Despite Chicago's boondoggle, NYC is interested in getting some private money out of its public meters. They're off to a better start, but there are even more lessons to learn from our debacle. Read more
The White Sox's young left-hander hasn't just been the best pitcher in a deep rotation—he's ever so slightly outpitched perennial Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander, making him arguably the best pitcher in baseball so far. Read more
Folk wisdom suggests that recessions cause deprivation, and deprivation causes crime. Generally speaking, it's not the case, but in Chicago there were noticeable variations in the crime data during the worst of the unemployment spiral. Read more
Why court a public-private infrastructure trust to retrofit city buildings—and, in the future, probably much more—when we're still suffering the hangover from the parking meters? Carol Marin and a wonktable ask, and occasionally answer, the questions. Read more
For nine years and $30 million, Epstein lands a 20-year-old with nonexistent stats but a lot of praise from scouts. Why spend so much? Because after July, they wouldn't have been able to spend a tenth of that. Read more
Uncle Tupelo, the Mekons, the Waco Brothers, and other timeless tunes for our times: music for apocalypse, be it financial, religious, or otherwise. Read more
In the late sixties, Chess drafted guitar Renaissance man Pete Cosey to hep up the sound of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. The result was deeply influential, and also deeply resented by both blues greats, which led to a classic and oddball bit of music marketing. Read more
Plus: private prisons and immigration in Crete and beyond; negative equity in the Chicagoland area; the ongoing costs of NATO to the Metra and the CPD; and more Read more
The emergence of a governor like Scott Walker isn't just a matter of finding the right individual—it's a combination of national political trends, regional political cultures, legislative arcana, and pure luck. We'd all love to see the plan. Read more
The mysterious magician who inspired Ray Bradbury on Labor Day in Waukegan, 1932—Cairo native, defrocked minister, and veteran of the Ardennes—remains lost in a nest of circuses that converged on the city that day. Read more
