1. Best New Restaurants

The city’s best food is more accessible and affordable than ever, while still being wildly creative. Chicago magazine makes its picks.

2. In Withdrawal: Treating the Babies of Illinois’s Opioid Crisis

They’re being exposed to more opiods while in the womb than in the past, which is more likely to be mixed with other drugs—which they have to wean off of in their first days. Crain’s looks at the problem.

3. What Does a Presidential Building Look Like?

If Barack Obama wanted to be true to his roots, he could embed his presidential museum in the neighborhood rather than building an ivory tower in a park. Curbed makes the case.

4. When Frank Lloyd Wright Designed a Bookstore

39 and still on the rise, he designed a cozy space in the Fine Arts Building for the store’s well-connected owner. But even a Wright design couldn’t save it from its seventh-floor location. The Paris Review uncovers the history.

5. A Political Boss Goes Down

The long-powerful Cook County Assessor got into politics after he got a speeding ticked clouted out. He just lost to a well-off, largely self-funded candidate. ProPublica Illinois explains how.

6. Loyola-Chicago’s March Madness Run Is a Study in How to Build a Cinderella

Porter Moser pulled out all the stops in putting together his surprise Final Four team. SB Nation puts it together.

7. An Alternate Reality Game That Takes Freshman Orientation to a New Level

How do you get first-generation, low-income, and other students with less exposure to higher-ed comfortable with college? At the famously nerdy University of Chicago, they built a game. Wired gives it a shot.

8. Study Blames ‘ACLU Effect’ for Spike in Chicago’s Violence in 2016, but Experts Differ

A forthcoming paper examines whether a falloff in street stops was a cause, and causes a stir. The Tribune looks inside it.

9. When Free Speech Is a Marketing Ploy

The University of Chicago has been boldly proclaiming its openness to controversial speakers (and getting lots of media in the process). Slate sums it up.

10. The CTA Has Interesting Ideas for a Blue Line Extension Sitting on the Shelf

Not to mention a proposal for buses that look like trains. Chicago magazine goes into the stacks.