Editing — Marissa Conrad

Writer + Editor

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Crime stats in Englewood are bleak, but 35-year-old Asiaha Butler is fighting for peace

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After a deadly stampede at a busy nightclub, former owners talk for the first time about the tragedy

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Fulton Market’s long history as a meatpacking district will soon be just that: history

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Air rage is at an all-time high. What has gone wrong in the airline industry—and can we fix it?

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Talking about immigration

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A pileup of bodies at Cook County’s morgue puts a somber lens on the financial disparities of death

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A loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese and a jar of giardiniera: The story of the condiment Chicago loves

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The tragicomedy of Rod Blagojevich, and eight other stories about why and how we lie

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Chicago’s youth violence epidemic is getting even worse. Think you can’t help? You can

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Step one: Build a fantasyland of runway-model dolls. Step two: Sell their tiny outfits for $30 a pop

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One year in, the 31-year-old alderman who campaigned out of a bowling alley is coming up short

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Shrink your waste: a room-by-room guide arranged from ‘that sounds reasonable’ to giving up tampons

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Reporter James Foley spent 44 days as a political prisoner in Libya. Here’s how he made it out

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Critics are saying you need to see Odd Future’s show at Pitchfork. You don't.

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LGBT activists say thanks but no thanks to a civil-unions bill they think hasn’t gone far enough

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Once upon a time, craft beer was a hard sell to American palates. Two pioneers discuss the evolution

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How twins in Chicago helped snag one of Mexico’s most notorious drug traffickers—and what's next

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Now trending: group shoplifting. A look at how it’s done, and what stores can do to stop it

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“I’m not African-American. I’m black.” One writer’s case for ditching an overused, inaccurate word

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Open since 1911, this family-owned bakery has survived by changing with the neighborhood

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Road trip! Four islands you can drive to—all in the Midwest

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More than 12,000 abandoned homes sit in limbo across Chicago—and your taxes are paying for them

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A change to the Pride Parade’s route inspires us to imagine 19 other ways Pride could be even better

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The culture wars are over (so we said in 2013)

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A trip to a Mormon colony settled by Mitt Romney’s family gives context to the inscrutable candidate

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Six Rahm Emanuel staffers tell their tales of working for the most intimidating mayor in America

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What it's really like to buy a foreclosed home

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Legal troubles mount for one of Chicago’s biggest restaurateurs

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With developers vying for land along the Chicago River, here’s how the waterfront might look soon

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13 millennials share what they’re hopeful about in times that seem anything but

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Illinois’ best (and worst) casinos, stories from an ex-bookie, what makes us gamble and more