The most notorious gangland murder in the city's history kicked off an early round of gun control at the state and national level, leading to a messy but beloved Supreme Court decision. Read more
In mid-May, very little of Illinois was abnormally dry. By mid-June, practically the entire state was in severe drought, or worse. It's another summer of "flash drought," and Iowa State researchers are busy making corn crops that can survive a hotter future. Read more
The murder of a 62-year-old immigrant in West Rogers Park is the latest victim attributed to a "game" of random street violence—one that's also cropped up in St. Louis and London. Read more
A new NBER study finds that blacks and Latinos in four U.S. cities pay, on average, more than other homebuyers no matter what or where they're buying. The highest premium is paid by African-Americans in Cook County. Read more
Do more coffee shops equal less crime? In Chicago, during a critical period in the city's violent history, the answer is yes: for homicides, at least. The results for robbery, however, are interestingly dependent on race. Read more
By Noah Isackson, additional research by Matt Schur
A recent spate of violent weekends, and fear that the body count could continue to rise as summer marches on, threaten to tarnish the resumé of this one-time rising star. Read more
Between the 1919 race riot and the end of the Great Migration, segregation went from specter of racial strife to legal doctrine, aided by the law and economic writings of Progressive reformers Richard T. Ely and Nathan William MacChesney. Read more
The 420-some unit complex, built by Julius Rosenwald as affordable housing for middle-class blacks in a segregated city, was once managed by Quincy Jones's mother and provided elegant apartments at reasonable rates. After years of neglect and then abandonment, it's now an expensive problem. Read more
