What’s Chicago’s Oldest Bar?

For a long time, that distinction belonged to Schaller’s Pump, the Bridgeport tavern and Daley hangout that dated back to 1881. But when it closed in 2017, Marge’s Still in Old Town inherited the title. Marge’s opened in 1885 as Victor Caruso’s Soft Drinks, a combination bar and barbershop, two masculine institutions under one roof. … Read more

The Nazi Hunter

A history teacher’s new book digs into a shocker from Oak Park’s past: the discovery of a former concentration camp guard working at the high school.

How Did the Bears Get Their Name?

Chicago Bears logo

Chicago’s football team began its existence in 1919 as the Decatur Staleys, a semipro club sponsored by the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, a producer of cornstarch in the central Illinois town. Augustus Eugene Staley, the company’s founder, hired former University of Illinois star George Halas as coach and put the players on the business’s payroll, … Read more