Cemetery Bound
One writer's Memorial Day quest to discover his ancestors—and their final resting place.
One Woman’s Quest to Defy the Odds of Addiction
Jenny Justice’s daughter died of a drug overdose in 2020. The Illinois mother wants to help others avoid the same fate.
Snapshots of the Addiction Crisis in Illinois
Documenting one family's experience.
My American Windows
"I didn’t know it then, but I needed those windows...that wall of blue between my heart and the world."
Listening to America with Studs Terkel
The Studs Terkel Radio Archive provides an entry point into his wide-ranging and influential work.
The Growing Fight Over a Trash Station in West Chicago
Concerns over transparency and environmental racism are fueling backlash in majority Latino West Chicago.
America’s Largest Inland Port is Running Out of Water
The proposed solution — a thirty-one-mile-long pipeline draining Lake Michigan — is dividing residents of Joliet, Illinois.
The Englewood Line–Not Just the Anti-606
The elevated rails-to-trails project will bring green space to Chicago's South Side.
Chicago Public Schools Students on Why They Walked Out
In January, students protested in support of COVID safety and student representation.
Belt’s Top Stories of 2021
Ten pieces our readers kept coming back to.
The Reinvention of Vogue Fabrics
The Evanston, Illinois-based fabrics giant is closing its flagship retail location, marking the end of an era (but not the company).
A Public Art Project Tackles Unceded Land in Chicago
'Whose Lakefront' marks the Indigenous history of the Lake Michigan coast.