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Whet Moser
Leftovers: Food and Thanks
By Whet Moser
How Morton, Illinois, the world canned pumpkin capital, subsidizes a tiny town in Mexico; the rich life and quick death of mince pie as America's pie; why Black Friday doesn't tell us anything about the Christmas economy; and more Read more
The First Death of the American Christmas Shopping Season?
By Whet Moser
At an Omaha five-and-dime two days before Christmas, J.G. McCrorey & Co. floorwalker David Stettsy "was killed in the presence of a throng of Christmas shoppers during the rush this evening." Black Friday actually came about as an idea to prevent last-moment Christmas-shopping chaos. Read more
With a New Hike Due in 2013, a Look at 65 Years of CTA Fares
By Whet Moser
CTA fares are going up again, at least for monthly passes—from $86, the price they've been since 2009, to $100. It's a steep increase, but it actually brings the current fee to about what riders have paid over the past 44 years. Single-ride fares will stay where they are, which is also about average for the past 65 years. Read more
Illinois: One of the Most Unequal States in the Country
By Whet Moser
By almost every measure, the nation's growing income-inequality gap has hit Illinois harder than almost every state. It's hit the poorest 20 percent of residents the hardest, whose incomes didn't grow at all from the late 1970s to the mid-2000s. Read more