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[PRESS RELEASE] Chicago Reader celebrates Best of Chicago at Metro June 1
Back since 2019, the Best of Chicago gathering celebrates the winners and nominees from the 2022 Best of Chicago poll
Best of Chicago
Best method for a seasoned pothead to consume weed that isn’t smoking it
All right, just stay with me on this one. Before you read ahead because the thought of using a blow torch to get…
Latest Stories
A healing practice
Artist Sonja Henderson’s latest sculpture is a way of reuniting the late Mamie Till-Mobley with her son.
Review: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The beautifully animated sequel to Into the Spider-Verse somehow tops its predecessor.
Review: Shooting Stars
Shortcomings in writing and acting ruin what should be a compelling story.
Review: Reality
The deeply unsettling drama lets FBI interrogation recordings speak for themselves.
Review: The Quiet Epidemic
This documentary on chronic Lyme disease is a touching call to action.
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Worth the risk?
Fallout from a queer erotica screening at Sleeping Village exhibits how far cultural institutions still have to go to support the entire LGBTQ+ community.
News & INVESTIGATIONS
’People of all generations healing together’
Ammie Kae Brooks, LCSW, creates therapeutic healing space for Black families.
’Inmates are extremely manipulative‘
Hundreds of lawsuits against Wexford Health Sources, a for-profit medical corporation operating inside Illinois prisons, allege substandard care. An employee handbook describes how clinicians were trained to be skeptical of incarcerated patients.
Locked up for cannabis, locked out of work
Recreational use is legal in Illinois, but the state still has prisoners incarcerated for cannabis-related offenses, and those convictions prevent future work in the cannabis industry.
Columns & Opinion
Starship Chicago II has landed
The tale of the Thompson Center, continued
Lemming city
Mainstream Chicago is just a little too giddy about Mayor Johnson’s chief of staff.
Film
Review: Past Lives
Past Lives is restrained, heartfelt, and one of the best films of the year.
Review: The Boogeyman
The premise is nothing new, but the monster delivers.
Doug Adams wrote the book on the Lord of the Rings scores
Twenty years after the trilogy’s conclusion, the local author reflects on working with composer Howard Shore.
Arts & Culture
Keeping it real about musical marriages
Black Ensemble Theater’s The Real Housewives of Motown celebrates the women behind the recording stars.
Rhino Fest comes charging back
Chicago’s homegrown fringe celebration spreads out.
CLATA launches an incubator for new Latine voices
Inicios kicks off this weekend with three plays in staged readings.
Obfuscation as survival
At Ruschwoman, “The Game of Pearls” celebrates decadence.
Music
Sugar Pie DeSanto returns to Chicago for a Blues Festival tribute
Little Miss Dynamite turned 87 last fall, but the fierce, soulful R&B she wrote and recorded in the 1960s hasn’t aged a day.
The Blues Festival’s unofficial headliner
Longtime busker Brian Doroba plays with his band on Michigan Avenue for the crowds leaving Millennium Park after the night’s last set.
Being the best Smiley he can be
Octogenarian Chicago guitarist Smiley Tillmon brings his good-time vibes to the Blues Festival.
CITY LIFE
Cronenberg, comedy, and weirdo music
Upcoming events and ongoing activities you should know about
Black high school lacrosse is here to stay
Chicago’s south-side high schools are adding lacrosse teams in their sports programs.
Food & Drink
The spice must flow with Tasting India and Friends at the next Monday Night Foodball
Check out Jasmine Sheth’s all-star lineup of masala-slinging chefs at the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Ludlow Liquors.
Logan Square’s Middle Brow Beer is now a winery, naturally
Pete Ternes and Bryan Grohnke’s quiet, low-intervention experiments have borne extraordinary fruit.
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In Motion: The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project centers equity and opportunity while celebrating local artistry
Amid an inequitable arts landscape, an innovative, multi-year initiative called the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project [CBDLP] has emerged…
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Help support Multiple Sclerosis research with your purchase of a “It Takes 2” specialty ticket from the Illinois Lottery
In 2008, the Illinois Lottery launched a specialty ticket benefiting the Illinois Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society…
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Immerse yourself in the darkest side of humanity at Chicago’s Medieval Torture Museum
Learn the history of torture and execution, and chase ghosts at one of the Loop’s hottest attractions Have you…
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The YWCA and Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline support Chicagoland’s sexual assault survivors
Volunteer as a sexual assault victim advocate, and make a difference in people’s lives when they need it the…
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Support Special Olympics Illinois with your purchase of Illinois Lottery’s “Fat Wallet” Instant Ticket
In 2014, the Illinois Lottery launched the nation’s first specialty lottery ticket benefiting the Special Olympics, the world’s largest…
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Transit 4 All campaigns for equity, accessibility, and improved service for Chicago transit riders
By Reader Staff
Chicago has one of the largest transit systems in the United States, but despite its size, it has many…