"Apparently sane gentlemen, entire strangers to one another, freely discussed the novel, but none the less satisfactory journey without the usual formality of introductions." Read more
Why Tom Barrett may have actually benefited from Citizens United but been doomed by Wisconsin recall-finance laws; the quiet tensions between Barrett and labor; why labor isn't doomed; and more Read more
From Michael Jordan battling his way through a Goose Island factory, to the WTO and Knights Templar leveling the city in a terrorist attack, to Al Capone's army of mafia zombies: what Chicago looked like after the fall, then and now. Read more
A new report by a Roosevelt prof highlights where TIF money spent on schools has gone, and to what kind of schools it's gone too—and how it mirrors the dilemma of tax increment finance generally. Read more
Almost the entire south-side branch of the Red Line will shut down next year for five months, all the way from Chinatown to 95th. Tens of thousands of feet of track will be replaced, repairing the most slow-zone ridden line on the entire system. Read more
After suffering one of the worst seasons in modern baseball history last year, Adam Dunn is hitting the ball as hard as anyone in baseball—and averaging career highs in isolated power, strikeout rate, and walk rate. Plus: the best home run of the season so far. Read more
A look at the economic geography of Chicago, following the most recent census—from the extremely depressed community areas of Fuller Park and Riverdale to the Near North, which has by far the highest incomes in the city, over ten times that of Fuller Park. Read more
Plus: Art Shay and the greatest racquetball photo ever taken; the growing disparity between breast cancer mortality among black and white women in Chicago; and more Read more
One reason for increasing pensions? Decreasing government. The 2002 Early Retirement Initiative got a lot of people off the government payroll... and onto the pension rolls. Read more
Unloved and unwanted pension-reform negotiations slip between the deadline. It was probably inevitable, given the general assembly's problems keeping its own pension fund in order—the worst in the state. On the other hand, it's probably for the best to keep the bill in the air for awhile. Read more
