1. Why the Chicago Housing Authority Failed to Meet Its Mixed-Income Housing Ambitions

Less than ten percent of households affected by the Plan for Transformation live in such communities. Over a third have no government subsidy now. WBEZ investigates what happened.

2. More Than a Dozen Chicago Cops Escaped Punishment After Officials Lost Track of Their Cases

IPRA depends on CPD to enforce penalties. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, even in serious cases. The Tribune goes looking.

3. Why You Should Eat Like the Ancient Assyrians Ate

Atorina Zomaya teams with University of Chicago Assyriologists to present her culture’s ancient culinary traditions. Next: a store. Chicago magazine sits down with her.

4. How Eliminating Two EPA Programs Could Affect Large Parts of America

The Trump administration’s proposed cuts could be “fairly catastrophic” to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The Washington Post puts them in context.

5. The Willy Wonka of High-Tech Cooking Is Coming for Your Kitchen

The suburban company PolyScience branched out from labs to restaurants via Charlie Trotter. Now it’s going after home cooks. Bloomberg Businessweek profiles president (and head tinkerer) Phillip Preston.

6. Tired of Promises, a Struggling Small Town Wants Problems Solved

Downstate Cairo has lost half its population in 30 years. The junior high had to merge with the high school. And there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. NPR visits the river town.

7. Chicago’s School Board Needs Watchdogs, Not Rahm’s Lapdogs

But if Chicago wants to choose them, they need to pressure Illinois Dems—because statehouse Republicans like elected school boards. Ben Joravsky makes the case in the Reader.

8. Illinois Impasse Costing People Health Care

A state employee almost lost her 15-month-old’s oxygen tank because the supplier wasn’t being paid by the state’s group insurer. And it’s because of the stopgap budget. Rich Miller tells the story in the Quad City Times.

9. In His Own Words, Mike Adamle Remembers a Life Full of Action, Laughs, and Heart

He was a Northwestern star, a Bears running back, an NBC5 anchor (and the host of American Gladiators). Now, because of dementia, he wears his house key around his neck. The Chicago great talks to The Athletic.

10. Trump, State Budget Make Rahm “Nervous” About Parks Plan

The 606 and the Riverwalk required federal programs that could be cut or killed under the new administration. Chicago magazine speaks with the mayor and the Park District commissioner about the future.