The Collateral Damage of $1 Vacant Lots
Chicago’s Large Lots Program seems like a good idea. But the reality has been complicated.
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No State Has More to Lose From Trump's Citizenship Question Than Illinois
We’re forfeiting a congressional seat after the next census thanks to population loss. If non-citizens are undercounted, it could be two.
Can You Hunt Your Own Turkey in Cook County?
Illustration: John Kenzie Yes — in theory. Shrinking habitats and hungry settlers eradicated wild turkeys from Cook County around 1910. But thanks to a statewide reintroduction effort begun in the 1950s, the birds returned to the county in 2014. (They didn’t make their way to Chicago until 2017, when one was spotted in a Beverly garden.) But … Read more
The Chicagoan in Your Life Needs This CTA Card Game
“Loop” turns the commuting experience into a party game — manspreaders and all.
10 Stories to Read Right Now
The death of the Illinois GOP, a farewell to Coach Q, and some long-overdue love for Chicago artists
A Chicago Neighborhood Name Generator
Chicago's neighborhood names are far more pastoral than befits this hard, gritty city. Roseland, Englewood, Forest Glen, Edgebrook — they draw from nature to describe places where little nature remains. A few even live up to their billing: Edgewater is at the edge of the water, you can see the lake from Lake View, and a … Read more
Chicagoans of the Year
An intrepid filmmaker. A community activist. A children’s rights lawyer. A pioneering health advocate. A Cinderella basketball squad. A rising literary star. This year’s eclectic class of honorees bring energy, smarts, and soul to their work in equal measure.
Steve James
America to Me, Steve James’s 10-part TV series about Oak Park and River Forest High School, feels at times less like a documentary about race and education than a fascinating conversation that you don’t want to end. “We didn’t just follow students around,” says the filmmaker and Oak Park resident. “We talked to them.” And … Read more
Jahmal Cole
The idea behind My Block, My Hood, My City, Jahmal Cole’s fast-growing civic education nonprofit, is almost ridiculously simple: Take teenagers from underresourced Chicago schools on monthly field trips to explore the city. Based on empirical evidence that education-based travel can spark students’ curiosity, ambition, and later success, the treks are centered on activities that … Read more
Maria Woltjen
Late this spring, when the news media began widely reporting that U.S. Border Patrol agents were carrying out an official policy of separating undocumented children from their parents, a public outcry erupted and activists sprang into action. At that moment, Maria Woltjen could be forgiven for thinking, What took you so long? As the director … Read more