1. You May Want to Marry My Husband
Chicago writer Amy Krause Rosenthal is dying. And she thinks you could fall in love with her husband as quickly as she did. She makes the case, and her tribute, in the New York Times.
2. The Infamous Practice of Contract Selling Is Back in Chicago
Contract-for-deed agreements have double the interest rates of standard mortgages, and fewer protections. And their use has advocates concerned. The Reader investigates the practice.
3. Deconstructing the Chicago-Style Hot Dog
The complex creation comes from pan-European immigrants, Mexico, and early health-food gurus. WBEZ traces its origins.
4. 70 Acres in Chicago: Cabrini-Green
This hour-long documentary follows its creation, its life, and what happened after it was torn down. America ReFramed presents its story.
5. How ‘Da Icehouse’ Got a Late-Night Liquor License in High-Crime Austin
It’s the only stand-alone liquor store in the whole city with one. How that came to be is a tangled story. The Tribune unwinds it.
6. Tab for Clout Firefighter’s Fight with Chicago Cop: $1.6 Million
A dustup at a crime scene spiraled into a years-long case that the city just settled. The Sun-Times delves into the mess.
7. How to Run Your Family’s Bakery for 106 Years
John Roeser Sr. started it as a wholesale bakery with two horse-drawn wagons. 28-year-old John Roeser IV took it over last year. Fooditor visits Roeser’s Bakery in Humboldt Park.
8. A New High School for Englewood
Closing schools in Chicago is obviously politically fraught. So is building them. South Side Weekly looks at the new idea.
9. Gangs Reap Guns from Trains in Violent Chicago Neighborhoods
It’s not all thieves steal (women’s sandals got swiped too) but just one heist produced 111 guns. The AP documents the issue.
10. Unlike Trump, America Is Kicking Its Well-Done Steak Habit
Foodies scoff at how the president takes his beef, but the turn towards rare has been a very slow one over the course of decades. Chicago magazine charts the change in tastes.