Amazon just paid nearly $200 million for a Goose Island warehouse that sat empty for two years after being built with no tenant lined up. The vertical facility will become a same-day delivery and grocery hub by late 2027, relying on personal-vehicle drivers instead of the usual delivery vans.
— via Block Club Chicago, Quinn Myers
A West Ridge man fired five or six shots at a car during a feud, missing his target and hitting a 14-year-old boy walking home from school instead. The teen, a refugee from Myanmar, is now paralyzed from the chest down; the shooter faces attempted murder charges.
— via Block Club Chicago, Charles Thrush
Lincoln Park Zoo's holiday light show returns Nov. 20 with more than 3 million lights, a walk-through tunnel and Ferris wheel views, running through Jan. 3. Advance tickets run $7-$12, with free Monday nights, a sensory-friendly evening and a 21-and-older party among the extras.
— via Block Club Chicago, Janelle Mella
Nearly 90 percent of surveyed 44th Ward residents opposed the Cubs' plan to grow the Camry Lot to 947 spaces, and the alderman just killed it. Traffic and pedestrian safety worries drove the rejection, but the team says the parking fight isn't over.
— via Block Club Chicago, Patrick Filbin
Five Holy Martyrs still keeps the 1979 altar cloth, a hand-carved papal throne and a crowd's memory of 17,000 people in its parking lot. Nearly half a century later, parishioners gathered again for the 47th annual Mass marking John Paul II's one Chicago visit.
— via Block Club Chicago, Joanna Marszałek
A woman caring alone for her mother and aunt watched the aunt's own son and grandchildren show up only for hospital emergencies, not daily care. One granddaughter asked to visit two weeks before the end; the schedule never worked out, and her aunt died first.
— via The Triibe, Tiffany Walden
A Hyde Park wall now carries sculptor Richard Hunt's face, three years after his death and after organizers scouted 50 South Side buildings before landing on E. 54th Street. The $30,000 mural, built on a tight fall deadline, replaces an earlier tribute to a comic shop owner.
— via Block Club Chicago, Jamie Nesbitt Golden
Chicago's mosquitoes aren't taking the fall off. A rain-soaked summer, 3.32 inches above average, has daytime-biting Asian Tiger mosquitoes still swarming into October, though an expert says cooler temperatures should finally trigger their hibernation soon.
— via Block Club Chicago, Rory Quealy
Five Chicago friends, now in their 70s and 80s, have run together every weekend for three decades and logged 170 marathons between them. On Sunday they lace up for their last one as a group, running for charity and stopping in churches along the way as always.
— via Block Club Chicago, Jim Lynch
Free blood pressure checks, cardiac ultrasounds and a 250-person free lunch headline Block Club Chicago's Nov. 7 health fest in Chatham, with more than 25 partners and a Guinness world-record runner leading the morning walk. Registration is free but organizers want you to sign up in advance.
— via Block Club Chicago, Christine Schmidt
A judge cleared Roberto Almodovar of murder in 2017. Eight years, a $17 million settlement and endless rejections later, he's still fighting to get the case off his record, exposing a gap Illinois' new Clean Slate Act won't fully close until 2029.
— via Block Club Chicago, Kade Heather
Anonymous "missing person" flyers accuse State Rep. Hoan Huynh of ghosting constituents since March. He says he closed his district office after threats following a viral ICE confrontation, and now meets people by appointment at a WeWork instead.
— via Block Club Chicago, Madison Savedra
A 7-year-old girl stabbed to death on a Chatham sidewalk while walking with her sister. Court records show her accused killer had threatened a store clerk minutes earlier, carried multiple knives and had an outstanding warrant for skipping court on a prior assault case.
— via Block Club Chicago, Charles Thrush
Twenty years after selling caramels from a jar for a quarter, Katherine Duncan runs a 15-person chocolate operation in Irving Park. She's marking the anniversary with a 54-piece box built with local chefs, a customer-designed truffle and two public celebrations this October.
— via Block Club Chicago, Molly DeVore
Fourteen years after Chicago demolished LeClaire Courts, crews break ground this month on a $127 million first phase: 183 apartments, half reserved for voucher holders. The site stalled for years amid the pandemic and rising rates; developers still envision nearly 700 units total across 32 acres.
— via Block Club Chicago, Rory Quealy
Mayor Brandon Johnson lip-syncs and makes avocado toast for influencers with a combined 400,000 Instagram followers, nearly ten times his own account's reach. His campaign pays some creators, keeps a "fake" TikTok to track the competition, and rivals Giannoulias and Mendoza are scrambling to hire their own.
— via Block Club Chicago, Melody Mercado and Quinn Myers
A viral Instagram reel of creators dancing with Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his reelection bid before he did. Now Chicago's progressive influencers, some with six-figure followings, are weighing free access against paid gigs, and at least one turned down a campaign stipend to protect her credibility.
— via Block Club Chicago, Melody Mercado
Say "tavern-style" in the wrong Chicago pizza forum and you're banned for life. A 172,000-member Facebook group has built an entire identity around policing the term, and the fight over who actually invented it goes back to a disputed 1987 classified ad.
— via Block Club Chicago, John Carruthers
Chicago Fashion Week returns with 88 events across 10 days, up from 61 last year and 52 at its 2024 launch. Unlike New York or Paris, the lineup mixes luxury labels with vintage shops and local designers, aimed squarely at everyday shoppers, not just buyers and influencers.
— via Block Club Chicago, Leen Yassine
