The Myriad Gene Patent Case: Who Owns Your Disease?

Today the court of appeals for the federal circuit court is hearing arguments in the Myriad gene patent case, aka Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It’s the latest development in the attempt to patent the human body, a long story that’s touched the lives of Chicagoans and won’t go away any time soon.

This Week in Investigations

It’s been a quiet couple months for city and state politics, but things are starting to get interesting: two federal investigations, rumblings from Michael Madigan about the pre-paid college tuition program, and the city inspector general’s report on truck drivers.

Toxic Lead in Pilsen—and Just Days Before the Solis-Morfin Runoff

The front-page story in the Chicago Tribune today about toxic lead found in Pilsen has to strike fear into the hearts of the neighborhood’s parents. And it can’t be good news for 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis, either, as he is caught in a runoff with activist Cuahutémoc “Témoc” Morfin. Tribune reporter Michael Hawthorne writes that a monitor placed…

A Cabrini-Green Omnibus

Cabrini-Green passes into history today, bringing the project to an end, but not its story. As the Plan for Transformation continues and with it a new era of public policy, here are a few leaves from Cabrini-Green’s history.