1. 2015’s Best New Restaurants
We’ve reached Peak Artisan—but out of the dozens of crafty new establishments, ten find ways to stand out. Chicago magazine gives the honors.
2. Puerto Rico Exports Its Drug Addicts to Chicago
They’re promised great treatment, and sometimes given help to leave. At best, they end up in unlicensed rehab facilities. And they number in the hundreds, at least. WBEZ investigates the pipeline.
3. A Murderer At 14, Now a Man Pondering a Future
Following a Supreme Court ruling, Illinois is one of ten states resentencing prisoners who received mandatory sentences of life without parole as juveniles. The New York Times profiles one such inmate, Adolfo Davis.
4. Who Do You Protect, Who Do You Surveil?
Activists are trying to figure out if the Chicago Police Department is using sophisticated cell-phone-monitoring technology to watch them. But even if it is, CPD could face big legal problems for revealing it. In These Times follows the digital trail.
5. Inside the Ugly Legal Battle at the Purple Pig
One of the city’s best-regarded restaurants is the battle zone for a lawsuit between some of Chicago’s best-known restaurateurs. Chicago covers the case snout-to-tail.
6. Politicians Try to Union-Bust Their Way to the White House
Are Bruce Rauner’s sustained attacks on public-sector unions meant to position him for higher office? Newsweek places him within the trend.
7. Sentenced to Prison, Sent Home the Same Day
Last year, around a thousand prisoners served their entire sentence in jail, and then were transferred in and out of the state prison system in Joliet as a formality. It’s a formality that costs $800k. The Chicago Tribune explains.
8. Chicago’s Best Places to Work
The top five are tech companies, but the nearly century-old Radio Flyer (the one that makes the wagons) makes the list. Crain’s gives a tour.
9. In Chicago, Parks Are On the Upswing
From the renovation of Jackson Park to the parklets of NeighborSpace, the city is trying to live up to its “urbs in horto” model. Grist describes their past and future.
10. Bomb Trains’ Hidden in Plain Sight
The Plains oil boom means that cars full of crude oil are an even more frequent presence in the city, and neighborhood groups are starting to worry after high-profile explosions. Midwest Energy News looks at the data.