1. These Waters Run Deep
The Chicago River is 156 miles long and mostly a mystery to residents. But it’s also the city’s future. Chicago magazine travels it.
2. As Violence Persists, CPD Murder ‘Clearance Rate’ Continues to Slide
And it’s been sliding for years. The Sun-Times runs the numbers.
3. Justice Delayed
Sixteen years ago, Roosevelt Myles won a new hearing after claiming cops framed him for a murder. He still hasn’t gotten it. Buzzfeed explores his story.
4. As the Nation’s Rail Hub, Chicago Is an Expensive and Dangerous Bottleneck
Our rail lines carry almost a trillion dollars worth of goods every year. If they don’t speed up, that economic flow could drift elsewhere. The BGA explains.
5. Chicago’s Gun Violence Crisis Is Also a Mental Health Crisis
As shootings went up, support from the city and state dwindled, leaving existing clinics understaffed and with long waiting lists. PBS Newshour looks at the past and future of trauma care in the city.
6. As More Heroin Is Mixed with Fentanyl, Opioid Crisis Turns Even Deadlier
The synthetic painkiller is much more powerful—and more dangerous. But its power makes it popular. The Tribune sounds an alarm.
7. Beyond the ‘Bernie Bro’: Socialism’s Diverse New Youth Brigade
Membership in the Democratic Socialists of America has exploded, and one of its new members is Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Chicago’s 28-year-old alderman. The Reader attends the organization’s national convention.
8. How Student Internships Saved a Chicago School
A "project-based learning" initiative, which places students in companies like CNA and DDB, kept the Pilsen-based ChiTech from closing. The Atlantic profiles the high school.
9. How to Be a Paletero in Chicago
The city’s ice-cream vendors are their own businesses, building them along the best routes and social connections while adjusting to the market on the fly. WBEZ talks shop.
10. The South Side’s Last Remaining Jazz Landmarks
“The Stroll,” an eight-block strip of State Street, was the heart of Chicago’s jazz age before it was demolished for the IIT campus. But the history remains if you know where to look. Chicago magazine takes a tour.