One year since opening, West Loop’s Past Studies is a hotspot for secondhand shoppers
By Payton Turkeltaub Medill Reports From the racks of vintage Levi’s and Missoni tops to a table covered in Chanel ballet flats, shopping at Past Studies feels a lot more like peeking inside a fashion lover’s dream wardrobe than it does stepping inside a traditional retail store. The airy West Loop loft the vintage designer […]
Illinois honors 9 fallen officers, 3 K-9s in 40th annual Police Officers Memorial Ceremony
By Grace Friedman Medill Reports Tears, applause, tributes and bagpipers playing “Amazing Grace” filled the Illinois State Library earlier this month as families, police colleagues and state officials gathered to honor nine law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2024. In a historic first, the passing of three police K-9s from […]
Fake cake it ’til you make it? This art is a nostalgic, zero-calorie dream come true
By Angelica Zhiyu Luo Medill Reports At Chicago’s WDNR (read: wonder) Museum, more than 260 fake cakes snuggle amid a landscape of faux whipped buttercream. The floor? It’s paved with plastic sprinkles. Chicago-based artist Anna Lasbury, 27, installed canvas-rendered vintage cakes on three walls. Piped with imitation cream, the cakes bear fake frosting quotes and […]
From resistance to acceptance: In Loíza, acknowledging Black identity for Puerto Ricans
By Tyler Williamson Medill Reports Loíza, PUERTO RICO — Loíza mirrors a visit to your grandmother’s house on a summer afternoon, Christmas in July and apple pie on an autumn day. The curving roads of Piñones on the northwestern edge of Loíza make you feel like the road trip never ends. From El Yunque’s mountains […]
WATCH: Chicago This Week — Episode 8
Medill Reports This week in Chicago: Cuts to Veterans Affairs spark backlash over Memorial Day weekend, and an ingredient in your energy drinks may be a silent killer. Plus, an NBA star rises from Canada. “Chicago This Week” is a half-hour show that features news, sports, business and entertainment stories from around Chicago. […]
4 months after founder’s death, Foursided continues to thrive
By Kaitlyn Luckoff Medill Reports A bright arrangement of pastel mugs, candles, trinkets and decorative flowers creates a springtime garden in the window of one of Foursided’s Lakeview stores. Three miles north, customers are greeted by smiling produce painted above the door of Foursided’s Andersonville location. Foursided is celebrating, regardless of the season. The business […]
From Nazareth to NFL: CJ West looks to make impact with San Francisco 49ers
By Will McLernon Medill Reports At Nazareth Academy, CJ West didn’t just wreak havoc on the football field as he helped lead the Roadrunners to the 2018 Illinois 7A state championship; the 6-foot-1, 316-pound defensive tackle also wowed crowds on stage with his voice in the Catholic school’s musicals. “It really helped me step out […]
WATCH: Chicago This Week — Episode 7
Medill Reports This week in Chicago: Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Plus, the Crosstown Classic and Cowboy Carter come to town. “Chicago This Week” is a half-hour show that features news, sports, business and entertainment stories from around Chicago. All the producing, reporting, writing, shooting and editing are done […]
PHOTOS: Danceworks 2025 interpreters explore energy, identity, societal pressure at Northwestern
By Frances Mack Medill Reports Danceworks 2025: “signal::transfer” was an interpretative dance performance held at Northwestern University’s Louis Theater between March 14 and 16. Undergraduate and graduate students, along with professional dancers, acted as “interpreters” for the show themes. According to Artistic Director Thomas DeFrantz, “signal::transfer” explored themes of energy exchange, identity formation, societal pressure […]
Many Puerto Ricans face community harm from vacant buildings, loss of community centers following school closures
A 2022 report from the Office of the Ombudsman of Puerto Rico details mismanagement of closed school buildings. By Katherine Dailey Medill Reports Documents with Social Security numbers and addresses scattered across rooms. Horses living in abandoned classrooms. Unofficial security guards standing watch outside locked buildings. This is the fate of scores of Puerto Rican […]