Can Obama Data-Mine His Way to Victory?
A DATA WITH DESTINY: Skilled analysis of information about voters may help determine who wins the White House this November
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Long After the Trial, the Burge Story Continues
After spending 25 years in prison, Michael Tillman settled with the city for over $5 million dollars, the latest judgement to come out of the Burge torture scandal.
Is Paul Konerko Destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame?
HALL PASS: Sizing up the White Sox star’s bid for Cooperstown
For the Second Straight Year, the Midwest Suffers Under a 'Flash Drought'
In mid-May, very little of Illinois was abnormally dry. By mid-June, practically the entire state was in severe drought, or worse. It’s another summer of “flash drought,” and Iowa State researchers are busy making corn crops that can survive a hotter future.
J Street, Progressive Alternative to AIPAC, Backs Area Congressional Candidates
The Tribune reported last week that Tammy Duckworth, the Democratic challenger in the race for the 8th District, outraised the tea party-backed freshman, Joe Walsh, in the second quarter. Duckworth’s $888,790 total take included almost $50,000 “steered” to her by J Street, a D.C.-based PAC that is finding a stronghold here in Chicago…
Despair, Mental Health, and Mass Murder
The theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado—just miles from Columbine, and coming after NIU and Virginia Tech—have gun control back in the news again. Similar incidents led to the 1994 assault-weapons ban, though it was not particularly good or effective law. Public policy is difficult, but that’s not a reason for hopelessness.
Right-to-Die Advocate Jerry Dincin Awaits His Own Exit
THIS WAY OUT?: The Final Exit Network president has helped 14 gravely ill people end their lives. Now, at 81, the Highland Park resident faces a terminal illness himself
Long Reads on Community, Isolation, and Tolerance
For the weekend, two of the best articles I’ve read in awhile—about a teen killer from rural Indiana, and the isolated subcultures of GLBTQ life in in Boystown.
'You Didn't Build That,' Entrepreneurship, and the Silly Season
Did Barack Obama actually say that “if you have a business, you didn’t build that business”? It seems to depend on your ideology and/or how you diagram sentences. Either way, it’s not a very interesting question.
Chicago's Problem With Fatal Hit-and-Run Crashes
From 2005 to 2009, Chicago’s percentage of fatal pedestrian crashes involving hit-and-runs was twice that of the national average. This year the percentage is very high. Stopping crashes is one thing; how do you stop behavior after a crash?