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Articles by Mackenzie Crosson
Here Are The Winners Of Curious City’s 2020 Haiku Contest
2020 is officially coming to an end — finally. And last month, Curious City asked for your reflections on what has been a year like no other. But there was one rule: turn your thoughts and feelings about this year into poetry. Our 2020 Haiku Contest received 255 submissions from listeners of all ages. Some were written in grade school classes, some households wrote their haikus together as a family activity, and some used the contest as an outlet for personal expression.
Five Tips To Avoid Common Recycling Mistakes
Camille Fiess is a native of St. Louis who grew up recycling. It comes as “second nature,” she says. So when she moved to Chicago in 2017, she wanted to make sure she understood how Chicago’s recycling program worked so her recycled goods didn’t end up in the landfill. So she reached out to Curious City with a question: What are the recycling rules in Chicago?
A Chicago Family And Teacher Cope With Remote Learning
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At the beginning of this school year there were a lot of unknowns due to the pandemic. Would students and teachers be heading back to the classroom or would school be taught online? Many families were faced with a list of tough decisions about what to do. And now, more than two months later, the uncertainty continues. Curious City has been hearing from Chicago area parents, guardians, students and teachers about the challenges and some of the rewards that have come with remote learning.
By Adriana Cardona-Maguigad Verified, Sarah Karp Verified, Alexandra Salomon, Steven Jackson, Mackenzie Crosson
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WBEZ-FM (Chicago, IL)
Verified
Preschool, Kindergarten and Second Grade All In One Garage
For the past month, Curious City has been talking with families, students and teachers from around the Chicago region to get a sense of what this school year has been like since COVID-19 forced many schools to go remote and others to adopt a whole new set of rules and protocols. And one of those parents that we heard from is Kanako Morikawa, who has turned her Logan Square garage into a classroom.
Protest Art Has Covered Boarded Up Businesses — Will It Be Preserved?
‘They want to destroy you before you become what you’re intended to be.’ This was the name of a mural by Chicago artist Ant Ben, who painted the piece on the plywood boards covering the front of Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya, a restaurant on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park. “I think it’s relevant to the times,” he said.
I Hope Virtual Therapy Doesn’t Become The Norm When The Pandemic Is Over
Before Illinois went under a stay-at-home order, Dr. Ronke Pederson said her therapy sessions would begin when she walked into the waiting room to greet her patients. She’d observe their appearance, their body language, their demeanor. Then, they’d go into her office and she’d shut the door. “Behind the shut door, they are free to remove that filter that they may use in the world,” Ronke said.
Farmers In Chicago Continue To Provide Fresh Produce During COVID-19
Safia Rashid fondly remembers the trips her family would take during holidays and summers to visit her grandmother in Mississippi. “The food is what I really remember because my grandmother had flowers and they had pecan trees and fruit trees,” she said. Her grandmother would send them back home with canned peaches and crowder peas. “That's the only way I would eat my mother's peach cobbler, is when she used my grandmother's canned peaches,” she said.
Looking For Quarantine Recipes? Try This Chicago-Invented Dish
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2017. We’ve updated it with new recipes and take-out suggestions. With Chicago’s restaurants closed to dine-in customers, many people have been using their time at home to refine their cooking skills. We have another dish to add to your list of aspirational quarantine meals, and it happens to be a food that originated right here in Chicago.
I Started Sewing Clothes For My Barbies — Now I’m Sewing Face Masks
Sixty-nine-year-old Lucy Keating has been sewing most of her life. She first learned how to use her grandmother’s Singer sewing machine when she was just about ten. As a child, she used it to make clothes for her Barbie dolls. Over the years, she’s moved from Barbie-sized clothing to life-sized projects, creating costumes for her daughters, like a dress that spontaneously transformed from old rags to a beautiful ball gown for an elementary school production of Cinderella.
Six Feet Of Separation: Your Stories About Dating During COVID-19
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Whether you’re single or in a decades-long relationship, it’s likely coronavirus has had an impact on your love life. With Illinois’ “stay-at-home” order and new social distancing rules in place, the pandemic has fundamentally changed how we’re supposed to interact with one another, and that can include our romantic partners. Now, some couples are unexpectedly navigating long distance because of quarantine; other single folk are trying out virtual dates now that bars and restaurants are closed.
By Isabel Carter, Mackenzie Crosson, Lynnea Domienik Verified, Katherine Nagasawa, Alexandra Salomon
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WBEZ-FM (Chicago, IL)
Verified
The Man Keeping His Family's Century-Old Funeral Home Afloat
Serving a changing neighborhood Tim Harrington is the sole proprietor of Barr Funeral Home, which his grandfather opened in 1923 on North Broadway. In the early days, they offered traditional Irish Catholic services: lengthy visitations, religious blessings and a suit-and-tie dress code. Over the years, the family developed a close relationship with the congregation at nearby St. Gertrude Catholic Church.
This Laser-Wielding Father-Son Duo Maintains Chicago’s Monuments
Chicago’s parks are home to nearly 300 sculptures, fountains and monuments, and like many city dwellers, Seamus McMahon passes by some of these nearly every day. It makes him wonder how the city’s historic works have withstood the test of time and maintained their condition. So, he asked Curious City: How are Chicago’s statues and monuments maintained and restored? It turns out this is a job done by one Chicago family.
DIY Bike Detective: Tips For Tracking Down Your Stolen Bicycle In Chicago
Once you recover from the initial shock, experts recommend piecing together evidence, spreading the word, and hitting the street stat. Katherine Nagasawa/WBEZ hide caption toggle caption Katherine Nagasawa/WBEZ Cristina Perez was a victim of bike theft four times while living in Chicago. First, the thefts were individual parts: a missing back wheel, a front wheel and then a seat.
DIY Bike Detective: Tips For Tracking Down Your Stolen Bicycle In Chicago
Cristina Perez was a victim of bike theft four times while living in Chicago. First, the thefts were individual parts: a missing back wheel, a front wheel and then a seat. Eventually, after she bought a new bike for the Chicago Triathlon, the whole thing disappeared from her apartment building’s storage room. Frustrated by these repeated mishaps, she wrote to Curious City, asking: Why are so many bikes stolen in Chicago, and where do all these stolen bikes go?
DIY Bike Detective: Tips For Tracking Down Your Stolen Bicycle In Chicago
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect new information provided by the Chicago Police Department in response to a public records request and related lawsuit. Cristina Perez was a victim of bike theft four times while living in Chicago. First, the thefts were individual parts: a missing back wheel, a front wheel and then a seat. Eventually, after she bought a new bike for the Chicago Triathlon, the whole thing disappeared from her apartment building’s storage room.
How Is Chicago Doing On Its Ambitious 2020 Climate Goals?
More about our questioner Alison Anastasio is a lecturer in the Program on the Global Environment at The University of Chicago where she teaches courses in environmental and urban studies. She moved to Chicago in 2002 and earned her doctorate in ecology and evolution at U of C in 2009. Alison says there are a few lessons she’ll take back to her classroom following Curious City’s report.
We create stories, but ours are still being told
Being from Michigan, I visited Chicago often during summer vacations growing up. I was amazed by the massive flow of people crowding the sidewalks, breathtaking lakefront and the idea that endless opportunity weaved between buildings and stretched into the sky. During my junior year of high school, I visited this city I had grown to adore during Memorial Day weekend with my older brother.
Students critical of Counseling Services following campus assaults
Two students who reported sexual assault to the college’s Title IX and Counseling Service Offices in 2016 say, years later, they are still feeling the effects of those complaints and the school’s failure to satisfactorily help them. Business and entrepreneurship alumna Madeline Whittemore said she was sexually assaulted in December 2015 in her Plymouth Court dorm room. On Feb.
Chicago calls for 311 system update
Chicago’s 311 service request system will soon be revamped to provide residents with more options to report complaints and communicate with the city.Chicagoans will be able to take pictures of problems, tweet or use 311’s mobile app to report needs for service they find around the city. After making a complaint, residents will be able to track its progress within the system and provide feedback on the process, according to an April 25 video posted on the Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s YouTube page.
Climate change has bigger impact on low-income communities
The link between climate change and its disproportionate impact on low-income communities may not often be seen, but it does exist, said Jacqueline Patterson, director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Environmental and Climate Justice Program. At an April 25 panel at 1160 E. 58th St., Patterson discussed how low-income communities do not contribute to climate change as much as high-income communities but are at greater risk of its consequences.
Students create ‘SNL-style’ comedy show
Students in eight classes worked together across the college during the semester to bring Columbia’s annual sketch comedy show “Freq Out” to life.
Come in, we're open: 24 hours in a 24-hour diner
+21 1:24 p.m. "I come here everyday because I want it to be here tomorrow." said Frank. "It really has been a scene of friendships have been made, love interests have been made, a place where you go for information, place where you go to find a tradesman, it all happens here." Kevin Tiongson | CHRONICLE "I think that we represent life more than the Michelin five-star [restaurants of Chicago] because not everybody can go [there]. They don’t have the funds to support it.
‘The Antelope Party’ pits ponies against Trump-era politics
“The Antelope Party” will run until Feb. 24 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., and tells the story of a small group of adult “My Little Pony” fans in the midst of violence and growing authoritarianism in their small town. Mackenzie Crosson | CHRONICLE Bronies take center stage in Eric John Meyer’s “The Antelope Party,” a play that looks at authoritarian politics through the eyes of adult fans of “My Little Pony.”The play, which opened Jan. 19 at Theater Wit, 1229 W.
$6 hot dog anyone? Why attending professional games breaks the bank
Now more than ever, a fan’s access to local professional sport teams is hindered by financial barriers.Chicago is home to teams in the four most popular professional leagues—NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL—with citywide fans dedicated despite the highs and lows.
Open Labs close, students left without jobs for fall semester
Three on-campus Open Labs were closed to eventually provide a single site within the Library and offer students increased access to improved technology—a change that left lab employees unexpectedly without jobs for the fall semester.The labs, located at 1104 S. Wabash Ave., 618 S. Michigan Ave. and 33 E. Congress Parkway, were officially closed Sept. 5, and students were directed to the Library, 624 S. Michigan Ave.
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