Actually, White Lies Aren't So Harmless
New research by U. Chicago professor Emma Levine suggests that minor fibs can do more harm than good.
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The Collateral Damage of $1 Vacant Lots
Chicago’s Large Lots Program seems like a good idea. But the reality has been complicated.
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