1. Life and Death in Back of the Yards: ‘We Were Born Into It’
24-year-old Ismael Lopez was killed 30 feet from the place he was shot on Thanksgiving Day in 2010. The Tribune puts his death in context.
2. Henry Bienen: The CTU ‘Has Never Met a Reform It Likes’
The former CPS board member (and Northwestern president) talks about how the city’s school board works. Chicago magazine sits down with Bienen.
3. ‘Candyman’: Cabrini-Green and the Fear of Public Housing
The horror film was set in Chicago’s famous housing project. What did it have to say about the site? The A.V. Club examines the cult classic.
4. A Psychologist as Warden? Jail and Mental Illness Intersect in Chicago
Nneka Jones Tapia oversaw mental health care at Cook County Jail. Now she oversees the whole thing. The New York Times profiles her.
5. What Mellody Hobson Taught Me About Race in Corporate America
The head of PricewaterhouseCoopers asks the Chicago-based head of Ariel Investments for advice. Bob Moritz recounts their conversation in Fortune.
6. How a Young Madigan Beefed—and Paid the Price with Daley
When his career was just getting started, the most powerful man in state politics got put in his place by the mayor, and learned a valuable lesson. The Sun-Times tells the tale.
7. Black Business’s Slow Flight From Bronzeville
The State Street corridor was “a black Wall Street.” What happened? WBEZ tells its history.
8. ‘It Still Haunts Me to This Day’
Allan Ackerman made a career representing some of the Chicago Outfit’s most notorious figures. Why has he been working pro bono for a man serving a life sentence for a gang hit? Chicago Lawyer delves into the case of Matthew Sopron.
9. Karen Lewis Fires Back About Elected School Boards and the Chance for a Strike
The teachers-union head talks about new CPS head Forrest Claypool, elected school boards, and her relationship with Rahm. Chicago gets her take.
10. Buddy Guy: ‘I Worry About the Future of Blues Music’
Before he got a guitar, he tried to build one out of his screen door. Will future generations have that kind of passion? NPR talks with the local legend.