CM Punk, Bruce Mau, and Other Good Chicago Things
A straight-edge Chicago wrestler grapples with kayfabe; Bruce Mau tackles the empire; Roger Ebert reviews “The Interrupters”; grain elevators and constitutional law; and more
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Five Great Reads by Alex Kotlowitz
Chicagomag.com’s first writer-in-residence on race, Vivian Meier, stick-up men, exchanging letters with his father, and more.
Wisconsin Recall Postmortems: GOP Retains Majority, Someone Or Another Wins
Who won Wisconsin last night? The GOP retained four of six seats, meaning… no one’s really sure. Tune in next week for the Democratic recalls! And perhaps next year, for Gov. Scott Walker himself.
Restaurant Tip Inflation: the 20 Percent Solution?
One of the most prominent restaurant critics in the country insists that you tip 20 percent at all times, which comes as a shock to some. When did 20 percent become expected? Earlier, it seems, than I thought.
Post Office Closings in Chicago—Will Low-Income Neighborhoods Bear the Brunt?
With the United States Postal Service losing $8.5 billion last year, some 3,653 post offices nationwide (out of 31,871) are being reviewed for possible closing. Illinois carries the dubious distinction of having the most potential closures—176. Chicago gets whacked with the possible closing of 12 stations, and all of them sit in the congressional districts of either Danny Davis or Bobby Rush…
Soak 'Em If You Got 'Em: Pot Ticketing as Revenue Stream?
Recent comments suggest that Chicago’s top cop could be amenable to softening the city’s approach to policing low-level possession. It would also be another bad-behavior-based revenue stream, which are becoming an increasing part of the city’s shaky finances.
Wisconsin Recall Roundup: All Eyes on Cheeseheads
Racing Sausages for Recall; presidential-size turnouts; gubernatorial-level campaign money; and total unpredictability. Our neighbors to the north live in much more interesting times.
Alex Kotlowitz and Our Upcoming Blog, 'Off the Grid'
Chicagomag.com on Friday will launch a blog called Off the Grid: Dispatches from Chicago’s Writers-in-Residence. Every so often, we plan to feature a new writer who will post about topics of his or her choosing—anything from personal essays to reported pieces. The only requirement is that the stories be about Chicago and its people. We’re thrilled, then, to introduce our inaugural writer-in-residence, Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here and…
Mayor Emanuel, Property Taxes, and Chicago Schools
Did the mayor go back on a campaign promise not to impose new taxes, or were higher property taxes always an option for making up the CPS budget shortfall?
Chicago to Soften Its Purgatorial Orange Glow With White CMH Street Lights
The city uses stimulus money to replace some of its high-pressure sodium street lights with white, “suburban” ceramic metal halide ones.