1. Catholics at a Crossroads
In 1980, Catholics made up 43 percent of Cook and Lake counties. Now it’s just 35 percent—and without immigration, it’d be much lower. Where does the Church go from here? Chicago surveys the Church as it welcomes a new archbishop.
2. Late-1940s Chicago CSI, in Photos
In the gangster era, the cops let the photographers get up close and personal—where they got pictures of the just-born art of forensic science. Slate goes back into the past and on the scene.
3. Rules of the Ramps: Surviving While Homeless in Chicago
Who are the men and women panhandling for change at expressway ramps? Should you give them money? Why aren’t they in shelters? WBEZ asks them.
4. Why Suburban Companies Like McDonald’s Follow the Siren Call of Downtown
The fast-food giant, based on an enormous campus in Oak Brook, is opening a River North hub. They’re following potential employees, rather than vice versa. Crain’s follows their path.
5. A Relative Loss
A young man goes in search of his family’s black sheep, a half-drunk Socialist rabble-rouser in the massive post office above the Congress Parkway. Novelist and short-story writer Peter Orner recalls his search for a beloved relative.
6. Archbishop Blase Cupich Just Wants to Treat You Like an Adult
“One piece of advice. People don’t care how much you know. They want to know if you know them.” Cardinal Francis George’s replacement talks with Chicago about the challenges he faces.
7. In Southwest Chicago, Environmental Groups Must Also Grapple With a Sluggish Economy
After years of struggling with high asthma rates, a neighborhood coalition in Pilsen got two coal-fired power plants shut down. Can they add industry to the area without losing the battle for environmental justice? CityLab looks at its future.
8. The People Issue
A sound artist, the director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, and a reality star turned chef de cuisine highlight this list of fascinating Chicagoans. The Reader returns with its annual profiles.
9. Lives in Transition
Humboldt Park’s El Rescate is the only transitional housing program in the city that focuses on LGBTQ and HIV-positive Latino youth. The Chicago Reporter visits with a recent resident.
10. Englewood student’s fatal shooting reinforces fears of parents, classmates
The Saturday slaying of Demario Bailey, a 15-year-old on his way to basketball practice, has Englewood residents fearful of walking the streets. The Tribune talks to the frightened community.