Can Lightfoot Deliver the Goods?

She ran on a platform of leveling the playing field in Chicago. Can an American mayor really do such a thing?

By Edward McClelland

Latest

4D
ago

When the Bears Were a Broke Factory Team

Before they were the Monsters of the Midway, Chicago’s pro team played for the starch-manufacturing A. E. Staley company.

5D
ago

Challenges to the Obama Center Might Work This Time

As little as a year ago, few politicians batted an eye at Obama muscling his presidential center into Jackson Park. But times are a-changing.

5D
ago

Best of Chicago

Go where the Aperol spritzes are fizzier, the prom dresses are frillier, and the story times are fiercer. It’s all here in this guide to the 161 best ways to get the most out of the city and suburbs.

5D
ago

White Sox Bullpen Coach Critiques Ceremonial First Pitches

Curt Hasler breaks down where things went wrong.

1W
ago

Freeing Blagojevich Won’t Do What Trump Thinks it Will

An early release won’t endear Democrats to the President. And to his base, freeing a corrupt pol would be seen as the kind of swampy behavior Trump promised to end.

1W
ago

Meet the Willy Wonka of the Northwest Burbs

Andrew Taylor, head of innovation at the ingredient developer Tate & Lyle, on creating stealthily healthier processed foods

1W
ago

How Socialism Permeated City Council

These aren’t your grandma’s Cold War–era pols. Inside Chicago’s far-far-left political wavelet.

1W
ago

When a Mass Shooting Begat Gun Control

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre shocked the nation and spurred the most restrictive gun laws America had seen. Here’s why the same thing hasn’t happened today.

1W
ago

Should the White Sox Leave Chicago?

The Sox haven’t outdrawn the Cubs since 1992 — even in 2005, when they won the World Series. Would they thrive in their own market?

2W
ago

The Cubs Made All the Right Moves

The team entered 2019 with a flawed roster and handcuffed by their payroll. But by the end of July, they’d set themselves up to win the NL Central.

2W
ago

The System Has Never Worked

In his new book, social worker Jonathan Foiles argues that policy change and clinical practice go hand-in-hand.

2W
ago

10 Great Stories to Read Right Now

A local actor’s rideshare abduction, Chicago’s forgotten village, college scams, and more

2W
ago

The Lost Hours of Melissa Lorraine

Two years ago, the Theatre Y cofounder survived a sexual assault in a car she thought was her Uber. With the perpetrator still out there, she had to find a different kind of closure.

2W
ago

A Downstate Illinois Dictionary

South of Chicago, Illinoisans speak with a distinctive Midland accent and a lexicon all their own. Visit armed with the local lingo.

3W
ago

Searching for Eugene Williams

Before they were the Monsters of the Midway, Chicago’s pro team played for the starch-manufacturing A. E. Staley company.

As little as a year ago, few politicians batted an eye at Obama muscling his presidential center into Jackson Park. But times are a-changing.

Go where the Aperol spritzes are fizzier, the prom dresses are frillier, and the story times are fiercer. It’s all here in this guide to the 161 best ways to get the most out of the city and suburbs.

Curt Hasler breaks down where things went wrong.

An early release won’t endear Democrats to the President. And to his base, freeing a corrupt pol would be seen as the kind of swampy behavior Trump promised to end.

Andrew Taylor, head of innovation at the ingredient developer Tate & Lyle, on creating stealthily healthier processed foods

These aren’t your grandma’s Cold War–era pols. Inside Chicago’s far-far-left political wavelet.

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre shocked the nation and spurred the most restrictive gun laws America had seen. Here’s why the same thing hasn’t happened today.

The Sox haven’t outdrawn the Cubs since 1992 — even in 2005, when they won the World Series. Would they thrive in their own market?

The team entered 2019 with a flawed roster and handcuffed by their payroll. But by the end of July, they’d set themselves up to win the NL Central.

In his new book, social worker Jonathan Foiles argues that policy change and clinical practice go hand-in-hand.

A local actor’s rideshare abduction, Chicago’s forgotten village, college scams, and more

Two years ago, the Theatre Y cofounder survived a sexual assault in a car she thought was her Uber. With the perpetrator still out there, she had to find a different kind of closure.

South of Chicago, Illinoisans speak with a distinctive Midland accent and a lexicon all their own. Visit armed with the local lingo.

His murder catalyzed Chicago’s 1919 race riot, but little else is known about the teenager’s life on the South Side.