In 2014, the Illinois Lottery launched the nation’s first specialty lottery ticket benefiting the Special Olympics, the world’s largest sports organization for individuals living with intellectual and physical disabilities. While funds raised from most Illinois Lottery specialty tickets are distributed through grants awarded to numerous organizations working in a specific area, such as veteran’s relief […]
Category: City Life
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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 most. Sexual violence impacts every age group, gender, and community, but for survivors of sexual assault, harassment, or other abuse, finding support can be challenging and, at times, unsafe. That’s where organizations like the YWCA can […]
Posted inShop Local
Yes, queen!
How about a hot sex tip for Valentine’s Day? In one word, lingerie. The gift that keeps on giving, to both the giftee and possibly (hopefully!) the gifter. It might seem obvious, but it’s so true: the right pieces of intimate apparel can boost your self-confidence and your sense of play—which can make you very […]
Posted inCity Life
Calling all rat lovers
If you, like me, are a fan of the humble city rat, then the relationship between our fair city and New York is an instructive one. Like all things New York, the allure of America’s biggest city seems to make everything, including its relationship to the quintessential urban rodent, more grandiose. Whether it’s the high-profile […]
Posted inFeature
Getting sober and drawing rabbits
“Since I was a little kid, I’ve been drawing rabbits,” said Whitney Wasson. The Chicago-based comics artist and comedian said that rabbits are cute and easy to draw, which were two ideal qualities for their early childhood doodles. “[The drawing] could be terrible, but as long as you [make] long rabbit ears it reads as […]
Posted inStreet View
The champions of swagger
“We got a lot of swagger. We don’t even have to open our mouths—they just see it,” said Greg Sims, 34. I met Greg and his twin brother Glenn when we attended “Champions of Success,” a panel discussion about the state of the fashion industry in Chicago that happened in November at the Kimpton Gray […]
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Elevated Chicago catalyzes equitable development around the city’s transit stations
For much of its history, Chicago was a public transit-friendly town. The first horse-drawn streetcars appeared on State Street in 1859, and by the turn of the century the city had developed complex networks of trains and cable cars. But things changed with the rapid suburban expansion and the popularization of privately owned vehicles in […]
Posted inFeature
A potato-themed speed dating venture
In the red-hued darkness of the California Clipper in Humboldt Park, a few dozen speed daters chattered on a damp Tuesday evening. Some arrived alone, others accompanied by friends or coworkers. They sat with name cards that got the basics out of the way: name, pronouns, sexuality. People lean in to hear over the noise […]
Posted inFeature
The year in photography
For the cover of our last print issue of 2022, we wanted to capture the spirit of the year, as we see it, in our own Reader way. We asked photographer Carolina Sanchez to see if she could find a street musician who was being ignored, a situation which many can relate to as the […]
Posted inCity Life
Your guide to outside
Thirteen of Chicago’s new queer and/or BIPOC recurring events
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Chicago Family Biking makes biking fun and safer for all ages
Chicago Family Biking is a grassroots coalition of parents, educators, and community organizers who love biking. The group started in 2015 as an online forum and soon began hosting Chicago’s Kidical Mass rides, where families could come and connect with each other while biking through their neighborhoods. Their growth accelerated during the pandemic as more […]
Posted inAgenda
Beyond the Nutcracker, Holiday Detour film series, and more
Ballet 5:8 presents Beyond the Nutcracker, a take on Tchaikovsky with a twist: there’s no Clara, but instead we meet Emma, a young girl growing up in the shadow of WWII. Artistic director Julianna Rubio Slager’s choreography gets away from some of the problematic imagery in the Chinese dance by using the motif of the […]
Posted inInkling
Let us stare out the windows
Last month, I had the misfortune of catching the Lunchables bus. Have you seen it yet? The windows and doors are obscured by a full-wrap ad that creates the illusion of a stack of crackers, meat, and cheese moving horizontally along the street. I boarded the Lunchables bus and found my window blocked by a […]
Posted inAgenda
A Night at the Museum, holiday theater, and more
Chance the Rapper’s youth empowerment charity organization, SocialWorks, hosts their annual A Night at the Museum event tonight at the Museum of Science and Industry (5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Dr.). It’s a family-focused evening that benefits unhoused people and organizations that serve them; guests are invited to support the effort by bringing new and/or […]