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Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling and more than two dozen Chicago Police officers crossed into Indiana to support the son of a fallen officer. Cicadas have been emerging throughout the suburbs, but their characteristic buzzing is notably absent in Chicago. There are now three Great Lakes Piping Plovers staking a claim on Chicago’s Montrose Beach.

Lauren Viera’s city guide to Chicago doesn’t read like a typical guidebook – no 72-hour itineraries or explanatory advice on how to ride the CTA.

“The 500 Hidden Secrets of Chicago,” which was published last fall, is mostly just lists of unique places. Five dance clubs, five farmers markets, five nature outings, five small museums, five high-end cocktail bars, five city myths – totalling up to 500.

“I'm not a fiction writer,” Viera said. “I'm very bad at making stuff up. So this is really just in my mind reporting times 500.”

In this episode, Viera explains her favorite “hidden secrets,” how she chose the places she chose to include and how writing this book changed the way she thinks about Chicago.

This episode was originally published on Nov. 22, 2023.
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Northwestern faculty react to a congressional committee's depiction of pro-Palestinian student protestors as an "antisemitic mob." Chicago Public Schools wants input on school safety plans that don’t include police officers. The Illinois Senate passes a pair of healthcare reform measures pushed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools will hold open bargaining sessions this summer. Alderpeople have approved an ordinance that would ban any new late-night bars from opening in parts of Chicago's Logan Square, Wicker Park, and West Town neighborhoods. Reports of rare, blue-eyed cicadas are popping up in the Chicago area.

Every so often on The Rundown podcast we bring you episodes of Chi Sounds Like, a series that gives you an intimate, firsthand look into the lives of artists, activists and other off-the-beaten-path Chicagoans.

Today, we hear from photographer Ken Cook Jr., who left Chicago’s West Side, realized how leaving contributed to larger cycles of community neglect, and has since returned.

“When people get a little success or make a little money, they move from the West Side,” Cook said, “leaving future generations to not have someone that looks like them that’s successful … living here and making a life here.”

We also hear from Chi Sounds Like producer Ari Mejia, who explains how she finds artists and activists like Cook, and how she creates such vulnerable conversations. She also tells us why people feel so moved when she asks them to introduce themselves before saying “...and this is what Chicago sounds like.”
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Northwestern’s president will appear before Congress this morning to defend the agreement he made with pro-Palestinian student organizers. The Chicago city council issues a rebuke to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s power over the gunshot detection technology known as Shotspotter. After-school programs at more than 100 Chicago public schools are at risk.