I’ve done a number of pieces for the Chicago Reader over the last few months. My first cover story for the Reader was an incomplete history of “exotic” animals running free in the city. I wrote a second story for the centennial of the 1919 Chicago Race Riot, a piece on Franklin Denison, a soldier unfairly labeled the “chief agitator” behind the riot. In a different time, it would be easy to imagine Denison as a U.S. senator, but he has been largely forgotten. I did a piece on the secret field notes from the Committee of Fifteen, Chicago’s powerful anti-prostitution organization. Committee of Fifteen investigators gathered evidence at houses of prostitution, dancehalls, and taverns. I also wrote a story on advice given by guidebooks, reporters, and visitors on what to bring, where to stay, what to eat, and what to see in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.
I am very grateful that the Chicago Reader has given me an opportunity to write these stories. Today they announced their move to a nonprofit model for next year. If you care about local journalism, consider kicking them a few bucks.