1. Where to Buy Now
In the city that invented the skyscraper, condos are having a moment. Chicago tackles the real-estate market.
2. Dismantling the Towers
Chicago is replacing the concentrated poverty of high-rise public housing with mixed-income communities. But does it work for the poor, or the middle class? The Chicago Reporter investigates.
3. Meet Maria of Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar
How a Korean immigrant became a bar owner (and bartender) at a Bridgeport neighborhood joint. The Reader talks with Maria Marszewski, aka “Mom” or “the Peggy Guggenheim of Bridgeport.”
4. South Side Shake-Up: How the White Sox Rebuilt and Reloaded in Just 18 Months
Everyone’s excited about the young Cubs, but the White Sox have put together a promising team in a much shorter, much quieter period. Grantland goes to the Cell.
5. Aaron Schock resigns after new questions about mileage expenses
Rep. Aaron Schock resigned from office today. His spending habits most likely had something to do with it. Politico unpacks the mess.
6. Chicago Candidate With Sunny Attitude Is Cloudy on Specifics
Chuy Garcia has been slow to outline his fiscal plans for the city. Does it matter, as long as he’s not Rahm? The New York Times follows the contender.
7. Illinois Pension Bout Tests Nation Grappling With Shortfalls
All eyes are on Illinois as it tries to cut pensions—and establish legal precedent to do so. Bloomberg Business tracks the case.
8. Chicago’s Forgotten Civil War Prison Camp
The largest mass grave in the Western hemisphere came from “eighty acres of hell” on the city’s south side. WBEZ unearths its story.
9. Blackstone Strikes Deal on Chicago Tower
It’s the most ever paid for a skyscraper outside of New York—but on a cost-per-square-foot basis, Willis Tower is a bargain. The Wall Street Journal explains.
10. Chicago Is Scrambling to Renegotiate Swap Deals, Avoid Painful Payments
The city’s falling bond rating means it could owe hundreds of millions of dollars to banks, due to risky contracts negotiated in better times. The Chicago Tribune looks over the cliff.