1. Actually, It Makes Sense for Rahm to Get Out Now
Rahm Emanuel’s bombshell announcement that he won’t seek a third term has huge implications for Chicago’s political landscape — yet it caught even his allies off guard. But after nearly eight years of bruising battles, throwing in the towel maybe shouldn’t be such a shocker. Ed McClelland unpacks the reasons for Chicago.
2. Meet the Table Busser Who’s Worked at the Same Wilmette Pancake House for 54 Years, and Still Makes Minimum Wage
Othea Loggan, a 72-year-old Chicagoan who has bussed tables his whole life, has a fascinating work history precisely because it hasn’t changed in a half century. The Tribune’s Chris Borelli with a sobering meditation on work, ambition, and inequality.
3. Alternative Schools Bear the Brunt of Student Deaths in Chicago
Teens in some Chicago high schools see a disproportionate share of death, yet the trauma often goes unaddressed on a systemic level. The Chicago Reporter has an up-close look.
4. A Lesbian’s Guide to Rooting for the Cubs with Daniel Murphy
The Cubs’ newest slugger packs a big swing — and anti-gay attitudes. Writer Kelly Wallace reflects on the intersection of sports fandom and personal values. She makes her pitch in The Athletic.
5. Chicago Architecture Center Debuts New Riverfront Location to the Public
The organization formerly known as the Chicago Architecture Foundation has not only a new name, but new digs to match in the Mies van der Rohe–designed Illinois Center just off the Chicago River. Curbed Chicago explores the new space.
6. A Treasure Trove of Chicago Art Finds a New Home at Minneapolis Institute of Art
Chicago and Minneapolis share a common gripe of being unfairly overlooked as influences in the art world, but the two cities now share another connection via a collection of mid-century to 1980s work by artists loosely described as “Chicago Imagists.” The Minneapolis Star-Tribune turns its eye on the new collection.
7. Chicago Is the Second-Biggest Lithuanian City
Chicago’s Central and Eastern European immigrant community has typically meant Polish and Ukrainian; largely unnoticed: the area’s now sizeable Lithuanian population. The Economist checks in with the underappreciated.
8. How ‘Fake News’ Was Born at the 1968 DNC
As retrospectives on the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago continue, one aspect of that consequential summer feels especially timely: The burgeoning trend of conservative pols stoking the narrative of an untrustworthy media. Politico Magazine retraces the evolution.
9. Soil and Sovereignty
A fourth-generation Chicagoan digs into the actual dirt for answers on the environmental past (and future) of a once-toxic site in Pullman with a little help from, of all things, mushrooms. South Side Weekly has the interview.
10. With Nearly Half of Chicago Cabs in Foreclosure or Idled, Cabbies’ Hopes Riding on New York–Style Rideshare Limits
The rise of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft has spelled disaster for the city’s taxicab industry, where medallion prices hold just a tenth of the value they had five years ago. Cabbies say the only way to coexist is to curb some of the app-based services freedoms. The Tribune explores what could be the last, best hope for the ailing industry.