The Block Club Chicago Podcast Block Club Chicago

The so-called “Chicago accent” is one of the city’s greatest exports, alongside Italian beef, deep-dish pizza and up-and-coming sketch comedians.

But most associate a particular kind of sound to the average Chicagoan.

But there are actually many Chicago accents with different origins, and they span far beyond the North Side climes that soak up a lot of the cultural conversation. That reflects in the media set in, or filmed in, the city — often with non-Chicago actors who must learn the (many) ways we speak.

DIRKSEN FEDERAL COURTHOUSE — Former Ald. Ed Burke, the longest-serving alderman in Chicago history, was sentenced to two years in prison Monday, six months after he was convicted of racketeering and a suite of other crimes committed while he was in office.

Federal Defense Attorney Mike Leonard explains what happened.

When Sophia Catania learned that there would be a massive invasion of cicadas in the Chicago area, she was thrilled.

That’s because she turns cicadas into jewelry.

In 2020, Catania began taking walks “as a way to stay sane” during the pandemic, she said. Her casual walks soon turned into nature walks while she looked for and observed bugs. One day, she began picking up bug carcasses and taking them home.

An ordinance establishing a noise-sensitive zone around a Downtown woman’s clinic passed City Council Wednesday, ending an eight-month battle spearheaded by Ald. Bill Conway (34th).

Six years ago, a small and scrappy group of journalists refused to give up on neighborhood news, and Block Club Chicago was born. But our 6th birthday is not just a celebration of Block Club — it’s also a celebration of reader support. We wouldn’t be here without the generosity of readers like you.

A group of alderpeople want the state to pump the brakes on plans to redesign DuSable Lake Shore Drive and instead find ways to prioritize public transit on the city’s most famous road.

Fourteen alderpeople have signed a letter to Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman and Chicago Department of Transportation President Tom Carney, asking the state to “halt” its Redefine the Drive project, which calls for redesigning and rebuilding DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Grand to Hollywood avenues on the North Side.