City Cast Chicago
🤔 What if Grant Park extended to the lakefront?
August 1, 2025 · — Emmi Mack
Hey Chicago … Did you know the company making billions running immigrant tent detention facilities cut its teeth doing set-up for Lollapalooza?
Sorry to bring that up. I hope you have a good Lolla weekend no matter how you celebrate, and maybe I’ll see you at Olivia Rodrigo. (I’m looking for a loose wristband on loan.) Although we should probably all limit our time outside — Chicago's air quality is dismal.
For now, focus on your daily news and weekly quiz 👇
What Chicago's Talking About
Bad Flooding and Affordable Housing Red Tape Southwest siders are still dealing with serious floods after heavy rainfall. Unfortunately, it comes at a precarious time for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Block Club Chicago’s Jamie Nesbitt Golden and Borderless Magazine’s Aydali Campa discuss the latest on today’s podcast, as well as the high costs of building affordable housing. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]
Longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis Won't Seek Reelection
Democratic U.S. Rep. Danny Davis is retiring after 15 terms in Congress. The 83-year-old has represented Illinois’ 7th District since 1997. Announcing outside his West Side office Friday, Davis endorsed state Rep. La Shawn Ford to succeed him. [Sun-Times]
- Related: Two other high-profile Democrats are also retiring. [Hey Chicago 💻]
What if Chicago Extends Grant Park to the Lakefront?
A new improvement plan by the Chicago Park District calls for extending Grant Park to the lakefront, which would mean routing DuSable Lake Shore Drive underground. Renderings were recently unveiled, though critics call it a “pipe dream.” [Block Club]
This Week’s Must-Read
WTTW’s Geoffrey Baer is not gatekeeping Chicago’s most beautiful spots. Now, this nifty map can help you put together a self-guided tour. Some gems include prairie-style twin high schools, Bowen and Schurz, and the map itself, which features more than 30 smiling Baer heads. [WTTW]
- Related: Are these the most beautiful places in Chicago? [City Cast Chicago 🎧]
Take This Week's News Quiz
It’s Friday! But before you can get your weekend started, you gotta do your homework. Quiz time!
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What To Do
Friday, Aug. 1
- 🎶 Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience | Ravinia | Highland Park
- 🎵 Lollapalooza | Grant Park
- 🇺🇸 “Captain America: Brave New World” | Cooper Park | West Pullman
- 🪴 Sip & Paint & Plant | Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center | North Lawndale
- ⚔️ “The Princess Bride” | Lincoln Park
- 🖼️ Athena Fund Exhibitions | Arc Gallery | Noble Square
- 🧙🏽 “Wicked” | Mann Park | Hegewisch
- 🎨 Open Paint Night | Studio15 Art Gallery | Aurburn Gresham
- 🎭 “Love’s Labour’s Lost” | Touhy Park | Rogers Park
- 🖼️ Renee Robbins: WUNDERKAMMER | Epiphany Center for the Arts | Near West Side
- 💀 "The Silence of the Lambs" | Rooftop Cinema Club | West Loop
- 🎶 Mark Ambor | Lincoln Hall | Lincoln Park
- 🏀 Sky vs. Valkyries | Wintrust Arena | McCormick Square
- 🌸 Bring Summer Home | Armour Square Park | Bridgeport
- 🔥 Fired Up Fridays | Ignite Glass Studios | West Town
Saturday, Aug. 2
- ☂️ “Mary Poppins” | Belmont Harbor | Lakeview
- 🎨 North Lawndale Arts Festival | Douglass Park Cultural Community Center
- 🖼️ Dmitry Samarov: Public Domain | Rainbo Club | West Town
- 🎥 “Mahogany” | DuSable Museum | Washington Park
- 🎵 Lollapalooza | Grant Park
- ⬆️ Rise Up for the Turn Up: Community Festival | Garfield Park
- 🗑️ Neighborhood Trash Cleanup | Ping Tom Park | Bridgeport
- 🖌️ The Learning Studio: Workshop with Artist Victoria Martinez | DePaul Art Museum | Lincoln Park
- 🌪️ “Twisters” | Wrightwood Park | Lincoln Park
- 🦜 Guided Exhibition Tour: "Winging It" | Newberry Library | Near North Side
- 🎭 “Love’s Labour’s Lost” | Touhy Park | Rogers Park
- 🖼️ Christine Shallenberg and Aurora Tabar: Tending to the M{other} | Roman Susan | Rogers Park
- 🪻 “The Color Purple” | The Goodman Theatre | Loop
- 🎉 Englewood Stomp the Yard | 63rd Street and Halsted Street
- 🌳 South Side Sisters, Sounds, and Stories | Kennicott (Jonathan) Park | Kenwood
- ✝️ Chi Pope: The Musical! | Harold Washington Cultural Center | Grand Boulevard
- 🎸 Mollapalooza | Uncommon Ground | Lakeview
- 🍽️ Summer Time Dine: 5 Course Dinner | The Plant | Back of the Yards
- ⭐️ A Star is Aborted | The Newport Theater | Northalsted
- 🎶 Foster the People | Metro | Wrigleyville
- 💃🏻 Morgan Park Roots Festival | Ada Park
- 🎥 Third Space Film Fest | Facets | Lincoln Park
- 💨 Up in Smoke | Americanos | Beverly
Sunday, Aug. 3
- 🏡 Pike House Fest | Pike House | Beverly
- 🌍 "Earth" | Music Box Theatre | Southport Corridor
- 🎵 Lollapalooza | Grant Park
- 🌳 Humboldt Park Arboreal Society (DJs) | Noon to Sundown | Humboldt Park
- 🍾 Muffins & Mimosas | Rooftop Cinema Club | West Loop
- 🍃 Deep Roots Garden Walk | 323 S. East Ave. | Oak Park
- ⚾️ Cubs vs. Orioles + bobblehead giveaway | Wrigley Field
- 🍕 B-EATS X Virgin Hotel Chicago X Lollapalooza | Virgin Hotel | Loop
- 🥂 Lollapalooza Bingo Brunch | Barrio | River North
- 🎭 “Love’s Labour’s Lost” | Touhy Park | Rogers Park
- 🔧 “Infinite Wrench” | The Neo-Futururist Theater | Andersonville
- 🎤 The Bi Wives Club: A Comedy Showcase | Dorothy | Humboldt Park
- 📣 OPTION: Lula Asplund | Experimental Sound Studio | Ravenswood
- 👠 The Fashion Foundry Pop-Up | 1859 N. Talman Ave. | Logan Square
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It’s Wing Week: Deals, Sauce, + Malört BBQ?
Wing Week is taking over Woodie’s, Hopsmith, + all three Fatpour locations with deals on wings, eating contests, rotating sauces like Woodie’s award-winning Sriracha Soy, Garlic Parmesan, and even… an unhinged Malört BBQ sauce. Celebrate National Chicken Wing Day (7/29) the only way we know how: all damn week.
Spotted this week: Swimmers along North Avenue, leaping into cannonballs in their underwear. While I observed, a Divvy biker spontaneously stopped to join them. He said he was a researcher at the University of Chicago blowing off steam before a big presentation.
Here’s to beating the heat!
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