Chicago

I’ve always believed that the way you find your path to a certain direction in life determines quite a bit to your approach once on the path. Like a kid who was bullied by classmates becomes a boxer or martial artist and believes that the mastery of physical and mental discipline is the key to a good life. Or an introverted child who learns about a vastly larger world through books and believes that libraries can restore your soul. Sometimes you find a way to transcend from one life plane to another and you want the world to follow you.  read more »

I'm going to make a little deviation from the bulk of the "Welcome to..." stories you see below, which mostly focus on South Side Chicago neighborhoods (the exceptions are Rosemont, in Chicago's northwest suburbs, and Park Forest, in the south suburbs).  read more »

For all the talk about how the pandemic, remote work, social distancing and other huge new developments have dislodged traditional patterns in business and life in America and created vast new opportunities in the process, Flyover Country has left a lot on the table.  read more »

Even in the era of digital marketing and online home-page “takeovers” by brands with something to announce, it’s full-page ads in major newspapers where companies still turn when they want to make an important statement.  read more »

Here’s part 5, the last entry of my “Tottering Chicago?” series. In case you didn’t know or had forgotten, this series was prompted after reading William Voegeli’s That Tottering Town  read more »

Here’s part 4 in the “Tottering Chicago?” series. Today I’m discussing the third question I raised after reading William Voegeli’s That Tottering Town  read more »

Here’s part 3 in the “Tottering Chicago?” series. Today I’m discussing the third question I raised after reading William Voegeli’s That Tottering Town, a review of the book What Next, Chicago?  read more »

Here’s part 2 in the “Tottering Chicago?” series. We’re moving on to the second question I raised after reading William Voegeli’s That Tottering Town  read more »

Let me clearly state this up front. I’m doing something you won’t see very often. I’m writing a review of a book review. And providing an opinion of a book I haven’t read. Given what I’ve read in the review, I do not plan to read the book.  read more »

I was playing around with Chicago population figures by community area (the 77 officially designated "communities" established in the 1920s) and ended up with a map you might find interesting. Check it out:  read more »