The River Whisperer

The co-director of the Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise dishes on the waterway’s history, its recent transformation and the ‘craziest thing’ he’s ever seen while hosting a tour. By Emily Clemons Medill Reports Chicago offers plenty of activities for visiting tourists and adventurous locals alike – ghost tours, gangster history jaunts and more […]
The Cretaceous Shuffle

After 17 years front-and-center, the Field Museum’s toothy crown jewel Sue is moving upstairs to make way for an even larger predator. By Adam Cohen Medill Reports Almost 67 million years after her death, the world’s most famous dinosaur named Sue is moving once again. In February, the Field Museum’s iconic Tyrannosaurus rex will be […]
Fighting the war against phosphorous

Almost a year after the settlement between environmental groups and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, progress is inching forward in reducing dangerous levels of phosphorous in the Chicago River. By Morgan Levey Medill Reports It’s common knowledge amongst environmentalists that phosphorus is a harmful nutrient in bodies of water, making them uninhabitable […]
Last dance in the Big Easy

The new ‘funkumentary,’ Do U Want It?, is director Josh Freund’s cinematic love letter to the band Papa Grows Funk and the New Orleans music scene. By Morgan Levey Medill Reports For 90 minutes on a winter evening a vortex opened in Chicago’s Davis Theater and the crowd was transported down south, to the land […]
On Tall Ships, This Woman Finds Freedom

By Kate Cimini Medill Reports Although tall ships were exclusively the province of men when they were used to ship lumber after the 1871 Chicago fire, the replica ships that sail Lake Michigan these days more often than not feature a few women on their crews.
New PACs Aim to Empower Women Candidates, Voters

by Kate Cimini Medill Reports For Sameena Mustafa, it was about the principle of the thing. A first-time candidate running for Congress in Chicago’s 5th district, where she lives, Mustafa decided to eschew any and all corporate donations, even refusing a friend’s donation from her dental practice. The former real estate advocate and comedian believed […]
Winter Water Wonderland, by boat

Even though the temperatures are dropping, Chicago’s water taxi service is in full swing. These 5 gems along the Chicago River await you. By Jacqueline Lumley Medill Reports F or the first time in almost a decade, the city of Chicago will extend river taxi service past Thanksgiving through mid-December in 2017. For less […]
Pan-Womanist organization FURIE supports collective resistance with self-defense classes

By Natalya Carrico Medill Reports FURIE (Feminist Uprising to Resist Inequality and Exploitation) is a grassroots, Pan-Womanist organization from Chicago. In July 2017, FURIE began weekly women’s self-defense classes in Humboldt Park, which have now moved to a performing arts space, Voice of the City, in Logan Square.
Flesh-tone tights empower ballet dancers of color

By Eunice Wang Medill Reports A simple leotard and pink tights are the typical uniform for many ballet dancers when they train. It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years to the origin of ballet in Europe. As with many other traditions, however, the times, they are a changin’. Dancers of color have started […]
Jews have been the target of most hate crimes this year, Chicago police data shows

By Caroline Tanner Medill Reports There have been 50 reported hate crimes in Chicago during the first nine months of 2017, according to data released by the Chicago Police Department in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. This follows a 20 percent rise in hate crimes in Chicago from 2015 to 2016, from […]