Mike Centeno
Something about Chris $pencer sounds familiar, but it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what.
Two-Headed Monster
Chris Crack and Vic Spencer Put Their Heads Together
Author: Sammie Spector
Crossed Wires
Josh Rios explores the role of language in Mexican-American identity
Jasmin Liang
“Now, a generation later, I’m wondering if I’m ‘authentic’ because I can’t speak the language but still identify as Mexican-American”
“Nuevo Leon Will Be Back”
After fire, the Gutierrez family looks toward the future
Carolina Sanchez
“It’s what he loves to do, it’s what I love to do.”
Jahmal Cole Speaks Out
The nephew of Bettie Jones, accidentally killed by the CPD on Christmas Day, on police violence
Ian Moore
Last January, the South Side Weekly interviewed Jahmal Cole, an energetic community member and activist, who founded My Block, My Hood, My City, an organization that enables adolescent mentorship. Last week, Cole’s aunt, Bettie Jones, a mother of five, was accidentally shot by a Chicago police officer. In this interview, the Weekly talked with Cole about what this tragedy and the calls for an end to unjustified police violence mean for him, his family, the teens he works with, and the city.
From Prison Yard to Table
A10 buys locally, and purposefully, through the Cook County Prison
I am seated at Matthias Merges’s favorite table in A10, a relatively recent addition to Hyde Park. The decor is tasteful and clean, filled with crystalline glass and warm colors. The space is mostly empty, yet buzzing with espresso machines and blenders as the staff preps for the busy Friday dinner rush, when the restaurant will be filled with diners largely oblivious to the local origins of their meals—the Cook County Jail.
No Longer Art, But No Longer Shelved
The Salvage Art Institute brings damaged artwork back into galleries and museums
Sammie Spector
This moment of finding the minutest impairment is when the real discussion begins.
The Space Between
Gabriel Sierra constructs ‘neutral zones’ at the Renaissance Society
Sammie Spector
“A number of people have mentioned to us that they don’t normally like exhibitions where you have to ‘do’ something, but that they really got into trying out his instructions. I think that there is a certain humor to them that makes them a bit more palatable.” – Anna Searle Jones
The History of the Potato Chip
Leonard Japp's popular creation has deep roots in Chicago history
Ellie Mejia
Even though the factory has gone from the South Side, the name lives on through oral histories, good smells, and the Snyder’s online ordering site.
Making the Most
The past, present, and future of Thaddeus Tukes
Courtesy of Thaddeus Tukes
I never considered myself a rapper or a musician by profession. But jazz, jazz is everything,” says South Side native Thaddeus Tukes of his musical career so far. In only his early twenties, Tukes is working to make a name for himself through crafty rapping and a classical background. Continue reading
Home Histories: Muddy Waters’s House
Seonhyung Kim
Muddy Waters’s house in Kenwood stands as a physical testament to his legacy—Tim Samuelson has been known to call his home “Chicago’s real House of Blues.”