1. Where to Buy Now
From first-timers to risk-takers to move-up buyers, there are options throughout Chicagoland. Chicago magazine runs the numbers.
2. Most Kids on the Block: Searching for Chicago’s Family-Packed Neighborhoods
And the best place to look is the place with the best housing stock for families. WBEZ finds it.
3. How Violence Warps Childhood Friendships in Chicago
Instead of just fun or shared interests, kids look to friends for protection (or avoid making friends for fear of getting involved in neighborhood conflicts). New York Magazine’s Science of Us looks at a new study.
4. On Chicago’s South Side, Gentrification Is Not the Great Evil
In fact, it’s a phantom, but it scares people anyway. Natalie Y. Moore puts it in context for the Sun-Times.
5. ‘Biking While Black’: Chicago Minority Areas See the Most Bike Tickets
All of the top-ten community areas for ticketing are black- or Latino-majority neighborhoods. The Tribune investigates.
6. A Street Photographer Finds the Beauty in Chicago’s Brutal Winters
Satoki Nagata, a former neuroscientist, captures electric, noirish images in the cold. The Reader presents his pictures.
7. The Digital Resurrection of Chicago’s Trax Records
The label made Chicago’s house sound legendary, and they’re not interested in tidying it up for the digital age. Bandcamp talks with creative director Jorge Cruz.
8. Why Chicago Police Won’t Follow Trump’s Immigration Edict
For starters, even the Department of Justice thinks that having cops do ICE’s work is “counter-productive,” and CPD already has enough problems with trust and recruiting. Chicago magazine explores the reasons.
9. The Role of Photography in Resisting Trump and Racism
Tonika Johnson is a street photographer from Englewood, and the photographic became political for her to counter the Chi-raq narrative. The Establishment talks to the Columbia College grad.
10. Northwest Side Mixed-Income Apartments Offer Hope for Disabled Neighbors
About a third of the planned development’s units are for wheelchair users, but it’s facing aggressive opposition. DNAinfo talks with potential residents.