Hard truths from Chicago author Matt Rosenberg about making big cities viable again.

Latest Articles

Limousines, Taxicabs, And Airports

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
It’s the late 70s. I’m taking a time-out from college to work. I’ve earned my public chauffeur’s license and I’m driving for Plaza Limousine....
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Nick Katsafados, Second-Generation Immigrant Hustler

Business Matt Rosenberg -
I’m sitting in a restaurant on Milwaukee Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood talking with Nick Katsafados. It’s between Christmas and New Year of...
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For Steve Gates, Violence Prevention Is Personal

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
Steve Gates left for college at Jackson State in Mississippi sooner than he planned. He was on the run from gangbangers trying to track...
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The Ex-Alpha Squirrel: Boss Michael Madigan

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
I’m out for a stroll one perfect late afternoon in mid-November 2020 and end up at McKinley Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side. On the...
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Chicago Corruption Chronicles: The Trailer

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
The Ambassador East on the Gold Coast along North State Parkway was Swank Chicago. You might run into celebrity guests downstairs in the hotel’s...
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The Fix Was In: Chicago-Style Politics In Seattle

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
I wasn't expecting to land in Seattle. Really, I wasn't. I was a Chicago Boy. But I'd gotten into this odd profession. Defending the interests...
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Chicago Corruption Chronicles: Nick Lococo

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
A Mob bookie and loan shark who carried a hard wooden rod to help collect debts, Nick "The Stick" Lococo worked for the administration...
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The Moral Fiber of Hyde Park: We Tried, Anyway

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
Hyde Park and neighboring Kenwood had been no better than other Chicago neighborhoods in the early part of the 1900s. Like so many other...
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The Chicago Teachers Union Is Strangling Competition

Chicago Matt Rosenberg -
School closings are a political third rail in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel found out when he shut forty-nine of them in 2013. It was...
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