Call them twisters, call them cyclones, call them (incorrectly) willy willys—tornadoes are as much a part of spring as blossoms on the trees and ants in the kitchen. Roughly 75% of […]
Category: Illinois / regional
People love lists
To pay further homage to the angry gods who make the cumulonimbus their home, we delve into some memorable portrayals of twisters in American pop culture. 1. Tornado episode of WKRP […]
Chicago River Bridges on WTTW TV
Chicago is a city of bridges. Second only to Amsterdam in the number of drawbridges, the city is connected–and in some cased divided–by the engineering that channels foot, wheeled and […]
The revolving door in Corrupt Illinois
Jesse Jackson Jr. gained his Congressional seat by winning a special election to replace Rep. Mel Reynolds. Reynolds resigned after being convicted of sexual misconduct. Jackson himself resigned as the […]
Corrupt Illinois authors: Schock is not unique
When Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock announced he’d be resigning from the U.S. Congress it was seen by many as yet another example of the state’s seamy political underbelly. As detailed in […]
Campaign cash and Corrupt Illinois
Political corruption isn’t just about under-the-table dealings. A major factor that contributes to a system that many see as broken in the state of Illinois and throughout the country is […]
Q&A with Midwest Maize author Cynthia Clampitt
Food historian and travel writer Cynthia Clampitt recently answered some questions about her book Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland. Q: What was the importance of corn to […]
A video preview of The Land of Milk and Uncle Honey
“Back then farming was people,” says Alan Guebert. Guebert has written about agribusiness issues in “The Farm and Food File” since 1993. But the syndicated columnist notes that he would […]
Q&A with Before the Ivy author Laurent Pernot
Laurent Pernot is the executive vice chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago. Pernot came to the U.S. as a Chicago-area foreign-exchange student in 1988 and caught ’89 Cubs playoff fever. […]
800 thousand dollars in shoe boxes
Authors Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson document many colorful and dubious characters in their book Corrupt Illinois. An example (on page 1 of the book, even) would be former […]
Chicago is ‘undoubtedly the most corrupt city in our nation’
In recent history 4 governors and 33 Chicago aldermen have been jailed in Illinois. No wonder the authors of Corrupt Illinois, Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality make the dire claims as […]
Best of Illinois: Turn the page
Oft-imitated, rarely surpassed, The Best of Illinois: Vol. 1 catalog provides one-stop shopping for the best books on all facets of the ever-fascinating Land of Lincoln. Shrooms, the Mafia, music […]