The South Loop is not an easy neighborhood to encapsulate. “It’s not very cohesive yet,” admits Ryan of Sloopin, a blog dedicated to the going-ons in the swathe of land that bleeds into the touristy gleam of Grant Park to its north, the buzz of McCormick Place on its east, and the storied history of Motor … Read more
Last Sunday afternoon, most of Shimer College crowded into a small room to discuss the future of their school. The Assembly—a democratic body in which all students, faculty, staff, and trustees have equal votes—has traditionally been the moral authority of the college, while legal authority rests with the Board of Trustees. In last Sunday’s special … Read more
“Let me tell you something: if this were the Wild West, Jesse James and all, we wouldn’t have problems with gun violence.” The smell of hard liquor heavy on his breath, a patch of stubbly white hairs hanging off his lower chin, the man proceeded out of the basement of St. Sabina Catholic Church with $75 … Read more
The Mall of America purports to have everything, and maybe that’s why we went, just to see what “everything” could look like. The Mall is less than twenty years old, and boasts 4.2 million feet of shopping and entertainment. But we weren’t going to buy anything—we were going to be somewhere completely different. Hyde Park had … Read more
A community-oriented brewery with a strong focus on play opens at the Plant “I still get really excited about Zelda,” Chris Tourre says, not hesitating to respond when asked if there are any recently released video games he’s jonesing for. In a gray hoodie, sneakers, and thick, black-rimmed glasses, he is at once cute and nerdy, … Read more
A lamprey is a parasite that feeds on underbellies. But in Chicago, the Lampreys are whoever is in the kitchen of Kenneth Morrison. That kitchen, though, and the building that once enclosed it, no longer exist. Morrison, Michelle Faust, and Nat Ward, the trio who started the Chicago artists’ society the Ever-So-Secret Order of the … Read more
University of Chicago alum and progressive activist Heather Booth has taken on what she calls a “David and Goliath” fight for financial reform. She recently became executive director of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), a coalition of national and state organizations that have united to improve the regulations of the financial sector. Financial reform will … Read more
Of all the speakers chosen for the panel on “Race and the American Voter,” Nate Silver is possibly least qualified for the role. The other members of the discussion are, unlike Silver, mostly minorities; all add more to the conversation than Silver, and when he does speak, he doesn’t really bring up the detailed statistical analyses … Read more