Best of the South Side 2024

If you’re thinking, “Huh, it’s been a while since I saw one of these…” you’d be right. Our last Best of the South Side issue, which celebrated ten years of BoSS, came out in 2022. After iterating on the same formula for a decade, we decided to take a break and imagine how we can crank the dial up for the next decade of Bests. But you can rest assured that South Side Weekly is as reliable as the #6 Bus—if you ever miss us, there’s more on the way. (Can’t say the same about the rest of the CTA…) 

This year we decided to take a different approach to how we format BoSS. 

BoSS is about giving the South Side its flowers, since we are often left out of other Chicago lists of “places to go” and “things to do.” With that in mind, it’s always been important to us to make sure every corner of the South Side is represented in these special issues. Usually, in partnership with community members and Weekly contributors, we break down the South Side by neighborhood and tackle different elements of each. In trying to cover the entire expanse of the South Side, however, we sometimes sacrifice the depth of experience that comes with daily life down here. Since our experiences of the South Side are not bound to just one neighborhood, we encouraged our writers, many of whom are also regular contributors to the Weekly, to take us on an odyssey through the South Side in a way that only they could. Centering our writers first and foremost has opened up a world of possibilities for them, and has given us room to learn from their writing and think about the South Side in different ways, free from the borders that so often divide us. 

This year’s issue is anchored by the voices of four beloved Chicago writers who we invited to tell us what it was like growing up on the South Side and the most meaningful places in those journeys. It also features a poem from E’mon Lauren, answering the question: If the buildings Out South could talk, what would they say about their residents and about each other? 

Don’t be alarmed! We’ve maintained the heart of BoSS, which can be used as a guide to find out more about what is happening on the South Side, such as Black JoyRide and block parties, or a cheat sheet for restaurants you’ve never been to like Jamaican Gates and Justice of the Pies. We’ve got an entire section dedicated to Big Brain Moves featuring libraries and museums to check out if you need an educational kick, or you can look into the past as writers tackle the histories of Marquette Park and some racist statues.

We are continually grateful for the community that has grown South Side Weekly, and we largely credit that to where our publication calls home (no shade to our North Side readers, love you guys). This new approach is personal—it serves as a letter to the South Side from the hearts of the writers and creatives it has birthed. We hope that you find something you like as you read about everything we love. (Chima Ikoro, Community Engagement Coordinator)

---

---

Browse the Archive

---