Author: Max Bloom

Nature Issue 2017 | Transportation

When Will Divvy Be For Everyone?

The city’s bikeshare program faces stagnant growth south of Roosevelt

by 1 year ago

Tony Webster

Over the past year, the city’s Divvy bike share program—one of the largest in North America—has added over a hundred stations across the city, dozens of them on the South Side. A year ago, the last time the Weekly reported on Divvy’s service of the South Side, we found that South Siders accounted for just a twentieth of total riders. At that time, Divvy had recently announced its expansion, so there was some cause for optimism—perhaps the city would successfully replicate the dense network of popular stations in the North Side and portions of the West Side and the statistics would improve.

Politics

Four Challengers for the Fourth Ward

Despite a crowded field, Sophia King remains the favorite to win the Fourth Ward’s aldermanic election

by 1 year ago

Total contributions received so far by each candidate; 1 head = ~$10,000 (Ellen Hao)

I’m sitting across from Reverend Gregory Livingston, candidate for alderman of the Fourth Ward, in his office on Cottage Grove Avenue and 43rd Street. We’re talking about accessibility and transparency in ward politics. “I love this quote by Voltaire,” says Livingston, fishing through his phone for the precise wording. “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”

Transportation

Divvy for Everyone?

Recent data shows that South Siders are still underserved by Divvy's network

by 2 years ago

Data Visualization by Jean Cochrane © Mapbox, Data ODbL © OpenStreetMap contributors

Hyde Park presents one of the most encouraging examples for Divvy expansion on the South Side

Education

Neighborhood Schools vs. Noble

The charter school controversy on the Southwest Side

by 2 years ago

COURTESY OF BRIGHTON PARK NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL

“The [Chicago Public Schools] District operates under this guise that there are no quality options on the Southwest side. I was in a meeting with [Forrest] Claypool when he said that. I mean, you’re the CEO of the district for Christ’s sake.”

Police | Politics

Trouble in the Clerk’s Office

The Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court is being investigated. What are the stakes for Chicago?

by 2 years ago

When asked about the withdrawal of her endorsement in the wake of the FBI investigation, Brown suggested that it was motivated largely by political concerns.

Education | Politics

The Union Candidate for the Post-Industrial Ward

School counselor Susan Garza runs for Alderman in the 10th Ward

by 4 years ago

On February 24, Susan Garza hopes to replace John Pope as the Alderman of the 10th Ward on the Far Southeast Side of Chicago. The vocal and animated fifty-four-year-old calls to mind a progressive from a different era; she talks of how her father, a labor leader born in South Chicago who is “still fighting the good fight,” would “wake us up in the mornings and take us to the mill gates” to teach his children the significance of the local industry. The steel mills are no longer around, a devastating reality in the former manufacturing neighborhood, but organized labor remains.  Continue reading →

Sports

Extending the Track

by 4 years ago

Forty-six years ago at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos sped down the 200-meter track, winning gold and bronze for America with times of 19.83 and 20.1 seconds, respectively. At the podium after the race, Smith and Carlos lowered their heads and raised their fists.