His Father Moved Up from Chicago Alderman to Mayor; Does Rod Sawyer Want to Follow in His Footsteps?
Freshman alderman Roderick Sawyer, 6th Ward, won his city council seat only by 104 votes in a runoff against incumbent Freddrenna Lyle…
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The Geography of School Poverty in Chicago
Across the city, most public school children are eligible for free or reduced lunches—an 85 percent average across the city, showing distinct geographical patterns, and 30 percent higher than the state average. The highest eligibility? It can’t get any higher than in East Saint Louis.
College Enrollment Spikes During the Great Recession, As It Has During Less Great Recessions
One semi-silver lining for the Great Recession, as it’s been for most American recessions in recent years, is that people obtain more education (at, on average, a modest increase in lifetime earnings). But the benefit to the economy doesn’t compare to what was lost.
Elie Wiesel Gives a Few More Hints on His Book with Barack Obama
The 84-year-old Holocaust survivor shared some details of his new project with the audience at Chicago Humanities Festival
The Geography of Lottery Spending in Chicago
In 2011, Chicagoans spent $600 million playing the state lottery, out of $2.3 billion statewide. Here’s a map that shows which areas of the city are the biggest spenders.
Rita Crundwell Pleads Guilty in Dixon Embezzlement Case
The ex-comptroller of Dixon pleaded guilty to fraud Wednesday morning in federal court in Rockford.
Truancy in the Chicago Public Schools: How Bad Are We?
Even in the era of No Child Left Behind, it’s surprisingly hard to get good data on school truancy across the country. To the extent that it exists, other urban districts seem to share our problems.
Mitt Romney's Big Data Fail and Its Ideological Roots
The GOP’s skepticism of and opposition to science and data in all its forms isn’t just killing them through outliers like Todd Akin—it’s also a critical issue in current and future GOTV efforts.
The Informational Stress of Being Poor
Having scarce resources means that even the smallest decisions have major ramifications. How does that effect decision-making? Let’s play the Feud (or Angry Birds) to find out.
Rahm Emanuel and David Petraeus
The man that the White House—then Chief-of-Staff Rahm in particular—feared most as a 2012 opponent on the Republican ticket was the brilliant, disciplined general.