Winter Travel 2013: Playa del Carmen, Mexico
SPAS AND RUINS: Just an hour from Cancun but a world away from Spring Break madness
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Winter Travel 2013: Jackson Hole, Wyoming
POWDER PARADISE: Where the warm welcome is no longer just for advanced skiers
Winter Travel 2013: Tucson, Arizona
DESERT SANCTUARY: Where you can gaze into the night sky and let your mind rest
Richard Mell Stands Up (for Nepotism): A View of Chicago's Most Infamous Father-in-Law
The Sun-Times reports that 33rd Ward Alderman Richard Mell—who is also Rod Blagojevich’s father-in-law—is looking to retire in the next few months, and has cut a deal with Mayor Emanuel that replaces his City Council seat with his daughter, Deb Mell.
Lead, Violence, and Society
One reason frequently given for the substantial drop in America’s violent crime rate is lead abatement—a couple decades after it was removed from paint and gas, crime started downwards. But it’s still out there, in houses and the soil of big cities, and the more we know about it, the lower the acceptable limits of lead get.
Chicago: A Relatively Safe City to Drive In, With a DUI Problem
Chicago did pretty well in a ranking of cities and fatal crashes over the past decade, coming in 20th out of the 25 largest per thousand people. But a high percentage of those involved intoxication: third worst among America’s biggest cities.
The Economics of Gay Marriage: Preventing Iowa From Taking Our Hard-Earned Same-Sex Tax Revenues
The Williams Institute took a look at the economic benefits of Iowa’s decision to legalize gay marriage, which attracted some couples who presumably would have gotten married here in Illinois. They estimate a modest drain on our coffers, but it added up for our neighbors.
Gay Marriage: Or, How Not to Make a Slippery Slope Argument
Opponents of gay marriage often resort to slippery-slope hypotheticals along the lines of: “but what about polygamy?” It’s not out of context, but it is pretty much the opposite. Anyone actually worried about gay marriage leading to polygamy shouldn’t be.
Global Warming and Drought in the Midwest: Expect More of the Same?
What does climate science tell us about the possibility of future droughts in the Midwest? Year to year it will remain unpredictable, but we should be concerned about our luck, and the odds of drought, getting worse.
Homicide, Social Efficacy, and Poverty in Chicago
From homicide and heat waves in Chicago to New York’s recovery from Sandy Hook: the importance of “neighborhood effects” and “collective efficacy” on crime and other critical issues of public health.