James “The Oil Man.” Arthur, the 72-year-old self-taught hip-hop producer. Midge, owner of a popular black hair salon. Chicago police officer Stephen Boyd, who works in the Englewood gang unit as a side hustle — but is also an actor and comedian. These are the people who make up Chicago’s South Side. Their stories come alive in a new podcast by WBEZ and Comedy Central called South Side Stories, created and hosted by Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin, the duo behind Comedy Central’s hit TV show “South Side.”

As the 100th anniversary of Chicago’s 1919 race riot approached, WBEZ reporter Natalie Y. Moore wanted to commemorate the occasion through the medium she knows best: radio. But instead of the sober reporting you’d see from traditional media outlets, Moore wrote an audio play recreating the events as they would have been heard and experienced. To do that, she teamed up with the Make-Believe Association, a local storytelling organization that creates socially-driven audio dramas.

Chicago is in the throes of change on every corner. Politically, we have a more progressive body that is hopefully moving in a more desired direction; deindustrialization and gentrification are jolting forces hitting both North, West and South Side communities; displacement and business turnover is common, creating massive neighborhood change.

Chicago has been named the top U.S. big city to visit for the third year in a row by Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards. The awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry.

CHICAGO — Parents know the drill: get grilled about the sex of your child during pregnancy, and expect an onslaught of pink or blue everything at the shower depending on the answer. Though gender stereotypes are decidedly less relevant in 2019, the kids clothing world remains hyper-gendered — and local fashion designer and mom Melissa Serpico Kamhout is out to change that.

CHICAGO — E-scooter safety has been an issue since scooters first rolled out in the city’s test pilot zones, but one local scooter company is trying to combat unsafe riding with new technology.

Harold Washington Library’s Cindy Pritzker Auditorium was a full house at the opening screening of a new local series focusing on injustices in the criminal justice system. On Sept. 12, The Marshall Project released 15 video testimonies of Chicago voices affected by the justice system, “We Are Witnesses: Chicago,” is the latest installment of the nonprofit news organization’s award-winning short film series “We Are Witnesses” which explores the nature of crime, punishment and forgiveness.

A new report by the Jane Addams Senior Caucus and Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) looked into the Chicago Housing Authorities’ Language Access Services for CHA residents and applicants and found grim results.

PAWS Chicago welcomed almost 50 animals from Florida who were affected by Hurricane Dorian, which has ravaged islands in The Bahamas and is heading for Florida's coast.

LOGAN SQUARE — Less than two months after a longtime Latino business closed up shop, a new one is opening in its place. Rey’s Tools and Supplies moved into 3738 W. Fullerton Ave. in July and had a soft opening Aug. 12. The store plans to celebrate with a grand opening sometime in September, once all the finishing touches are in place.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign chairman and longtime activist Michael Bauer has died after a lengthy battle with cancer.

LOGAN SQUARE — The group behind The Whale is gearing up to open a new tavern in Logan Square. The new bar, called Welcome Back Lounge, is planned for 2423 N. Milwaukee Ave., right next to The Whale, according to a building permit on its front door. Construction was underway Thursday as two people on scaffolding traced out the bar’s name and then painted it red against a turquoise background.

A viral video has launched a Chicago-area native into the internet spotlight. A man from La Grange, who posts videos under monikers Joey Santore and Tony Santoro, is a "A Low-Brow, Crass Approach to Plant Ecology as muttered by a Misanthropic Chicago Italian," according to his YouTube page, Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't.

What does criminal justice reform look like? A new art exhibit is trying to answer that question.

LOGAN SQUARE — Gloria Pinduisaca never meant to settle in Chicago. When the Ecuador native arrived in the United States 35 years ago, she wanted a change of pace, maybe a new job. Pinduisaca, who was a teacher in Ecuador but learned to be a seamstress from her mother, decided to open her own alteration and bridal store in 2000 to make money doing what she loved, not expecting it to last long.

What does criminal justice reform look like? A new art exhibit is trying to answer that question. “Envisioning Justice” opened Aug. 6 and runs through Oct. 12 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Sullivan Galleries, 33 S. State St. Created by Illinois Humanities and curated by visual artist Alexandria Eregbu, the free exhibition and related programming features works by professional and community artists from Rogers Park, Bronzeville, Little Village, Back of the Yards, and North Lawndale.

Lisa D. Daniels wants people who are incarcerated to remember that forgiveness and healing from a traumatic past is possible. Daniels, executive director of the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices and a strong activist for restorative justice, was part of an inaugural event series that highlights empathy, humanity and forgiveness to men behind bars in order for them to heal from their past and move on from their mistakes.

Logan Square musician Sean Green grew up in Wilbur, Indiana—and yes, he had a pig named Wilbur, like in “Charlotte’s Web.” He was living the country lifestyle but wanted to expand his horizons and experience a bigger city. He went to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and studied history and unionism. He originally wanted to be a politician but then veered to focusing on unionism and wanting to be a union representative. Then he lived in what he called a “failed commune” for a year with

One-hundred years ago, violent race riots rocked Chicago. What began as an innocent swim in then-segregated Lake Michigan to escape the unbearable summer heat of July 27, 1919 resulted in the death of thirty-eight Chicagoans—twenty-three black and fifteen white. More than 500 were injured, over a 1000 were rendered homeless and more than 5,000 troops from the Illinois National Guard were deployed to stem the terror. A century later, our city still reels from the impact and aftereffects of the ri

Eric Ebbert was my first friend when I moved to Logan Square about three years ago. I remember seeing him and his housemate on their porch, drinking beer and enjoying summer. Right away we started talking and quickly became friends, not just neighbors. Last week, I found out he passed away mid-May from a potential overdose. Because I was not official “friends” with him on Facebook and I have since moved away from being his neighbor, I was slow to hear the news. But I had just seen him less than a month before that.