1. 92 Deaths, 2,623 Bullets: Tracking Every Chicago Police Shooting Over Six Years

And seven months fighting with the city to get tremendously detailed data on every incident. The Tribune takes a deep data dive.

2. And God Created Oprah

The 32-year-old anchor of WLS-TV’s top-rated morning show (and The Color Purple star) went national in a record 138 markets, but even then The Oprah Winfrey Show was far from a sure thing. Chicago magazine does an oral history of its beginnings.

3. How Chance the Rapper’s Life Became Perfect

For months he was high on Xanax and hanging out in L.A. To make Coloring Book, he had to come back to God and Chicago. GQ follows his rise.

4. Displaced: When the Eisenhower Expressway Moved in, Who Was Forced Out?

Running through Greektown, Little Italy, and Garfield Park, it displaced 13,000 people (and 3,500 graves in Forest Park). WBEZ traces their path.

5. Chicago’s Detective Force Dwindles as Murder Rate Soars

The city’s murder rate could be the highest in nearly two decades. Its murder clearance rate is one of the nation’s lowest. And the percentage of cops who are detectives is almost half that of New York and Los Angeles. Reuters investigates.

6. Abolish the Police? Organizers Say It’s Less Crazy Than It Sounds

The idea has become a cornerstone for local activists. But how would it work? The Reader explores the idea.

7. With a Strong Stance on Safe Spaces, U. of Chicago Sends a Mixed Message to Students

Its dean of students says that it doesn’t support “trigger warnings” or “safe spaces.” Not everyone is happy (or sure what he means). The Chronicle of Higher Education explains.

8. Tammy Duckworth Shows Her Strength in Senate Fight: ‘These Legs Don’t Buckle’

And the two-term House rep has a chance to flip the seat of Mark Kirk, one of the most vulnerable in the country. The Guardian profiles her.

9. How Marina City Started the Reclamation of the Chicago River—and the City’s Downtown Boom

A union looking for a real estate investment took a chance on a relatively unknown architect, who dared a suburbanizing region to embrace downtown living. Chicago magazine tells the story.

10. Lee Bey: Interview

The architectural critic and Renaissance man loves how Modernist architecture pops up in Chicago neighborhoods—but not how an architecture of light and air was used to divide us. The Chicago Dispatch talks with the veteran writer and photographer.