After being accused of trying to end welfare reform as we know it, the Obama camp responds by bringing up the Massachusetts welfare-to-drive-to-work program, itself a descendent of the 1996 welfare-reform law. Read more
In Elk Grove Village this week, Mitt Romney accused the president of destroying welfare-to-work and bringing about a new culture of dependency. Here's how a bit of bureaucratese turned into the latest front in the culture war. Read more
The Cubs have a problem: they're the least patient team in baseball, and among the least patient teams in recent history. And while recent roster moves might improve the offense overall, it looks like an even less patient team will finish the season. Read more
Last month was the second-hottest July in recorded Illinois history, and the nation's hottest in 118 years of records. And that heat, and the dryness that came with it, hit the state and its neighbors the hardest. Read more
Walks are killing the Cubs—as on offense they walk less, and on defense they walk more batters, than any team in baseball. Fortunately, they're paired with one of the worst teams of all time in the NL Central. Plus: the best player on the 2012 Cubs is... something of a surprise. Read more
The brilliant art critic, who died yesterday at the age of 74, took on the immense legacy of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in a 2003 documentary that's an engaging, thoughtfully critical look at Chicago architecture in the master's wake. Read more
Tracing mass-shooting conspiracy theories back to their source in the lush garden of irrational explanation that the Web plays host to, but one that rarely surfaces aboveground. Read more
Mayor Emanuel, Mick Dumke, and others talk about the city's experiment in public-private investment, the concerns about profit motive, the national infrastructure stalemate, and other facets of the debate. Read more
Mass public shootings, like all forms of violent crime in America, rose during the end of the 20th century, peaked in the 1990s, and have been in decline since. Read more
Drought conditions didn't worsen much in the last period, but the outlook for August is scary, and for the next three months as well, as drought and heat push a vicious cycle. Read more
