Tag: Chicago

  • Chicago’s Disappearing Middle Class

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    President Obama has made a big deal recently about income inequality. The story in short is that the rich in the country are getting rich; the poor are getting poorer; and the people in the middle are fewer in number. Here in Chicago, this has meant that over the last few decades, many of the…

  • Speeding on Chicago’s Tollways

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    The Illinois Tollways will be raising speed limits starting 1 January. Part of that process includes researching current driving habits and patterns. This graphic by the Chicago Tribune looks at some of the results. While the map part is necessary to show the routes themselves and the limits on those routes, the more interesting part…

  • Rebuilding Chicago’s Red Line

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    For those of you who read this blog in Chicago know very well that the Red Line, Chicago’s busiest subway line, is undergoing major construction as the transit authority rebuilds much of the line. But what exactly does that entail? Earlier this year the Chicago Tribune looked at that and with a series of illustrations,…

  • The Cost of Chicago’s Gun Violence

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Today’s piece comes from Bloomberg and looks at the cost of Chicago’s gun violence epidemic. And when I write cost, I mean just that. While the lives lost are the most significant, Bloomberg’s article states that shootings cost Chicago $2.5 billion per year, or $2,500 per household. They supplemented their article with an infographic detailing…

  • Navigating the CTA

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Getting around Chicago can sometimes be difficult if you intend on taking public transit. So here is a map to aid you in your travels. Just watch out for the goombas and koopa troopas. Credit for the idea goes to David Delisle and for this updated version to Robert Bacon.

  • Historical Chicago Snowfall

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    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Snow should fall upon Chicago this afternoon and it may measure up to a few inches in depth. But much of this winter has been below average. And that is much the same from last year when snowfall did not even reach 20 inches. I went through NOAA data to look at the last decade…

  • Whence Chicago’s Guns Came

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    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    Chicago has crime problems. Specifically homicides and gun-related crimes. This is despite the fact that Chicago has some of the strictest gun regulations in the country. But over the last decade, the Chicago Police Department has collected nearly 50,000 guns (excluding buybacks and turn-ins) of which nearly half originated from outside the state. The map…