City Cast Chicago
🍽️ What AI is cooking up in Chicago
January 11, 2024
What’s worse: freezing temperatures or a foot of snow? Lucky us, we don’t have to choose — both are in the forecast in the next week.
What's CITY Talking About?
In Casino News …
Bally’s temporary casino fell $9.7 million short of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s projected city revenue. Bally’s is also running bus shuttles from Uptown’s Asia on Argyle and Chinatown to the River North casino. [Sun-Times; Block Club]
Semicolon to Close River West Bookstore
The popular bookstore will reopen in East Garfield Park by late summer. Owner Danielle Mullen and her wife Kimberly Moore are adding a bar and restaurant to the store, creating a menu that pairs with the books. [Block Club]
- Plus, keep your eyes peeled for upcoming books with Chicago connections. [Hey Chicago 🎧]
Blackhawks Rookie Star Out 6–8 Weeks
Connor Bedard will be sitting on the sidelines over the next few months while he recovers from jaw surgery, the Blackhawks announced. [CHGO Sports]
MLK’s Chicago Legacy
Nearly 60 years ago this month, Martin Luther King Jr. moved to North Lawndale to raise awareness about dangerous living conditions, housing segregation, and discrimination faced by Black Chicagoans. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]
What To Do
Thursday, Jan. 11
- Senior Food Delivery Volunteer 🍏 Varies | 9 a.m. to Noon | Free
- Wonderverse ✨ Oak Brook | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Free entry
- Singo and Ready to Mingo 🫂 Wrigleyville | 7 p.m. | $10
Friday, Jan. 12
- “Mean Girls” Party Extravaganza 🩷 Lakeview East | 5:30 p.m. | $20
- “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” 🎭 Elmhurst | 7 p.m. | $5
- Hot Sauce Poetry 🌶️ Bronzeville | 10 p.m. | $15
- Fillet of Solo Fest Starts 🎭 Rogers Park | 7 p.m. | $12+
- Bulls Ring of Honor Game 🏀 Near West Side | 7 p.m. | $109+
Saturday, Jan. 13
- Brick Fest Live Starts 🧱 Tinley Park | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | $20+
- Travel & Adventure Show Returns ✈️ Rosemont | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | $13+
- Museum of Contemporary Art Family Day 🎨 Streeterville | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Pay What You Can
- Snowshoeing ❄️ Dan Ryan Woods | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Free
- Chicago Bacon Fest 🥓 Wrigleyville | Noon | $10+
- NA Day 🍸 West Loop | Noon to 5 p.m. | $25
- Brenetta Howell Barrett Display, Discussion 📓 Austin | 1–4 p.m. | Free
Today on City Cast
When Did MLK Live in North Lawndale?
Historian and author Tammy Gibson discusses Martin Luther King Jr.’s time in Chicago and the Chicago Freedom Movement’s legacy today.
[King] said that the hatred and the vitriol was way worse in the North than it was in the South.
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—Sidney Madden
Thanks to editor Simone Alicea!
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