James Allen still has two murder cases keeping him in prison.
Author Archives: Maya Dukmasova
Posted inFood & Drink
Devon Market? Divine market!
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine . . . they have nine different types of feta. Yeah. It’s a place called Devon Market.” The tall, white, American man drifted in front of the deli counter. If his euphoric expression and phone conversation hadn’t given him away as a first-timer, his massive, empty […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Reasonable doubt
James Allen is serving three life sentences for murder. No one ever said he killed anyone.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
A note on this week’s cover story
Journalists have historically amplified the state’s bizarre stories about Allen—it feels like high time to take stock of his stories about the state.
Posted inNews & Politics
Politics of fear: Are youth really to blame for the carjacking spike?
Cops say masked teens with a thirst for violence and joyrides are terrorizing the city. An examination of arrests reveals a narrative built on shoddy data and anecdotal evidence.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
A note on this week’s cover story
When I was seven I broke into a house with some older kids one summer. This was in Russia in the 90s, as the society around us was collapsing. The fall of the Soviet Union and the descent of the country into sudden, unregulated capitalism yielded the rapid development of inequality. Seemingly overnight a place […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Bail abolition is just the tip of the iceberg
A deep dive into Illinois’s sweeping new criminal justice reform law
Posted inBest of Chicago
The highs and lows of CTA-less living
The commute is time stolen by the constraints of modern urban capitalism that we’re forced to borrow back only to kill.
Posted inNews & Politics
‘He’s a real one’
Chuy Garcia’s first term in Congress earns progressive accolades, honorary Squad membership
Posted inNews & Politics
Predatory lenders want Pritzker to veto a limit on triple digit interest rates
State legislature targets usury “to get to the heart of systemic racism”
Posted inArts & Culture
Attain nirvana by turning off your ceiling light
Moving away from harsh lighting reduces anxiety and improves coziness.
Posted inNews & Politics
Eviction court judge slams moratorium as ‘utter idiocy.’ It’s not on the record.
Cook County let eviction court go unrecorded for six months.
Posted inNews & Politics
Corporate culture at Chicago’s top evictor is ‘an absolute caste system’
Current and former employees of Pangea describe racism, segregation, and a “toxic” workplace.
Posted inNews & Politics
Lightfoot turns city’s infrastructure into weapons against protesters
When election and racial justice protests rocked Chicago, the mayor used raised bridges and shut down public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers.