Stay Out of California, Chicago!

When It Comes to Respecting Golden State Institutions, the Windy City Keeps Blowing It

Dear Chicago,

Would you kindly remove your thick, stubby hands from my beautiful state?

C’mon—don’t try to look all Midwestern and innocent. You know exactly what I’m talking about. For years Chicago has been grabbing signature California institutions and screwing them up.

I get a reminder of your mismanagement every night when I turn on the television to watch my local baseball team, the L.A. Dodgers. Of course, the Dodgers aren’t on—they aren’t even available on televisions in nearly 70 percent of the Los Angeles market. The reason? Mark Walter of Chicago.

Specifically, …

Witty Mosaics Offer a Beautiful Solution to the Pothole Problem

One Artist Is on a Quest to Improve City Streets via a Durable Ancient Craft

Back in 2013, Jim Bachor had the idea of bringing art to bear on a particularly non-artsy problem—potholes.

Outside his Chicago studio, the pavement was marred with pits and divots. …

Evening Song

My song will rest while I rest. I struggle along. I’ll get back to the corn and
the open fields. Don’t fret, love, I’ll come out all …

Sociologist Xóchitl Bada

Shaken, Not Stirred. Gin, Not Vodka.

Sociologist Xóchitl Bada studies the civic, cultural, and political participation of Chicago-based Mexican migrant hometown associations at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before participating in a panel on what …

Immigration Attorney Carlina Tapia-Ruano

Pardon My Interruption

Immigration attorney Carlina Tapia-Ruano is the founder of Chicago firm Tapia-Ruano & Gunn P.C. and a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Before participating in a panel on …

Reporter Antonio Olivo

I’ll Say It: Chicago Has Better Mexican Food Than Los Angeles

Reporter Antonio Olivo covers immigration, housing, and development for the Chicago Tribune. Before moderating a panel on what immigration reform would mean for Chicago, he admitted in the Zócalo green …