Gradients We Can Believe In

During the 2008 campaign season, a skinny young presidential candidate adopted a sophisticated campaign graphics-design scheme that impressed the design world—and catapulted him to victory. And now, Chicago mayoral campaigns are looking a lot like Barack’s…

Lori Andrews on Facebook, Gene Patents, and Human Cloning

Related: MORE ON LORI ANDREWS » The law professor and novelist untangles today’s strangest biotech cases What are the emerging legal and ethical issues with Facebook? As we all begin to live a parallel life on the web, traditional privacy rights are slipping away. Colleges and companies routinely search Facebook and MySpace to determine whether … Read more

A Look at Miguel del Valle, a Regular Chicago Guy Who Wants to Be Mayor

Miguel del Valle doesn’t have much money—peanuts compared to Rahm Emanuel and Gery Chico, and way less even than Patricia Watkins and Carol Moseley Braun. When I asked him yesterday afternoon if there would be runoff on February 22nd, he answered, “My guess is Rahm is going to buy one of the spots; as for the second, I hope I’m that person…

Patricia Van Pelt Watkins’ Gritty and Inspiring Life Story

Mayoral candidate Patricia Watkins has seen her share of tough times—she spent her formative years at Cabrini-Green, she was addicted to drugs at one point, and her daughter died in a plane crash at 17. The 53-year-old community organizer who founded Target Area Development Corp., a “grassroots social justice organization,” has been in the mayor’s race from the start. But the first-time candidate has polled as low as…