Illinois news

• Best woman-owned bra shop where every bra-wearer is welcome

  06-04-2023 23:55 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The right bra can improve your posture, relieve back pain, help clothes fit better, and sometimes make you feel a little sexier (or a lot), but let’s face it: shopping for bras can be a major pain in the boob. Many top-selling brands prioritize fashion over quality (as if we can’t have both), and center […]
  The post Best woman-owned bra shop where every bra-wearer is welcome appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best development in Chicago pro wrestling

  06-04-2023 23:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Hearing that wrestling promoter Lolo McGrath was moving to Chicago was one of the more quietly exciting moments of the past few years. With their former copromoter Billy Dixon, McGrath put on shows that avoided the “Pride section at Target” vibes that plague so many queer-focused wrestling shows (which are usually bankrolled by straight promoters […]
  The post Best development in Chicago pro wrestling appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best neighborhood wrestling show

  06-04-2023 22:35 via chicagoreader.com
  
  From 20th-century wrestling promoter Fred Kohler to former WWE Champion CM “Chick Magnet” Punk, Chicago is a town steeped in professional wrestling history. We’ve got it all. Chicago boasts a historically strong wrestling scene (including groundbreaking independent women’s professional wrestling promotion SHIMMER), we’re a constant tour spot for larger companies, and there’s a strong lucha […]
  The post Best neighborhood wrestling show appeared first on
  
  Read more

• Army tragedy

  06-04-2023 21:58 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Though it premiered in 1981 with the Negro Ensemble Company, won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and was subsequently turned into the well-received 1984 film A Soldier’s Story, Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play didn’t get a Broadway production until nearly 40 years after it first appeared. Fuller, who died in October 2022 at 83, […]
  The post Army tragedy appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Best art show on the southeast side’s ecology

  06-04-2023 21:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  It can be hard to wrap your head around the complex ecological makeup of the areas surrounding the Calumet and Little Calumet rivers. Formerly heavily concentrated sites of industry, parts of these southeast neighborhoods are now in the slow process of getting cleaned up, via the green development of places like the Marian R. Byrnes […]
  The post Best art show on the southeast side’s ecology appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• The Chicago Film Society fulfills tomorrow’s promises

  06-04-2023 20:40 via chicagoreader.com
  
  “I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.” —Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra Just three minutes into Edward Owens’s Autre Fois J’ai Aimé Une Femme (1966), the screen goes dark. It stays that way for […]
  The post The Chicago Film Society fulfills tomorrow’s promises appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Sirius (Lyrics)

  06-04-2023 18:27 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The post Sirius (Lyrics) appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Chicago rapper Roy Kinsey embraces life’s complexities on Volume 2: Soft Life

  06-04-2023 17:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  In this economy, embracing a soft life can be complicated—much like living as a queer Black man anywhere on Earth. Nobody understands this better than Chicago rapper Roy Kinsey. Kinsey’s musical approach is tactical and autobiographical: he works a day job as librarian at a west-side public school, and examination informs his art, resulting in […]
  The post Chicago rapper Roy Kinsey embraces life’s complexities on <i>Volume 2: Soft Life</i> appeared first on
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Best local stage director ready for next big steps

  06-04-2023 16:54 via chicagoreader.com
  
  A few years ago, I wrote a story for American Theatre on Chicago as a great town for stage directors. One name that wasn’t totally on my radar then has since become a top favorite. Georgette Verdin, who has been managing artistic director for Interrobang Theatre Project since 2015, has a special gift for bringing […]
  The post Best local stage director ready for next big steps appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to receive overdose prevention and response training

  06-04-2023 16:33 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I learned how to administer naloxone, the opioid overdose-reversal medication, through the Chicago Recovery Alliance. In 2019, a family member had recently relapsed: though his drug wasn’t dope, that experience made me want to learn more about this miracle med I’d heard of. Most of the attendees were medical workers, but some were just ordinary […]
  The post Best place to receive overdose prevention and response training appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best local alternative to the Gap

  06-04-2023 16:25 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Clearly, Robert McMillan is not trying to make a quick buck. After leaving a more lucrative (yet less personally fulfilling) job in trading, he established Dearborn Denim in 2016. “It was exciting to build an apparel manufacturer from the ground up. I had a bunch of old, beat-up sewing machines in an abandoned laundry and […]
  The post Best local alternative to the Gap appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• New Video Shows Officer Fatally Shot 17-Year-Old Black Teen In Back

  06-04-2023 16:00
  
  The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the deadly police shooting of 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin following the release of body camera footage.On Tuesday (April 4), US Park Police and Washington Metropolitan Police released body camera footage of the Black teen’s fatal encounter with law enforcement last month, per CNN.In a statement on Wednesday (April 5), the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington called the video “extremely upsetting” and announced the invest
  
  Read more

• CHA receives $240k for outreach on program that provides resident internet, device discounts

  06-04-2023 15:00
  
  The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is one of two housing authorities in Illinois to receive funding from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for an Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program (ACP) called “Your Home Your Internet.”
  The ACP, which provides internet and device discounts to public housing residents and voucher holders, allows eligible CHA households to receive up to a $30 monthly discount on their internet service, and a one-time discount of $100 to purchase
  
  Read more

• Virginia Siblings Make History As First Black Triplets To Enlist In Navy

  06-04-2023 14:30
  
  Three siblings in Virginia have made history as the first Black triplets to enlist in the Navy.20-year-old triplets Ayrion, Andrea, and Adrion were inspired to enlist together by their parents, Andre Sutton and Tiffany Sutton, who met while serving on the USS Arctic in 1999, per Good Morning America.
  “What motivated me to join was hearing my parents talk about how good the Navy was when we was growing up and seeing my dad come home from long months, not being at home and taking care of the
  
  Read more

• ‘Serenity, NOW’

  06-04-2023 14:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  “SPACORE,” a group show curated by Serena JV Elston and Rudolf Lingens, is anarchically funny. Currently up at Co-Prosperity, the exhibition’s 45 artists utilize humor to reveal the hollow white supremacist capitalist fantasies that uphold the personal wellness industry. Through the collective’s desire to “situate wellness within the horror genre,” they present a model of […]
  The post ‘Serenity, NOW’ appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• CTA Kicks-Off National “Second Chance” Month with Recruitment Event

  06-04-2023 14:00
  
  April is national “Second Chance” month and to help kick-off this month of recognition, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is hosting an in-person hiring event on Saturday April 8, for its Second Chance Program (SCP) – a nationally recognized, holistic workforce program that provides valuable job skills and career opportunities to Chicago residents who often face challenges re-entering the workforce.  
  Since 2011, CTA’s Second Chance Program has served more than 1,7
  
  Read more

• Warm Human turns to alt-rock to become Chicago’s next Hometown Hero

  06-04-2023 13:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  As Warm Human, Chicago pop artist Meredith Johnston likes to marinate in artificial sounds: her music usually relies heavily on synthesizers, and she processes overdubbed layers of her powerful voice to give them a cybernetic sheen. What makes her distinctive isn’t those techniques but rather the nuance with which she uses them—she still manages to […]
  The post Warm Human turns to alt-rock to become Chicago’s next <i>Hometown Hero</i> appeared first on Chica
  
  Read more

• Best housing case manager who takes no shit while getting shit done

  06-04-2023 06:17 via chicagoreader.com
  
  In the history of human existence, there occasionally is someone who becomes so famous for excelling at what they do that they only need one name: Buddha. Beyoncé. Sylvia.  Sylvia Hibbard is a case manager for the street medicine organization The Night Ministry. I’ve heard her name uttered with respect from what feels like pretty […]
  The post Best housing case manager who takes no shit while getting shit done appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best action to take when an unhoused Chicagoan is sleeping across three seats on the train

  06-04-2023 06:01 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Nothing. Do absolutely nothing. Don’t take a picture of someone at their most vulnerable. Don’t post it online for the world to see. Don’t tag the CTA in a post of faux-compassion that reveals your panic and discomfort at having to share a public space with someone who is desperately poor. Don’t be a snitch. […]
  The post Best action to take when an unhoused Chicagoan is sleeping across three seats on the train appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best use for the lakefront in a cold snap

  06-04-2023 05:52 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I finally got COVID-19 in December, first testing positive on the 16th. For Christmas my family was gathering at my parents’ home in Texas—my brother, his wife, and my precociously deranged seven-year-old niece were traveling from New York. I had one chance all year to see everybody together, and suddenly it looked like I’d miss […]
  The post Best use for the lakefront in a cold snap appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best ‘don’t go here, go there instead’ Chicago food TikToks

  06-04-2023 05:38 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The first time my girlfriend sent me a TikTok from @plateswithp, she said, “I don’t know why, but I trust everything she says.” I, too, became an immediate fan. Paige Serena has been making food and lifestyle content on TikTok since 2021. The Chicago native’s content ranges from OOTD and GRWM videos to full, thorough […]
  The post Best ‘don’t go here, go there instead’ Chicago food TikToks appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best midnight screening of an iconic early-2000s movie

  06-04-2023 05:06 via chicagoreader.com
  
  On a cold November night, as the clock struck midnight and the movie theater lights dimmed, the audience broke into raucous, hooting-and-hollering applause, and I knew that movie-going etiquette was out the window. Sipping Mystery Machine Margaritas—the Music Box’s featured cocktail for the occasion—longtime fans of 2002’s cult classic Scooby-Doo watched with giddy anticipation as […]
  The post Best midnight screening of an iconic early-2000s movie appeared first o
  
  Read more

• Best three-day-long workers strike from employees of one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ organizations

  06-04-2023 04:53 via chicagoreader.com
  
  From January 3 to 5 this year, the freshly unionized members of Howard Brown Health Workers United (HBHWU) staged day-long strikes at seven different Howard Brown clinic locations in the city. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an excess of government funds that LGBTQ+ -focused health system could access, but as those […]
  The post Best three-day-long workers strike from employees of one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ organizations appeared first on Chicago Reader
  
  Read more

• Best municipal election coverage from a media outlet that started in 2017

  06-04-2023 04:31 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The TRiiBE, aka Chicago’s premier Black digital news platform dedicated to changing the narrative of Black Chicago, had a running start in 2017 and has not slowed down since. The TRiiBE was founded by Morgan Elise Johnson, who made the Forbes 30 Under 30 media list in 2019, and Tiffany Walden, selected in Poynter’s 2018 […]
  The post Best municipal election coverage from a media outlet that started in 2017 appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best ‘private’ space to smoke a blunt outdoors

  06-04-2023 04:06 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I like to lay out a blanket in a city park and smoke a fat Backwood under the sun just as much as the next guy. I don’t like the low hum of anxiety I feel when I’m smacked and alone around too many people who aren’t smoking too. Once I’m properly high, if I […]
  The post Best ‘private’ space to smoke a blunt outdoors appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best internationally known drag pageant system based in Chicago

  06-04-2023 03:17 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The art of drag has been around for centuries, and today’s drag ball scene can trace its roots to post-Civil War Harlem, when Hamilton Lodge No. 710 began hosting regular competitions. The modern drag pageant evolved from one-off nights in bars, clubs, and rented banquet halls, to several pageant systems throughout the country; if you’ve […]
  The post Best internationally known drag pageant system based in Chicago appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best workout for unathletic queers

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Indoor rock climbing has seen a huge surge in popularity in the last few years. It’s everywhere in places like California and Colorado, where white, wealthy, outdoorsy, granola people reign supreme, but it’s gaining popularity here in Chicago, too, especially after its appearance in the (delayed) 2020 Summer Olympics and because of its year-round accessibility […]
  The post Best workout for unathletic queers appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best woman-owned cannabis brand

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Tiffany Woodman, founder of Canna Bella Lux, believes cannabis can be luxurious. She’s building a brand with “a different kind of luxury that leads with love, uplifts others, and [gives women the space to] be extra.”  Woodman is a Chicago native with a Puerto Rican mother and an Italian father, who grew up in the […]
  The post Best woman-owned cannabis brand appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best way to get a taste of midwestern state fairs 365 days a year

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I’m a guy who loves the concept of state fairs, and more specifically the socially acceptable kind of eating that takes place at them. It would be irresponsible for me, a 37-year-old who begrudgingly reads nutritional-facts labels, to make room in my diet for deep-fried ice cream, or a hot dog deep-fried in corn-dog batter, […]
  The post Best way to get a taste of midwestern state fairs 365 days a year appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best way to combine theater, exercise, and history

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  In 2017, the members of Theatre Y completed the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain—a 500-mile route followed by pilgrims for centuries. That sparked the company’s annual ambulatory “Camino” productions, which invite audiences to walk through different Chicago neighborhoods while experiencing a series of environmental performances. In 2019, the Camino Project focused on neighborhoods surrounding […]
  The post Best way to combine theater, exercise, and history appe
  
  Read more

• Best values-driven custom pet art

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Hopefully other pet owners can relate to my obsessive need to order custom art pieces of my dog, Swift, in literally any medium you can imagine. If only our four-year-old, now iconic, mini poodle mix knew he’s a muse—captured with felt, on a wood block, in photo shoots, on holiday cards, and even on a […]
  The post Best values-driven custom pet art appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best used poetry section in Chicago

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Myopic Books in Wicker Park has a ton of poetry on offer, but the prices aren’t that much better than you could find new. The late, lamented Bookman’s Corner in Lakeview sold books so cheap it made it feel like you were stealing them—but there weren’t that many poetry books to steal. Between those extremes, […]
  The post Best used poetry section in Chicago appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best use of green cabbage

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I’m not trying to start a fight. I can name a dozen addictively delicious ways to eat green cabbage—in fact, I have a jar of homemade Sichuan-style brine-fermented cabbage in the fridge right now, which I love with my chili oil. I had to say “best” because this is Best of Chicago, but it’d be […]
  The post Best use of green cabbage appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best under-the-radar movie trivia contest

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I thought I could’ve been a contender. But all too soon, I was knocked out at the fun but challenging event known as Music Box Trivia and Brunch. It’s held every Sunday in the Music Box Theatre’s lounge from 1–3 PM, but get there early because people start claiming seats just after noon. It’s BYOB—and […]
  The post Best under-the-radar movie trivia contest appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best tiny storefront bakery/bistro in Oak Park

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  You can find some of the best scones—flaky, buttery, crunchy, savory scones, not too sweet, not too chewy—in Oak Park, in a tiny storefront just a few blocks west of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio. There you will find Broken Tart, an unassuming Tardis-like coffee shop and bakery, almost invisible from the street. Once […]
  The post Best tiny storefront bakery/bistro in Oak Park appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best taco restaurant for vegans on Clark Street

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Chicago has a reputation as a foodie city to uphold. For vegans and vegetarians, it’s no different. As more vegan options pop up on menus, Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria decided to open up a second location, this time in Andersonville. Penelope’s has a long enough menu that most vegans would find it cumbersome to look through […]
  The post Best taco restaurant for vegans on Clark Street appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best swank weed party bus

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Every once in a while, this contented stoner of some 30 years can still have a “cannabis epiphany,” as I’m often quite floored at how far the legal marijuana world has progressed. Case in point, while DJing a record fair and happening at Life on Marz Community Club back in January, I was not prepared […]
  The post Best swank weed party bus appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best sports ticket rep

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I attended lots of Sky games last year, mostly because the 2021 WNBA champs are awesome and the arena vibe is groovy, but also because ticket rep Michael Amato is so tenacious. After I bought cheap seats for a single game, I was slightly taken aback when a rep reached out immediately, then genuinely surprised […]
  The post Best sports ticket rep appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best shop booted from the Thompson Center when Google took over

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  No matter what dreary business might have drawn you to the Thompson Center before Google purchased it last year, every visit offered its own rewards. For me, they included the jaw-dropping architectural splendor of the lobby (best appreciated with a hot coffee and a Munchkin from the food court), the rotating exhibits of the Illinois […]
  The post Best shop booted from the Thompson Center when Google took over appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best racket sports enthusiast

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  For college tennis player Chris Clark, the COVID-19 pandemic became an unexpected reset that helped him bring his master’s of business administration back to the court. After stints at Gatorade, Wilson Sporting Goods, and the Kraft Heinz Co., he found himself out of a sports start-up job, with his love of racket sports “staring me […]
  The post Best racket sports enthusiast appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best prodigal son in a rock band

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Chicago trio Facs arose almost seven years ago out of the hiatus-turned-breakup of Disappears. Bassist and singer Brian Case, guitarist Jonathan van Herik, and drummer Noah Leger stretched the icy, brittle sounds of classic postpunk over gangly new skeletons to create their minimalist dirges. Van Herik left in late 2017, after the recording of Facs’ […]
  The post Best prodigal son in a rock band appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best potanist to follow on social media

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  When Cae Jones was fired from his job at his neighborhood dispensary a few years ago, he could’ve pivoted toward a more traditional industry. Instead, he built an Internet presence under the moniker Jungle Cae (also Cae, the Potanist) to educate others on cannabis culture and laws, while dispelling harmful myths around marijuana stemming from […]
  The post Best potanist to follow on social media appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best porn at a short films screening

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Last June, I interviewed emerging filmmaker Henry Hanson about his short Bros Before, a funny 20-minute hyperpop fever dream where two trans men struggle to understand their changing friendship after they begin hooking up. At the end of July, it made its hometown debut at Facets following eight shorts by trans filmmakers from the United […]
  The post Best porn at a short films screening appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to take yourself out on a date

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Here’s a rule I live by: once a month, take yourself on a date. No phones allowed; bring a book. Last month, I ventured to Ghin Khao Eat Rice, and I can assure you it’s the perfect spot. (And I’ve done this 21 times!) Ghin Khao Eat Rice2128 W Cermak ghinkhaochicago.com First, it’s truly delicious and […]
  The post Best place to take yourself out on a date appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to pretend you’re running an art salon in your eccentric aunt’s basement

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Some of Chicago’s coziest theater lobbies are in Wicker Park. Upstairs at the Den, overstuffed leather chairs and an electric fireplace provide a great place to warm up on a cold night. But the Chopin Theatre’s basement lobby has always been my favorite weird place to hang out before a show, especially when the show […]
  The post Best place to pretend you’re running an art salon in your eccentric aunt’s basement appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to grab a midday nap

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Even high-powered executives sometimes need a midday siesta to power through the day. Yet, dropping one’s head on a desk can leave one cramped and even more tired, while companies that provide cots can find themselves in PR trouble (think Twitter and Elon Musk). So what is a person to do when in need of […]
  The post Best place to grab a midday nap appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to get your weed tested

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  So you’ve coaxed your girl up from a tiny seed to a bushy green giant who bends under the weight of her dank, frosty, purple flowers. These, you’ve lovingly harvested, dried, cured, and trimmed until they’re ready to smoke.  But how well did you do from a measurable scientific perspective? What’s the THC percentage, the […]
  The post Best place to get your weed tested appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to find vintage music ephemera at reasonable prices

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Let’s Boogie Records & Tapes (3321 S. Halsted) is a time machine to a different era. Bridgeport and Pilsen have no shortage of outlets for serious crate diggers (shout-out to 606 Records), but Let’s Boogie has been around longer than any other shop in the area—Neal S. Keller opened it in the mid-70s—and it has […]
  The post Best place to find vintage music ephemera at reasonable prices appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to feed your stationery addiction

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  There is something so calming about a stationery store—the colorful rows of notebooks, the tidy aisles of office gadgetry, the stacks of pens and planners. If the only stationery store you’ve set foot into is a Staples, you are missing out on a true vibe that offers a sense of space and order in an […]
  The post Best place to feed your stationery addiction appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

• Best place to escape an EDM club overrun by a Michigan State fraternity

  06-04-2023 02:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  After watching Matt Reeves’s The Batman, I felt compelled to re-create the movie’s nightclub scene for myself: I wanted to find someplace slinky, saturated in red light and bass. My friends and I headed down to River North, and after paying a cover charge of $50 per person, we landed in a subterranean nightclub that […]
  The post Best place to escape an EDM club overrun by a Michigan State fraternity appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  
  Read more

Follow @NewsIllinois_ on Twitter!