It's the economy, but not just the economy. Eligibility has expanded, states have increased participation rates, and food stamps have replaced other forms of the social safety net. Read more
Rayid Ghani left Accenture to lead Obama for America's data analytics team. Now he's going to the University of Chicago to change how cities, nonprofits, and governments use information. Read more
As the central city got wealthier over the past 60 years, its poverty dispersed to the west and south sides, surrounded by increasingly well-off suburbs. Read more
As gay marriage presses on in the Supreme Court and the Illinois legislature, consider how we got here—and what it did to religion in America. Read more
