and the many attempts to address them. Posted at 3:07 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (4)
	12/20/11 Christmas Around the World at the Museum of Science and Industry, Circa 1978 Croats, Lithuanians, Belarusians, and Koreans talk about their holiday traditions as part of the MSI's seven-decade Christmas Around the World tradition. Posted at 1:59 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/20/11 The Bears are Doomed, and I'm at Peace Fantasy sports has made me a cold, hard judge of my favorite teams. But they've also made me more empathetic—a necessity, as the crippled Bears slouch towards a disappointing end. Posted at 11:59 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/19/11 2011: The Safest Year of Flying Yet Evidence of progress from the annals of airline crash statistics. Plus: why Alec Baldwin should have put his cell phone away, and why reading about airline disasters or pretending that I'm in a Galaxie 500 video makes me feel safer. Posted at 4:04 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/19/11 Days of Rage vs Days of G-8: Fighting Protesters With Neoliberalism To head off a second Days of Rage when the G-8 and NATO come to town in 2011, Rahm Emanuel proposes to hike protest fees... just like the first Mayor Daley did. But at 1968 prices, $1000 is practically a bargain. Posted at 2:57 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/19/11 Gary Kimmel, Dentist to Sex Traffickers, Wants Back in the Tooth Business In 2009, a Chicago dentist went to prison after pleading guilty to laundering money for a Detroit pimp who used Kimmel's apartment, cars, and dental office. The pimp was put away for 25 years. Dr. Gary Kimmel is out, and wants his old job back. Posted at 1:37 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/19/11 Christmas in Chicago in the 1960s Some things are timeless, like cars with chrome and fins and mayors named "Daley." Somethings are timeless and just so subtly eerie, like clowns and Dick Clark. Posted at 10:19 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/16/11 The Arrest of Sam Hurd and the Trials of Drug Sentencing The Bears' receiver and special-teams captain faces a maximum of 40 years and a $5 million fine if he's convicted of drug trafficking. But if his football predecessors in the drug trade are any indication, expect a lighter sentence. Posted at 5:27 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (3)
	12/16/11 The Illinois Pension Crisis: Stop Calling it a Time Bomb A new Tribune report on Illinois's underfunded pension systems shines a light on how it got so bad—it took a long time, and a lot of bad legislation—and offers a different way of looking at the crisis. Posted at 2:28 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/15/11 Chicago Gangs, the Emanuel Money Engine, and the Future of the Chicago Machine What Rahm Emanuel's ties to big business, and aldermanic ties to local gangs, tell us about the evolution of the Chicago Machine from Hinky Dink to the present day—and what the Machine of the Future might look like. Posted at 4:54 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/15/11 Deep Inside Chicago's Deep Tunnel The Feds and the state get impatient with Deep Tunnel, forcing the state into an agreement to get it done on time—by 2029. Here's how it's (sort of) responsible for the Asian carp crisis, and why it might be inadequate for a future of climate change. Posted at 1:53 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)
	12/15/11 Q&A with Phineas Jones, the Man Behind Half Acre's Big Hugs Beer Label Half Acre Beer Company's annual Christmas stout, Big Hugs, is back. With the beer's upcoming release this Friday, we caught up with the Chicago screen printer who designed the label's infamous mascot. Posted at 11:50 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/14/11 Hef Travels West: Playboy's Decline and the Dilemma of Aspiration Playboy's leaving Chicago for the sunny climes of Los Angeles. It's been a long time coming, as the magazine left the Second City in spirit long, long ago. Posted at 4:52 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/14/11 Live Chat with Editor in Chief Beth Fenner Join us here, Wednesday, December 14th at 2 p.m., for a live chat with our new editor in chief, Beth Fenner. With her first issue hitting newsstands Thursday, come discuss upcoming changes to Chicago, what you want to see from the magazine, and how we can impact the city moving forward. Posted at 10:09 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/13/11 What a Logan Square McDonald's Can Tell Us About New Urbanism The battles of city planning and urban theory are fought block by block—such as in Logan Square, where the renovation of a McDonald's sheds light on the city's pedestrian-street regulations. Posted at 5:14 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/13/11 Dogs, Empathy, and Neurobiology An abandoned, abused dog grabbed headlines this weekend, shocking readers with the cruelty it was exposed to and inspiring them to line up to adopt it. It's a revealing look into how our empathy, and loss of it, is reflected in our treatment of animals. Posted at 3:17 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/13/11 Cubs Win! (By Subtraction) The Cubs' offseason has been a bit boring so far, but it's been a lot more exciting for their NL Central opponents—who have lost, or stand to lose, the three best hitters in the division. The Cubs might not be better next year, but neither will the teams they play the most. Posted at 12:34 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/12/11 The CME/Sears Tax Break: The House Has a Deal The CME-Sears tax breaks pass the house as the ongoing legislative battle looks to be coming to a close, and the broader debate over it as well. So when do we get tax reform for everyone? Posted at 4:20 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/12/11 Baseball Stadiums, Attendance, and Public Transportation The Miami Marlins will come into 2012 with some high-priced new stars, an expensive and gorgeous new stadium to surround them... and no public transportation to get there. Why can't teams learn from the Cubs and the Twins? Posted at 1:59 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/09/11 Chicago Bears vs. Tim Tebow: Tebow Kryptonite and a Bears Proto-Tebow The Bears take on the NFL's worst, most effective, and most interesting quarterback on Sunday. Plus: a look back at Bobby Douglass, an old Bear whose playing style was ahead of its time, which still might not have come yet. Posted at 5:03 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/09/11 The Empathetic Rats of the University of Chicago University of Chicago neuroscientists find compelling proof that rats are just as interested in helping each other out as eating chocolate. Posted at 1:21 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/08/11 Marshall Field, the First PR Man, and a Civil War Vet Create an Epic Transportation Travelogue One of the Field Museum's first ventures was an extraordinary journey across Africa, Russia, and Oceana to document the way man traveled at the end of the 19th century—led by a railroad publicist and a great Old West photographer. Posted at 8:27 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/08/11 The CME/Sears Tax Break 2.0, Now With Fewer Tax Breaks The income-tax breaks attached to the CME Group/Sears/etc. tax breaks got the latter through the Senate, but the former got it killed in the House. If they can't fit together, maybe splitting them up will work. Posted at 3:55 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/08/11 What Chicago's One Percent Believes Occupy Wall Street and its associated protests around the country have drawn attention to the politics, beliefs, and ideals of the 99 Percent. Who speaks for the One Percent? A new survey out of NORC and Northwestern is a good start. Posted at 1:58 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/07/11 Jeanne Gang and Robert Cassidy: Two Generations of Urban Planners on the Chicago River The long-dreamed-of reclamation and renewal of the river is picking up speed, thanks to an EPA directive... and those Asian carp. Posted at 6:56 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/07/11 How Illinois Got Rod Blagojevich, and How He Lost Us So... what just happened? Not just today, but how did Rod Blagojevich go from governor and future president to disgraced ex-governor and future inmate? Here's a tour through the past eight years from the pages of our magazine. Posted at 3:22 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/07/11 Rod Blagojevich: The Reckoning, Day Two, Live on Twitter Day one of Rod Blagojevich's sentencing hearing went badly for the former governor, as Judge Zagel pushed back on many of his team's arguments for leniency. Will he take the stand? Will he get something, anything, through the crease? Posted at 10:25 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/06/11 The Blagojevich Leniency Defense in Five Tweets Team Blago throws out a prevent defense in trying to get him the best deal possible, touching on his family, his tenuous grasp of legality, and his incompetence. Posted at 6:34 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/06/11 Rod Blagojevich Sentencing, Live on Twitter The former Illinois governor will be sentenced today in a Chicago courtroom. Here's the view from the halls of justice as we await his sentence. Posted at 10:32 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/06/11 Describing Chicago in a Single Word Prompted by Daniel A. Bell's new book, The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in a Global Age, we asked readers to describe our fair city in a single word or a phrase. Here's what they had to say. Posted at 8:32 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (3)
	12/05/11 Why Minnie Miñoso Should Be in the Hall of Fame, and Why He's Not The man who defined the Go-Go Sox and led the way for black Latinos in Major League Baseball missed the Hall of Fame by three votes. Here's why his career represents an conundrum. Posted at 5:19 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/05/11 Ron Santo, Sabermetric Star Before Its Time, Finally Makes the Hall of Fame Almost exactly a year after he died, the Cubs legend—on the field and in the booth—gets elected into the HoF after years of being considered the most deserving player not in the Hall. And it's not just Santo whose greatness has been recognized, it's also the type of player he was. Posted at 2:10 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/05/11 When Michael Madigan and Big Jim Thompson Stopped Time to Save the White Sox The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which gave us both U.S. Cellular and the Soldier Field renovation, dips into the pockets of the city's taxpayers to make up a shortfall. There's a funny story about how we ended up with the ISFA in the first place. Posted at 12:30 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	12/02/11 Pre-Weekend Marginalia The return of the six-flat; Michael Jordan in winter; the barest form in which architecture can exist; game over for Atlanta; house sparrows; Jonathon Brandmeier; and more Posted at 4:57 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/02/11 Our Siri, Ourselves The Siri abortion controversy reveals a lot about information technology and entrenched sexism. Not to mention people, computers, and the uncomfortable, uncanny things that happen when we try to make one behave like the other. Posted at 3:23 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	12/01/11 5 Reads on AIDS in Chicago On World AIDS Day, and in recognition of our new contributor Celeste Watkins-Hayes, looks at HIV and AIDS in Chicago from the beginnings of the crisis to the present day. Posted at 5:06 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

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