Curious City

<p>Here’s a peek at what goes on inside some of these “mystery buildings” and how their architectural disguises have evolved over the decades.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/VAZw8n-NAto" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We trace one synagogue’s migration, from the Maxwell Street neighborhood to North Lawndale to West Rogers Park.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/GdrVu7i0vj8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>More than 1,100 people had to move due to pollution. We follow two of them as they fight to find housing.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/S3sQLbp-olo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The city says the show generates millions of dollars in business. But some listeners wonder whether it’s worth the environmental costs. <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/u7tP0RmqeyM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We find out why downtown became the go-to destination for Chicago’s tallest buildings, and whether that might change in the future. </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/hL_z5prwWJY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Lots of famous comedians got their start in Chicago. Actor and improviser T.J. Jagodowski talks with Jimmy Carrane about why that’s the case. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/F8C1JcGjFw0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Chicago has the nation's most extensive network of lead service lines, but city officials say drinking water is safe. <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/6iMMeQmbPF8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p></p><p style="">In this live podcast episode, two actors playing New York and Chicago duke it out over who will host the coveted 1893 World’s Fair. </p><p><br></p><p></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/pwK77hM5cD8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>One Chicagoan wonders why Chicago beaches ban things like rafts and boogie boards. But experts say there's good reason to leave them at home. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/h2cCyzXOyo4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Chicago is home to an estimated 2,000 coyotes. To learn how they survive, Curious City joined researchers as they tracked down pups.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/ex82W87lh70" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Long hours, fatigue, and boredom can be hazards of the job. But former rail operators say there’s a lot to love about driving an 'L' train.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/OxBdbnrqnug" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>When pollution invaded Ezell Foster’s East Chicago neighborhood, he found himself stuck between industry and a bureaucracy.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/JtK4d4wIcJI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We curate an episode from WPLN’s podcast, ‘The Promise,’ a series about life in the James Cayce Homes, a public housing complex in Nashville.<!--EndFragment--><br><br><!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/vNzyoyeaaBg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We curate an episode of the WBEZ podcast, Nerdette, featuring an interview with comedian John Hodgman and the very Chicago story of Malört.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/655RvNkkZNA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>As lawmakers move to require additional training for police in Illinois schools, five young people weigh in on whether it will make a difference.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/WE_FyreLd7I" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Do LED lights cause cancer? Can they really reduce crime? One kid is so concerned about LED streetlights that he called Mayor Rahm Emanuel. <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/5Fc4RXBXjQg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Lots of Mexican bakeries can be found near one another in neighborhoods like Pilsen. So how do they stay in business? <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/VEvTeKboGg4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><b></b></p> <p><i>Editor’s Note: This story was first published in 2018.</i></p><p>On a warm September night, a gunman walked into a West Side restaurant, greeted the manager, and shot him three times. Hours after the murder, Chicago cops were still trying to figure out if the shooting was gang-related, the <i>Chicago Tribune</i> reported.</p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This may sound a lot like Chicago in 2018. But the murder actually happened in 1936. The alleged gangs were Chinese </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">—</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and the killer was after my family.</span><br></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s one of the reasons I recently took on a <i>C</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>urious City</i> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">question about the history of Chicago’s Chinese gangs </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">— </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">also called tongs. The questioner didn’t leave their name, but they wanted to know how these powerful gangs got started, what they did, and what happened to them.</span><br></p> <p><span>I wanted to know the answers to these questions to help me finally understand why my family members were targeted for murder back in 1936. But as I dug into the history of Chicago’s Chinese gangs, I realized that my family’s story offers insight into the social structure and unwritten rules that defined Chicago’s Chinese-American community during much of the 20th century.</span></p> <!--wbez-email-capture--> <h3><span>How did these Chinese gangs get started in Chicago?</span></h3> <p>It turns out that the tongs my family got caught up with in Chicago actually originated as secret societies in China. They were divided into two main factions: the On Leong and the Hip Sing. These rival gangs first arrived in the U.S. in the 1860s with Chinese railroad workers. They operated in cities from San Francisco to Chicago to New York, and in just about any town with a large Chinese population.</p> <p><span>Part of their role was to provide protection for members within Chinese immigrant communities. This protection was essential when low-wage Chinese workers came under attack for bringing down railway worker pay, says </span><span><i>Gangland Chicago</i></span><span> author Richard Lindberg.</span></p> <p><span>“As a means of self-protection, the Chinese community organized extensions of the tongs of Imperial China here,” he says. “And then they divided along traditional tong lines of the Hip Sing and the On Leong, which were the principal rivals of 17th-century China.”</span></p> <p><span>In his book, Lindberg writes extensively about the operations of Italian and Irish gangs, but says he found much less open information on Chinese gangs.</span></p> <p><span>“Asian crime in Chicago is not well-documented simply because it was conducted under the veil of secrecy for most of its history,” Lindberg says.</span></p> <p><span>Historian Huping Ling offers one of the few detailed accounts of Chicago tongs in her book, </span><span><i>Chinese Chicago: Race, Transnational Migration, and Community Since 1870</i></span><span>. She describes On Leong as a  “self reliant, quasi-legal and social organization of Chinese immigrants.” Ling says Chinese immigrants relied on organizations like On Leong and Hip Sing because they “received little protection from the homeland government or the host country authorities.”</span></p> <figure class="wbz-image"> <img src="https://cdn.wbez.org/image/26750330d2f65d2ecd386c53276704fe"> <figcaption class="c-caption"> The On Leong Merchants Association Building on Wentworth Avenue in Chicago’s Chinatown was once the organization’s headquarters. (Today, the building is a community center.) On Leong was one of two rival Chinese gangs that first arrived in the U.S. in the late 1800s. <span class="c-caption_credit">Courtesy of Chicago Daily News negatives collection and Chicago History Museum</span> </figcaption> </figure> <h3 style="">Not just crime, but also social services</h3> <p style="">While these gangs were most closely associated with crime, Ling points out they also operated as social service agencies in the Chinese community. Among other things, they helped with translation, education, burials, business licenses, and immigrant resettlement. They also served as de-facto courts, resolving a wide range

<p style="">Looking around Chicago today, you won’t find many stink balls or cannons—but did you know the city has ordinances regulating both? When these laws were first passed more than a century ago, aldermen may have believed they posed a real threat. But today, these old laws don’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.</p> <p style="">Logan Square resident Ty McCarthy was wondering whether Chicago had any outdated laws on the books. So he asked <i>Curious City</i>:</p> <p style=""><i style="font-family: inherit;">What are some of Chicago’s oldest and weirdest laws?</i></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family: inherit;">To find some weird laws, we pored over Chicago’s municipal code—</span><a href="http://www.amlegal.com/codes/client/chicago_il/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit;">which anyone can search online</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">—and pinpointed several ordinances that were passed more than 50 years ago.</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/odd-chicago-laws/" target="">Click here to view our special presentation</a> featuring nine of Chicago’s most obscure laws.</span></p> <div id="hgcj4" class="curiosity-module" data-pym-src="//modules.wearehearken.com/wbez/curiosity_modules/72"></div> <p><script src="//assets.wearehearken.com/production/thirdparty/p.m.js"></script></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/r613NX9A9SE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>From a statue honoring police to a tribute to Confederate prisoners, these monuments have raised debate over how history is represented.<!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/funDjtyrCgY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A <i>Curious City</i> fan asked us about an odd detail on an old Chicago map. Was it really a Native American burial mound?<!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/_eNG7YbNe9Y" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><span>How a Chicago-area family turned cheap plastic souvenirs into a nostalgia empire.</span><!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/rJU65Jq168M" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p></p><p style="">The light near Chicago Avenue causes mile-long backups. City officials are proposing a solution, but you might be in traffic for a while. </p><p><br></p><p></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/UdALR1vI0Ns" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Robert K. Elder would love to decorate the walls in his living room with original paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago. So he was floored when a friend told him that her mom rented two pieces of artwork back in the day. <span style="font-family: inherit;">This was hard for Robert to imagine. Like, what would that even look like? Someone strolling onto Michigan Avenue with a rented Monet stuck in his or her backpack? <i>Curious City </i>looked into whether this story has any truth to it. </span></p><!--EndFragment--><p><br></p><p><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/63v1zPvW64g" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Beach weather one day and freezing rain the next: Chicago weather can be unpredictable, but how do we compare to other cities?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/NHwAceKyVCM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><a href="http://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/pizza/" target="">You asked about square slices, where the pepperoni goes, and the origins of the pizza puff. We dish it deep on nine questions you kneaded to know. </a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/cLVEc0TbtmA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Former patients recall the tests, treatments, and trauma nearly 250,000 Chicagoans experienced over the sanitarium's near 60-year-long existence. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Cwy5SlflI18" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>More public elementary schools were built in the 1920s than in any other era. Their design reflected new ideas about child development and health. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/HCv4GMYUEVE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/not-in-your-front-yard-why-for-sale-signs-are-banned-in-oak-park/5d93f1e7-8540-495c-bbca-6bc7a4430702">The village insists a decades-old rule to fight blockbusting</a><span><span> </span>continues to protect a precious suburban commodity: diversity.</span><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/thKIVFvgCgk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>For more than 20 years, researchers have tracked how often Americans defend themselves with a gun. So why can’t they agree on an answer?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/YXElC6wFePk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A family, a dog owner and tenants of a men's hotel explain why the Loop offers a sense of community amid the hustle and bustle.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/ZSwHvIlt21E" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Eight improvisers who got their start in Chicago explain what draws so many aspiring funny people to the city’s improv scene.<!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/rQ5vnWvGQYI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><b></b></p><p>Do the animals go somewhere warm, like Florida? Does the zoo give them coats? We took a behind-the-scene tour of the zoo to find out. </p><!--EndFragment--><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/21QXSE_SrME" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Statues of historic men can be found throughout Chicago’s parks and plazas. But one Curious Citizen wonders, "Where are all the women?"</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/9eF4dRjLZ88" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Tearing down an old home can release dust containing asbestos or lead. Curious City found that Chicago rarely enforces laws meant to minimize contaminant exposure.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/jEwsuSW6HI4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Answers to listeners' questions about the mysterious side of Chicago that lies beyond the soaring skyscrapers and the sheen of the Bean.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/GyJZJJpyZDg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The City of Chicago employs 20 full-time blacksmiths. But what do they do? And what's with the ancient job title?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/dUMs3Igjd_E" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A 2015 Senate investigation found that the DOD did in fact pay college sports teams to stage patriotic tributes at games. Curious City finds out whether they still do.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Z3pMuhK1F04" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Some wards vote on how to spend some taxpayer money. Does it help spread the wealth or is it just a feel-good exercise?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/foKehMadJr4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><span>It took decades for Chicago's first and only female mayor to land an official honor from City Council. Is there a reason it took so long?</span><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/1i88IcleH_U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Curious City finds out where your poop goes by taking a journey through the Chicago-area sewer system.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Fy5Yr3veNQo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The recorder often inflicts squeaky torture on parents. Music teacher Valerie DePriest explains why it became a staple in music education. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/1HDuSLWsz6U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Names like Marquette and Joliet are cited in history books. But it was Native Americans who first set Chicago on a path to develop into a major metropolis.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/78S862jmQoc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>From Chicago Heights to Mount Prospect, here's why Chicago suburb names flat out lie about their elevation.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/X8qzUqlw58k" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The listings are there — just in Chinese. Is this a form of discrimination, or a way to preserve a neighborhood's character?<!--EndFragment--><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/p7KqgprtWwo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The answer has to do with shifting ideas about bikes and the proper way to mourn the dead. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/RpHcfUlxxUI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The good news is Chicago probably won’t be hit by hurricanes and earthquakes. But the area is becoming more vulnerable to other disasters. <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/TUsOB8o3f8Q" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Chicago area Muslim leaders weigh in, and they open up about what divides and unites the community.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/neAKyuFdYW4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Architect Dwight Perkins' ambitious plan to save Chicago's natural landscapes raised a question: Which kinds of nature deserve to be preserved? <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/eaw2sluSXF8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The brainchild of a 22-year-old executive, the White Sox look hit a home run with fans and, half a century later, rappers. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/8l6zIk1n5DM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>