City Cast Chicago
🐻 Bear down, Chicago!
December 29, 2025 · — Emmi Mack
Hey Chicago! There are just a couple days left to vote in the Reader’s Best of Chicago awards. This newsletter and our daily podcast are both nominated. So is the Onion, Gov. JB Pritzker, the Irish Heritage Center, and the literal Bean. It’s a varied list — cast your votes now!
What Chicago's Talking About
Bears Win NFC North!
Despite losing Sunday to the 49ers, the Bears are NFC North champions. (Seriously, thank the Packers for losing on Saturday.) This marks Chicago's first division title since 2018. And we're still in the running for the No. 2 playoff seed 🤞 [Sun-Times]
The Plan for Transformation 25 Years on
The year 2025 marked 25 years since former Mayor Richard M. Daley unveiled the Plan for Transformation. The decade-long initiative demolished Chicago’s public high-rises, overhauled the city's public housing system — and displaced thousands of Chicagoans. Author Natalie Moore and investigative reporter Mick Dumke joined City Cast Chicago to discuss its impact on Chicago’s ongoing housing crisis. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]
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What To Do
Monday, Dec. 29
- 📽️ Off Center: Kuchar Xmas | Gene Siskel Film Center | Loop
- ⛸️ Breaking it Down - Leaps and Turns at McFetridge | McFetridge Sports Center | West Ridge
- 🎵 Promontory CODA | The Promontory | Hyde Park
- 🏀 Bulls vs. Timberwolves | United Center | Near West Side
- 💿 Industry Night w/ Round Trip Records DJs | Sleeping Village | Avondale
- 💻 Open Lab in the Teen Zone | Edgebrook Branch
Tuesday, Dec. 30
- 🛍️ Free Day + Pop-Up Market | Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum | Evanston
- 🤟 Deaf & Hard of Hearing Winter Break Extravaganza | Horner Park | Irving Park
- 🎶 Touchdown | The Whistler | Logan Square
- ❄️ Storytime Adventure: Tracks in the Snow | Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum | Lincoln Park
- 🎶 Sextile | Empty Bottle | Ukrainian Village
- 🛥️ Eve of the Eve Lake Cocktail Cruise | Anita Dee | Temporarily located at Burnham Harbor
- 🎶 STS9 | Ramova Theatre | Bridgeport
Time to start planning your NYE fireworks viewing! Here’s where to watch for free 👀
Free · Daily