Category Living Here

Where to eat, what to do, and what’s worth the trip across Chicago and the suburbs. Recommendations here are editorial picks; nobody pays for placement.

Chicago’s Library Calendar Lists 4,875 Sessions Through Next July — but 96.5 Percent of Them Happen Before January, and Only One in Eight Starts at 6 P.M. or Later

A bright children's reading room with small chairs in a circle

The Chicago Public Library’s forward calendar, read whole: 4,875 scheduled sessions at 106 location labels, 96.5 percent of them before January. Three in four are one date of a repeating series, seven in ten need no registration, 78.5 percent start before 5 p.m. - and so do seven in ten sessions labeled for adults alone. English is the only language listed on 89.5 percent; Spanish appears on 497.

The City’s Permit File Says Chicago Restored Its Department of Environment on May 1, 2026 — and Lists Public Health on All 591 Permits Issued Since

A barge on a river passing brick warehouses on a clear bright day

Chicago’s environmental permits file, read whole: its description says the Department of Environment was fully restored May 1, 2026, yet all 591 permits issued from May 1 to September 14 carry the Department of Public Health as the collecting department. The count for that window is the most since 2021 and a third of 2010’s; yearly permits fell from 4,048 in 2012 to about 1,100.

What Does the Chicago Park District Offer This Fall? Its Activity File Lists 6,977 Programs Starting September Through November — 1,836 of Them Free, Including 647 of 659 for Seniors

An empty basketball court beside a brick park field house in early autumn

The Chicago Park District’s own activity file, read whole: 6,977 programs starting September 1 through November 30, 2026, under 251 facility labels, 1,836 of them listed at $0 and the paid ones at a median of $25. 647 of 659 senior programs are free; 46 of 1,605 early-childhood programs are; no skating program is.

Chicago’s ADU Expansion, in Applications: 215 in April 2026 Alone — More Than the City’s Old File Logged in Any Year From 2022 to 2025

A brick coach house behind a two-flat, seen across a small backyard

Chicago’s ADU preapproval applications, before and after the 2026 expansion: the city’s new file logged 495 from March 31 to September 14, 215 in April alone - more than the retired file recorded in any year from 2022 to 2025 - from 42 wards, 17 of them new to the record, with 90.1 percent pre-certified at a median of 9.3 days. No names or addresses read.

Where Does Chicago’s TIF Money Go? The City’s TIF Vendor List Totals $3.58 Billion Over Nine Report Years, and Its Biggest Vendor Is the CTA

An elevated train station under construction with a train passing under a blue sky

The city’s list of TIF vendors paid in excess of $10,000, read whole across report years 2017-2025: $3.58 billion, with the Chicago Transit Authority the largest vendor at $510.8 million. The file labels 44.9 percent of the money Public Improvement; ten vendors drew 53.1 percent; a line named City Staff Costs appears on 118 district labels; and since 2022 the list has carried more money on fewer rows each year.

Is Lake Michigan Warmer Than the Air? Chicago’s Paired Beach Sensors Recorded the Water Warmer on About One Matched Hour in Three

A weather station mast on a sunny beach beside a sparkling blue lake

The Park District's beach weather stations and water sensors, paired hour by hour: four water sensors within 1,281 meters of an air station read warmer on 30.9 to 33.9 percent of matched hours, and no month cleared half. In the largest pairing, the exception has a direction: when the Oak Street station's wind direction read 0 to 90 degrees at 2 m/s or more, the Ohio Street sensor read warmer on 79.3 percent. Associations only; no swimming claim.

Chicago’s Top 10 Parks, Ranked by Variety: Lincoln Lists 36 Kinds of Facilities and the Top Ten Is a Clean Cut — per the Portal’s Newest Inventory, Stamped 2016

A broad city park lawn with mature trees and a lagoon edge

Top is not a column in any city file - but variety is countable. The Park District's facilities layer (4,467 records, 562 park labels, 75 types, stamped November 2016 - the portal's newest) ranks a clean top ten by distinct facility kinds, Lincoln first with 36. Plus the eight one-of-a-kind facilities: a carousel, a band shell, a model yacht basin. Labels as filed; no park judged.

‘Cocktail Bar’ Is Not a License Class in Chicago. No Tavern-Licensed Establishment Holds All Five Bar-Experience Permissions — and the Five Holding Four All Lack the Same One: Music and Dance

Framed permits on a wall behind a quiet wooden bar counter

Cocktail bar is not a class in Chicago's license file, so this page ranks by what the file does classify: five on-premises permission classes. Of 754 establishments holding Tavern, none holds all five; five hold four, all missing Music and Dance; exactly nine hold the late-dancing trio, every earliest Tavern row reaching early 2002. Late Hour concentrates on six streets. Permissions counted, no venue judged.

Five Bars by Soldier Field, by the Record: the Closest Establishments Holding Active Tavern Licenses — and the Nearest Queried Liquor License Is Filed at the Stadium’s Own Address

A quiet bar interior with a stadium visible far down the street

The five-best-bars-by-Soldier-Field question, answered from the city license file: the five closest establishments holding active Tavern-class licenses (Buttercup at 814 straight-line meters to Bassline at 1,405), an inner ring of museum and harbor licenses before any of them, zero Late Hour licenses in the circle - and the nearest queried license filed at the stadium's own address. Dates as filed, distances ours, no venue judged.

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