Chicago Tribune, May 3, 2014 — Chicago’s fastest, rudest bicyclists were called “scorchers.” They hunched over their handlebars as they raced in the streets. Read my story in the Chicago Tribune.
Category: History
After Haymarket: Anarchism on trial and a city in search of its soul
WBEZ’s Curious City, April 29, 2014 — No one knows who threw the bomb near Haymarket Square on the night of May 4, 1886. It’s one of Chicago’s most vexing unsolved mysteries. But there’s little question that this violent act had huge repercussions — not only in Chicago but around the world… Read — and hear — my… Continue reading After Haymarket: Anarchism on trial and a city in search of its soul
Native numbers: How many Chicagoans were born in the city?
WBEZ’s Curious City, February 10, 2014 — Tracy Miller noticed something about Chicago when she moved here nine years ago. “I meet many people who say they are native Chicagoans,” she says. “It seems like there are more natives still residing here than in other cities I have lived in.” … Read — and hear… Continue reading Native numbers: How many Chicagoans were born in the city?
Chicago’s Strange History With Pneumatic Tubes
Hot time in the old town again
City marked 1871 fire with a party in 1903 — and it’s gearing up for another fest next year This article by Robert Loerzel was originally published in the Chicago Tribune on May 5, 2013. In a city where the history books are filled with calamities, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 is the most… Continue reading Hot time in the old town again
The story of Dunning, a ‘tomb for the living’
A new look at Hinky Dink’s star
The Huffington Post, March 5, 2013 — One of Chicago’s most famous City Council members, Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna, got a quite a gift from his supporters in the First Ward on April 22, 1897: an “alderman’s star.” … Read my blog post for the Huffington Post. Photo from the Chicago History Museum’s blog
