1. Excruciating Choice: Trading Parental Custody for Mental Health Care

Forcing DCFS to take custody of a child—by refusing to pick the child up from hospital psychiatric care—is the only option for some parents. WBEZ tells one family’s story.

2. The ‘Chicago Model’ of Policing Hasn’t Saved Chicago

So why are other cities trying it? The Marshall Project tries to figure it out.

3. Rare Photos, Interviews Honor Memory of Eight Nurses Slain by Richard Speck

A trove of slides inherited by the brother of a victim leads to lost stories of the tragedy. The Tribune tells those stories.

4. Bomb Trains: The Scariest Threat You Don’t Know About

Tanks full of light sweet Bakken crude are “the biggest, heaviest, and longest combustibles to ever traverse America.” Chicago magazine traces their path through the area.

5. Former Students of College in Chicago Earn Less Than High-School Dropouts

And enrollment has fallen from 1,200 to 550 in just six years. The Wall Street Journal investigates East-West University.

6. Chicago After Laquan McDonald

Homicides and shootings are up. So is distrust of the police. Where does the city go from here? The New York Times takes a deep dive into where we’re at.

7. City Promises Housing for Homeless Living in Tent Camps

It’s just 75 people, and it’s hardly a new idea. But here, it’s revolutionary. The Sun-Times talks with possible recipients.

8. Cashing in on the CHA

One landlord owns seven out of 30 buildings on one block, and 21 of the residents get rent subsidies. Six of the buildings have been cited for code violations in the past five years. The BGA and the Sun-Times detail the problems.

9. This Teeny, Tiny House Takes on a Big Problem

Can you help the homeless with 336 square feet? Chicago goes inside.

10. Why Does the State Have a Flat Tax?

Republicans wanted it. Democrats and organized labor didn’t try to stop it. NPR Illinois goes back into our history.