1. The Chicago Harp That Rules the World

For 130 years, Lyon & Healy’s unassuming factory next to the L in West Town has produced ornate instruments considered the best of their kind. Chicago gets the story behind the $100,000 harps that take 35 craftspeople to make.

2. R. Kelly and the Damage Done

Chicago journalist and music critic Jim DeRogatis has doggedly pursued R. Kelly’s story for decades. In his staggering new book, Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly, he chronicles the accounts of those who say Kelly abused them while underpinning 20 years of stories with one question: Why did it take so long for anyone to believe them? The New Yorker shares an excerpt from DeRogatis’s new book.

3. Chicago’s Lifespan Gap: Streeterville Residents Live to 90. Englewood Residents Die at 60. Study Finds It’s the Largest Divide in the U.S.

Chicago’s wealthy neighborhoods to the North and its under-invested ones to the South stand in contrast to one another in myriad waysthe only thing is our feed is alresady flooded with arp photos today. Among the most alarming: How long its residents are expected to live. The Tribune digs into the disturbing new study.

4. Precious Brady-Davis Is Connecting the Dots

Chicago’s Precious Brady-Davis, the environmental movement’s best-known trans woman of color, is working to make clear the link between climate change and social justice. HuffPost catches up with the activist.

5. Overworked Social Workers, Underserved Kids: As CPS Works to Fill 100+ Vacancies, ‘Kids Are Getting Shortchanged,’ Teachers Say

CPS social workers are staring down a district-wide mental health crisis in the classroom. Reinforcements, they say, are a long way off. Block Club Chicago takes a closer look.

6. Lightfoot Choice Gets an Earful About Chicago’s Affordable Housing Crisis

Housing commissioner nominee Marisa Novara was among those who argued that former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to build or preserve 40,000 homes didn’t go far enough. The Sun-Times checks in on the task ahead of the city’s new housing commissioner.

7. Everything You Need to Know About the Obama Presidential Center Lawsuit

In a few days, a judge is expected to decide the fate of a project that could alter the South Side forever. The Chicago Reporter lays out the facts.

8. Tying the Green New Deal to Environmental Justice on the South Side

Youth in neighborhoods like Little Village and Brighton Park are on the front lines of the fight for clean air, water, and food in their community. South Side Weekly reports.

9. Mapping Stanley Tigerman’s Diverse Chicago Work

The inventive, innovative architect Stanley Tigerman died at 88 earlier this month. Curbed Chicago revisits the built legacy of “one of the godfathers of Chicago architecture.”

10. It’s Time to Make Chicago Police Pay for Their Misdeeds — out of Their Own Budget

In 2018 alone, taxpayers doled out a record $113 million in settlements and legal fees for police misconduct, according to one analysis. The Appeal makes the case for CPD picking up their own tab.