Come Clean, Chicago: We Hate Winter
It’s our annual February fib—that we love the brutal winters here. Time to stop living a lie.
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Robin Kelly, Running for Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Seat, Has Some Good Connections—and Good Luck
Between her fundraising prowess and her connections to power via Toni Preckwinkle and her friend-of-the-Obamas campaign manager, Matteson’s Robin Kelly—most recently Preckwinkle’s chief administrative officer—has the inside track in the 2nd District. Being on top of the ballot won’t hurt in the packed race.
City to Add Another $33 Million to Its Police-Settlement Bill
It’s a massive amount of money compared to other cities, but sadly typical when it comes to Chicago’s recent history of legal settlements, which are far out of proportion to major American cities. And it’s not just the CPD.
Does Segregation Make a City More Vulnerable to Crime?
A model of crime contagion suggests that heavy segregation by income—and segregating the rich from the poor with a middle-class buffer—is worse for city crime levels than a mix of neighborhoods.
Could Rahm Emanuel's Push For Gun Control Work? Perhaps at the Margins
Despite the city and state’s court defeats over gun control, the mayor is making an explicit push to tighten the city’s laws, and is likely to target assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
National Climate Assessment Predicts Less Frost, More Hot Days and Heat Waves for Future Chicago
A new report from the United States Global Change research program looks at the U.S. and climate change over the rest of the century, projecting hotter hot days, wetter winters, more 100-degree days, and deadly heat waves along the lines of 1995.
The Alternate-Universe Chicago In Which Our Craziest Unbuilt Buildings Exist
Some of Chicago’s great unbuilt buildings are as remarkable as the ones that make up its skyline. What would happen if Harry Weese’s Lake Michigan Islands, the Sears Tower on its side, and a Tribune Tower in the shape of a giant classical column shared downtown?
The Geography of Chicago's Second Languages
Looking at ESL speakers, the far north and northwest sides of Chicago have a great deal of linguistic diversity, with Belmont Cragin having a high number of non-native speakers, and West Ridge a breadth of languages. The far south side, on the other hand, is notable for its lack of non-English speakers.
Peoria's Ray LaHood: Is He Staying in Obama's Cabinet or Going… and Who Decides?
Barack Obama has been criticized for the lack of diversity in his cabinet: too white and too male. With two women departing and a third likely to—and Republican Chuck Hagel expected to become Secretary of Defense—could that leave white male Republican Ray LaHood, his well-regarded transportation secretary, without a seat?
Five Ways of Looking at the Flu Season
This year’s flu season is unusually intense, and literally off the charts—well, Google’s Flu Indicator chart at least, which tracks what people are searching for and uses it to predict the severity of the flu season. Hopefully it will remain not very deadly, however.