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Between 2018 and 2024, more than 4,100 IHWAP applications from Chicago homeowners were denied. Of those, over half were from homeowners in predominantly Black neighborhoods, compared to 15 percent from majority white zip codes.
December 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Between 2018 and 2024, more than 4,100 IHWAP applications from Chicago homeowners were denied. Of those, over half were from homeowners in predominantly Black neighborhoods, compared to 15 percent from majority white zip codes.
It’s Best of Chicago season! Don’t miss your chance to vote for your favorite Chicago business, artist, community organizer and more. The ballot closes December 31 so get your vote in before it’s too late! Cast your vote at chicagoreader.com/best
December 12, 2025 at 2:24 PM
It’s Best of Chicago season! Don’t miss your chance to vote for your favorite Chicago business, artist, community organizer and more. The ballot closes December 31 so get your vote in before it’s too late! Cast your vote at chicagoreader.com/best
Every year, senior staff writer Leor Galil writes a roundup of the year’s best overlooked local albums, which includes his take on the state of the music scene. This year, he wrote about how event listings (like the ones we publish here at the Reader!) have nearly disappeared over the years.
December 11, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Every year, senior staff writer Leor Galil writes a roundup of the year’s best overlooked local albums, which includes his take on the state of the music scene. This year, he wrote about how event listings (like the ones we publish here at the Reader!) have nearly disappeared over the years.
We are nearly half way through Best of Chicago voting and we need your help deciding who deserves the title this year. Make sure your voice is heard! Vote before December 31 at chicagoreader.com/best
December 10, 2025 at 10:16 PM
We are nearly half way through Best of Chicago voting and we need your help deciding who deserves the title this year. Make sure your voice is heard! Vote before December 31 at chicagoreader.com/best
New issue drop!
On the cover: A true midwestern vaudevillian; an interview with Dennis Scott, longtime Music Box Theatre organist
By Joshua Minsoo Kim
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/4oQv2sp
On the cover: A true midwestern vaudevillian; an interview with Dennis Scott, longtime Music Box Theatre organist
By Joshua Minsoo Kim
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/4oQv2sp
December 10, 2025 at 7:17 PM
New issue drop!
On the cover: A true midwestern vaudevillian; an interview with Dennis Scott, longtime Music Box Theatre organist
By Joshua Minsoo Kim
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/4oQv2sp
On the cover: A true midwestern vaudevillian; an interview with Dennis Scott, longtime Music Box Theatre organist
By Joshua Minsoo Kim
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/4oQv2sp
“I resent Spotify for monopolizing how people imagine you can experience music.”
Alongside Sam Cantor of Minor Moon, Reader senior staff writer @imleor.bsky.social spoke to Sasha-Ann Simons on @wbez.org's In the Loop about Chicago musicians and listeners leaving Spotify.
Alongside Sam Cantor of Minor Moon, Reader senior staff writer @imleor.bsky.social spoke to Sasha-Ann Simons on @wbez.org's In the Loop about Chicago musicians and listeners leaving Spotify.
December 9, 2025 at 10:56 PM
“I resent Spotify for monopolizing how people imagine you can experience music.”
Alongside Sam Cantor of Minor Moon, Reader senior staff writer @imleor.bsky.social spoke to Sasha-Ann Simons on @wbez.org's In the Loop about Chicago musicians and listeners leaving Spotify.
Alongside Sam Cantor of Minor Moon, Reader senior staff writer @imleor.bsky.social spoke to Sasha-Ann Simons on @wbez.org's In the Loop about Chicago musicians and listeners leaving Spotify.
We’re nearly a week into Best of Chicago and we want to highlight one of our favorite categories: City Life. This category is about what makes Chicago feel like Chicago. It’s about your favorite alderperson, the best Chicago slang, the best place to throw a party. Vote at chicagoreader.com/best!
December 6, 2025 at 8:14 PM
We’re nearly a week into Best of Chicago and we want to highlight one of our favorite categories: City Life. This category is about what makes Chicago feel like Chicago. It’s about your favorite alderperson, the best Chicago slang, the best place to throw a party. Vote at chicagoreader.com/best!
This week, the CHAAD Project, a hospitality worker advocacy group, released a ten-page tool kit for restaurant workers and owners on how to prepare and protect their most vulnerable employees amid raids from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies.
December 5, 2025 at 9:43 PM
This week, the CHAAD Project, a hospitality worker advocacy group, released a ten-page tool kit for restaurant workers and owners on how to prepare and protect their most vulnerable employees amid raids from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies.
Now, alongside her fellow worker–owners at Cooperation Racine, she’s planning a vast, multi-use community arts center in Englewood. The plans include a community gallery, podcast studio, incubator kitchen, darkroom, event spaces and more.
December 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Now, alongside her fellow worker–owners at Cooperation Racine, she’s planning a vast, multi-use community arts center in Englewood. The plans include a community gallery, podcast studio, incubator kitchen, darkroom, event spaces and more.
This loss of culture and community made her want to work in public spaces, revitalizing underutilized areas. Her project “in c/o: Black women,” a peacekeeping initiative centered on care and intimacy, spurred her to start co-op in order to pool resources and share opportunities with others.
December 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
This loss of culture and community made her want to work in public spaces, revitalizing underutilized areas. Her project “in c/o: Black women,” a peacekeeping initiative centered on care and intimacy, spurred her to start co-op in order to pool resources and share opportunities with others.
Chicagoan Andrea Yarbrough is an artist, curator, and connector who is deeply dedicated to fostering community and building a more sustainable art ecosystem. After returning to the city after a few years away, Yarbrough noticed how many of her favorite places had disappeared over the years.
December 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Chicagoan Andrea Yarbrough is an artist, curator, and connector who is deeply dedicated to fostering community and building a more sustainable art ecosystem. After returning to the city after a few years away, Yarbrough noticed how many of her favorite places had disappeared over the years.
“What I’m ultimately interested in is art that is shifting something about the world and our systems, which I know is a big task.” – Andrea Yarbrough
December 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
“What I’m ultimately interested in is art that is shifting something about the world and our systems, which I know is a big task.” – Andrea Yarbrough
New issue drop!
On the cover: Artist, curator, maker, connector: Meet the unstoppable Andrea Yarbrough
By Kerry Cardoza
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/48z0plt
On the cover: Artist, curator, maker, connector: Meet the unstoppable Andrea Yarbrough
By Kerry Cardoza
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/48z0plt
December 3, 2025 at 8:18 PM
New issue drop!
On the cover: Artist, curator, maker, connector: Meet the unstoppable Andrea Yarbrough
By Kerry Cardoza
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/48z0plt
On the cover: Artist, curator, maker, connector: Meet the unstoppable Andrea Yarbrough
By Kerry Cardoza
📸 Kirk Williamson
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now! https://bit.ly/48z0plt
Today is #GivingNewsday, one of the biggest days for local newsrooms across the country. We are joining over 300 newsrooms in raising money to keep communities connected through local news. Please consider donating today, your gift will be doubled! https://bit.ly/4rDKlHO
December 2, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Today is #GivingNewsday, one of the biggest days for local newsrooms across the country. We are joining over 300 newsrooms in raising money to keep communities connected through local news. Please consider donating today, your gift will be doubled! https://bit.ly/4rDKlHO
Sarah Conway, a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, has joined the Reader as the new editor-in-chief. She comes to us after eight years at City Bureau. Conway’s approach to journalism “is inventive, ambitious, and deeply accountable” Welcome to the team, Sarah! https://bit.ly/4ryDsHG
December 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Sarah Conway, a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, has joined the Reader as the new editor-in-chief. She comes to us after eight years at City Bureau. Conway’s approach to journalism “is inventive, ambitious, and deeply accountable” Welcome to the team, Sarah! https://bit.ly/4ryDsHG
It’s officially voting time! The Best of Chicago ballot is live on our website until Dec 31. Winners are decided by audience vote, so make your voice heard! Go show your favorite Chicagoans some love here: https://bit.ly/4pc5Lde
December 1, 2025 at 7:20 PM
It’s officially voting time! The Best of Chicago ballot is live on our website until Dec 31. Winners are decided by audience vote, so make your voice heard! Go show your favorite Chicagoans some love here: https://bit.ly/4pc5Lde
We try our best to be ethical consumers, but falling into the traps of daily convenience is all too easy. During the holiday season, we hope to help you avoid that with this year’s gift guide full of Chicago small businesses and local nonprofits to donate to. https://bit.ly/4rnNUld
November 29, 2025 at 6:54 PM
We try our best to be ethical consumers, but falling into the traps of daily convenience is all too easy. During the holiday season, we hope to help you avoid that with this year’s gift guide full of Chicago small businesses and local nonprofits to donate to. https://bit.ly/4rnNUld
Ready for some healthy competition? Best of Chicago voting is finally here! Starting Dec 1, we’re asking you to vote for your favorite things about our city. We’ve created a stellar ballot from your nominations and can’t wait to see who takes the crown in their category. Get ready to vote, Chicago!
November 28, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Ready for some healthy competition? Best of Chicago voting is finally here! Starting Dec 1, we’re asking you to vote for your favorite things about our city. We’ve created a stellar ballot from your nominations and can’t wait to see who takes the crown in their category. Get ready to vote, Chicago!
It’s that time of year again! Best of Chicago voting opens Monday, Dec 1 at noon. We’ve received your nominations and created a ballot of the city’s most impressive businesses, community organizers, artists, organizations and more. Now it’s your turn to tell us who makes this city so special!
November 26, 2025 at 10:37 PM
It’s that time of year again! Best of Chicago voting opens Monday, Dec 1 at noon. We’ve received your nominations and created a ballot of the city’s most impressive businesses, community organizers, artists, organizations and more. Now it’s your turn to tell us who makes this city so special!
Grooving across the pages of the People issue is Life of the Party Quimaya Sewell, aka Lil M.U. or Maya Unique. Lil M.U., 25, is a rapper, dancer, DJ, and choreographer who exploded onto the scene with the juke song of the summer “Top of Cars.” Read her story here: chicagoreader.com/city-life/pe...
November 26, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Grooving across the pages of the People issue is Life of the Party Quimaya Sewell, aka Lil M.U. or Maya Unique. Lil M.U., 25, is a rapper, dancer, DJ, and choreographer who exploded onto the scene with the juke song of the summer “Top of Cars.” Read her story here: chicagoreader.com/city-life/pe...
Launched in 2023 in response to the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, CARLA utilizes a nurse-staffed referral line to streamline access and care coordination for those requiring hospital-based abortions due to significant medical concerns.
November 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Launched in 2023 in response to the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, CARLA utilizes a nurse-staffed referral line to streamline access and care coordination for those requiring hospital-based abortions due to significant medical concerns.
Today she is the program manager for the Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access (CARLA), a collaboration between Chicago Abortion Fund and four local hospitals.
November 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Today she is the program manager for the Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access (CARLA), a collaboration between Chicago Abortion Fund and four local hospitals.
Kate Palmer is a full-spectrum doula, meaning she supports clients through their reproductive journey regardless of their pregnancy outcome. In 2010, she cofounded the Chicago Doula Circle which supported people undergoing abortions in hospital settings.
November 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Kate Palmer is a full-spectrum doula, meaning she supports clients through their reproductive journey regardless of their pregnancy outcome. In 2010, she cofounded the Chicago Doula Circle which supported people undergoing abortions in hospital settings.
New issue drop!
On the cover: Our gift guide!
🎨 Amber Huff
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now!
https://bit.ly/48prjMv
On the cover: Our gift guide!
🎨 Amber Huff
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now!
https://bit.ly/48prjMv
November 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
New issue drop!
On the cover: Our gift guide!
🎨 Amber Huff
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now!
https://bit.ly/48prjMv
On the cover: Our gift guide!
🎨 Amber Huff
Pick yours up in person tomorrow or read the PDF now!
https://bit.ly/48prjMv
In addition to creating replicas for the Field Museum, Lim also plays drums in Chicago’s DIY music scene. She’s played for bands like Civilized Man, Gula Gula and currently drums in the four-piece Shrift. Read her story in this year’s People Issue: chicagoreader.com/city-life/pe...
November 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
In addition to creating replicas for the Field Museum, Lim also plays drums in Chicago’s DIY music scene. She’s played for bands like Civilized Man, Gula Gula and currently drums in the four-piece Shrift. Read her story in this year’s People Issue: chicagoreader.com/city-life/pe...