Our analyses come from computing on public records, and the records keep contradicting what people assume about this city. Here is a friendly test. Eight questions, each drawn from a published KCM analysis; each answer is correct as computed there, under the time windows, definitions, and exclusions stated on that page. Guess first, then see what the data says and where we showed the work. No timer, no email gate, no tricks.
Where the answers come from
Each question is answered in one of these analyses, computed from public records with methods, exclusions, and pull dates stated on the page:
- The L’s Best Year Was 2015, Not 2019 and the station-level recovery ranking
- Where Cook County movers actually go (IRS data)
- The 311 rat ledger
- Illinois’s three straight years of population growth
- The speed-camera leaderboard
- The northwest suburbs reference
If a question surprised you, the linked piece shows the work behind the answer and what it means for living here. We’ll rotate in new questions as new analyses publish.