For nearly two decades, the Illinois Lottery has been a pioneer in creating specialty lottery tickets dedicated to raising awareness and funding for specific causes that impact our local communities. In January 2024, the organization introduced their joint specialty ticket, the $200,000! Bingo Tripler Instant Ticket which will provide a portion of its funds to […] The post Help the Illinois Dream Fund provide scholarships to local students by playing the $200,000! Bingo Tripler! appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

Jon-Carlo Manzo grew up in Shorewood, an exurb just west of Joliet, but his tastes are thoroughly informed by Chicago. Since graduating from New York University in 2021, he’s entrenched himself in the Windy City’s indie-rock scene. In fall 2020, he began interning for indie label Fire Talk Records, which works with many Chicago acts—some […] The post Jon-Carlo Manzo, indie tastemaker appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

Dom Vallone got his first job making pizza at a Little Caesars in Wood Dale, Illinois. He didn’t last long. “I absolutely tossed dough against management’s wishes and dropped them on the floor many times,” he says. “Dough on the floor is ‘dough’ lost, so, naturally, I was fired.” Or maybe not. His memory’s fuzzy. […] The post Pizza Dom throws dough on the patio at the next Monday Night Foodball appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

Who was Mina Loy? You might know her as a poet and essayist, whose work, although difficult and seemingly without parentage, was admired by contemporaries such as Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, and Gertrude Stein. If you are a student of Dadaism you will have seen her name alongside those of her rowdy friends Marcel […] The post Mina Loy has finally arrived  appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

Content note: This story includes mentions of sexual assault and sexual harm. Many subjects in this story use pseudonyms to protect their privacy. The first appearance of each is denoted by an asterisk. Michael Johnston had a perfect life. A nearly 9,000-square-foot mansion in Roscoe Village. A wife and two beautiful children. A handful of […] The post Invasion of privacy appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

“I suppose it is easy to dismiss a young woman for forming and shaping her identity under the influence of books, of reading—and yet. That was what I had and it was everything.” Suzanne Scanlon is the poet laureate of young, artistically inclined women who feel too much and search for meaning in books. Decades […] The post ‘Reading saved me’ appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

This Record Store Day, which arrives on Saturday, April 20, Republic Records is doing its best to make sure you can buy a newly pressed record by Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan. Republic (part of Universal Music Group) has pressed 15,000 copies of Kahan’s second album, 2021’s I Was / I Am, which is not the LP […] The post The <i>Reader</i>’s Guide to Record Store Day 2024 appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

“From the river to sea, Palestine will be free!” “The people united will never be defeated!” “Fight back!” Boisterous chants fill the basement of Teamster City on April 13, where hundreds of people from more than a dozen states have assembled to plan a massive mobilization when Chicago takes the national stage later this summer. […] The post March on the DNC plans Chicago’s ‘largest mobilization for Palestine’ appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

The barbershop has long been a cornerstone institution for Black and Brown communities. It serves folks looking for fresh cuts, of course, but it’s ultimately a place where people gather and exchange information. This information can be as trivial as sports banter or as profound as the wisdom born of experience that older barbers give […] The post Ano Bank$ is a cornerstone for his people appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more

My first visit to Trap Door Theatre did not disappoint, from the hidden alley entrance to the immediate sense of time travel and disorientation upon entry. For the last show of its 30th anniversary season, the company is bringing back Nana by Olwen Wymark, first staged in 2002. Resident choreographer Miguel Long codirects with managing […] The post Demented bordello appeared first on Chicago Reader ..read more