Best products from r/chicago

Imo, Chicago on the Make (2017) is the definitive history of 20th and 21st-century Chicago.

It's goal is to chart how urban policies promoted the income, class, and race divide in Chicago through segregation, political hegemony, activism-repression, neoliberalization, and political-economic policy. It's a the best politically oriented excavation of how this city became so stratified, and how there is one Chicago of professional services wealth concentrated in gleaming skyscrapers, and one of destitute urban deserts rife with violence and homelessness.

If you aren't yet sure about it, this Atlantic article is a great "preview" of some of the central topics.

My other recommendations, in order of best to "least good" (none of them were bad) are:

Chicago: A Biography

The Third Coast
-----(a beautiful ode to the city that doesn't hide the ugliness)

Boss
-----(utterly essential short read about Richard J. Daley, by Mike Royko himself)

The South Side
-----(necessary reading about life in the low-income parts of the city)

The Third City
-----(an incisive political analysis and a brisk read)

High-Risers
-----(emotionally captivating, a book you want to savor)

High Rise Stories
-----(narratives of life in the CHA)

Neoliberal Chicago -----(highly necessary political analysis)

Remaking Chicago
-----(I'd only recommend this one if you have a specific interest in land use policy and it's effect on jobs an industry, but a great explanation of why this city's problems arose)

Twenty-First Century Chicago
-----(a collection of short essays, a pulse on the city as it is today)

Mayor 1%
-----(a sharply critical look at the present Mayor)

The Plan of Chicago
-----(commentary on the original Plan, not the Plan itself)

Rust Belt Chicago
------(an interesting collection of creative writing about Chicagoland and its relation to the Rust Belt region, poems, short stories, essays)

Strike For America
-----(the 2012 CTU Teacher's strike, very short read)

Chicago is Not Broke
-----(a fairly leftist take on handling the city's finances)

You Were Never in Chicago
-----(a memoir by Sun Times journalist Neil Steinberg)

Beyond Burnham
-----(Just about the history of regional planning groups, I'd only recommend if you have a specific interest in it)

Have you looked into chicago specific baskets?

I'd say a lot of what makes Chicago 'Chicago' is food (much of which is perishable) and sports. If your friend is not much into sports - that leaves the weather, politics and the architecture.

A cheap enjoyable option of exploring Chicago is the box of 50 walks cards: http://www.amazon.com/City-Walks-Chicago-Adventures-Foot/dp/0811855589

If you're in Chicago - you could pick a few cards and your camera or smart-phone and take pictures of the walks and send them along with the cards. Or you could use TaskRabbit or Craigslist or somebody to take the pictures for you - or if you're crafty - maybe eve Google Street View.

If you're looking for items less than $10 each - you'll end up with a lot of trinket- type stuff you could get at a Walgreens - which personally I loathe. I'd get them a Lego replica of the Sears Tower (don't let them fool you - it's still Sears Tower) http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Willis-Tower-21000

I'm sure there are plenty of pics on this subreddit that you could print out and frame for them that display the beautiful splendor of this city. The giardiniera is a great idea and would easily fit within your budget of less than $10 per item. There are also tons of local hot sauces that would keep well when shipped.

If you're interested in having a basket or something together - let me know I'd be willing to help you out - or you can get something canned from:

http://www.beyondbaskets.com/

http://www.awesomecreations.com/gift-baskets/chicago-gift-baskets

Just a couple of options I found via the Google.

>So what you are saying is if i have a router that supports 802.11AC as well as a 16 channel modem i will experience no such bottleneck with connection?

I think most of the bottlenecks people in experience are due to one of those 2 factors. For example, in my apartment I can see 30+ other wifi networks but only 3 of them are on 5ghz (802.11N or 802.11AC.) That being said there are many different ways a bottleneck can occur on the public Internet most of them are beyond your control. What you can control is your cable modem and router.

>I do have a Netgear AC1750 Smart Wifi Router which does support 802.11AC. As far as the 16 channel modem, you said RCN supplies these now with the service?

The official line form RCN is they require you to rent their 3 in 1 gateway on their faster speed tiers. Unofficially many people are using their own (better) equipment. On paper the 3-1 gateway is a fine device but I found it to be sort of buggy. It also runs way hotter than I would prefer. I got sick of paying $7 / month for a buggy device. I switched to a SB6183 cable modem with Ubiquity AC pro access point both of which have been rock solid.

The specs on the netgear AC1750 seem awesome so I doubt you’ll have any issues with it. If you’re on a budget I pare it with a SB6183, you can find refurbs on ebay for around $60. If you want to through money at the situation get a SB6190. https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-SURFboard-SB6190-DOCSIS-Cable/dp/B016PE1X5K
Currently both devices will perform identical on RCN but it’s possible that the sb6190 will be better in the future as it supports up to 32 channels. Currently RCN deploys 16 channels in the Chicago area.

They won't teach the most, but for photography and history, check out these two books on the brilliant photographer Richard Nickel:

• They All Fall Down: Richard Nickel's Struggle to Save America's Architecture
  
• Photographs of a Lost City
  
  These are my most treasured sitting on the shelf, and convinced me more than anything else did to move here.
  
  His life story is really compelling. His wikipedia article is well worth a read.
  
  Edit: This photo is from They All Fall Down, showing him protesting the looming demolition of the Adler & Sullivan-designed Garrick Theater. Bummed WBEZ didn't include one of these two books on the list.

> We're not demolishing the Coliseum here.

I think this sort of attitude is the issue. We are one of the youngest nations on earth, and I think part of the problem is that we dont yet have a collective appreciation of what we actually HAVE contributed to the world at large. Parisians have a shared sense of the importance of how music, art, food, language, and architecture has shaped their country. And those things are cherished and held very deeply, so much so that its embedded into what it means to be a citizen there. In the united states, the sense is that something from 100 years ago is disposable rather than something to be respected. We havent turned that corner yet. Americans are fascinated with newness, which in part has fueled our growth, but on the flipside is also an incredibly wasteful way to approach life. The homes we are referring to were built often with old growth timber, custom millwork, built ins, superior brick, stained glass windows, crown molding, etc...and they were attainable to the working class. This will probably never be repeated again. Chicago bungalows, 2 flats, enormous brick warehouses, greystones, etc are something we can claim as ours, and ours alone.

So we might not have the Coliseum. But we've demolished the Coliseum many times over. The Stock Exchange lays in ruins. The great movie palaces are gone. Look through a book of the kinds of buildings that we've demolished in Chicago. Its on a scale that most ancient cities would consider unimaginable, outside of war zones.
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Chicago-David-Garrard-Lowe/dp/0226494322

We are in a constant cycle of trading down, and paying more for the privilege.

it's cold but not insanely cold yet. when polar vortex hits, then everyone that has ultra warm gloves will be laughing

i LOVE my ski mittens. so super warm

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FQR7823

It's old but Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis is great. Lots of old pictures, including pre-fire, and maps. It really helps you understand how Chicago was built.

I recommend the book The Mayors by the great Paul Green. If anyone had the pleasure of seeing Paul Green, he was the most entertaining Chicago political expert/historian we've had in a long time.

https://www.amazon.com/Mayors-Chicago-Political-Tradition-fourth/dp/0809331985

Nature's Metropolis: Chicago & the Great West is a wonderful read that doesn't pop up on here that much. It analyzes the environmental and economic background of the city from it's foundation until just past the worlds fair IIRC. It posits the straightforward argument that the success and growth of Chicago was an organic and interdependent inevitability based on the vast amounts of natural resources spread throughout the plains and upper midwest. It's basically Third Coast, but focused a hundred years earlier. It is a very dry read for most of the book, but it delves deeply into almost every industry that fed into early Chicago. If you've ever wondered why the Board of Trade is such a figure in the cities history, or why Chicago had the largest meatpacking industry in North America, or why all the grain from the upper midwest ended up here, why the bulk of the timber from the North Woods came through the city, this is your book.

you could eliminate the rental charge by getting your own modem, https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Touchstone-Cable-Modem-DOCSIS/dp/B008GG78FU/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=do09b-20&creativeASIN=B008GG78FU this model for example is one of their highest recommended at the moment and is only $70. (I actually just switched to this model for RCN) Would pay for itself in less than 10 months.

Arris is the company that makes all of Motorola's modems. This one is actually slightly better than the comparable spec they make for Motorola and $20 cheaper than the comparable (and comcast ranks it higher as well than the comparable motorola: http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/ ); it's a tad better in that it has a MoCa filter built-in which is good if you have a Tivo.

Starting Strength
https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Training/dp/0982522738

Build a solid strength base, then you'll have a much better base for other physical activites

Maybe this doesn't fit, but if you're looking to learn more about it Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets provides some really great insights into the gang community and how the day-to-day is run as well as the community efforts the gang bring in an effort to deter being reported to the police

I love Graveyards of Chicago! It is great for day trips and random outings to city cemeteries and city history.

The Fort Dearborn Massacre? It was a huge deal in the history of Chicago -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Dearborn

Jerry Crimmins(a Chicago author and journalist) wrote a GREAT book about it and other early Chicago stuff called Fort Dearborn

Review of Fort Dearborn - they liked it better than The Devil in the White City.

If you really want to be prepared for gigabit service and want to spend the money on the modem now, buy this. If you want to save some money and be just fine for most normally priced service plans, buy this.

You should read The Boss about how the Daley's ran the city. Excellent read

https://www.amazon.com/Boss-Richard-J-Daley-Chicago/dp/0452261678

​

What I've found the more I've read about Illinois machine history is that, going back to the beginning years of the machine, the thing they fear most is a republican AG who isn't afraid to start digging into the party patronage system. So if you want to crack the Machine's power over Illinois politics then an aggressive Republican AG is the best way to go.

I use these for front and rear lights.

This is the most common u-lock that is about as good as it gets. I use this, but the weight is pretty intense.

Mayer & Wade: Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis is the absolute best place for any Chicagophile to start, even though it dates from 1969.

Not all uLocks are created equal. You should definitely make sure to be using one that is highly rated.

For exmaple, the New York Fahgettaboudit U-Lock

I highly recommend you pick up Starting Strength, or Trooper mentioned Strong Lifts has write ups of the squat, deadlift, and bench. Both are a great place to start out if you to get into barbell lifts. You can also head over to /r/fitness.

> Every guy in the gym knows how to do these exercises

With the amount of quarter squats, rounded backs, flared elbows etc you see at the gym, this is absolutely not the case. Like everything else, it's a skill you have to work on. I'v been lifting for years and still am not happy with my squat depth, or form. Miles better than what it used to be though.

If you want to meet up, I would be willing to help get you started. I work out at the LA Fitness on Webster and they have free 3 day passes. They may try and sell you a membership, but I told them I was just there to get a workout in and they left me alone when I used the pass. Send me a pm.

These are my favorites for historical photos of Chicago, especially the first one, I've spent entire weekends browsing that site. :\

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=273147&page=16
http://forgottenchicago.com/columns/

If you books on the history of Chicago, Richard Cahan is one of my favorites, look him up on amazon, They All Fall Down (about Richard Nickel) and Photograph's of a Lost City are 2 of my favorites
http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Nickels-Chicago-Photographs-Lost/dp/0978545028/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1310088319&sr=8-6

They All Fall Down by Rich Cahan, about Richard Nickel's struggle to save classic Chicago buildings, particularly those by Louis Sullivan. The beginnings of the architectural preservation movement in Chicago. https://www.amazon.com/They-All-Fall-Down-Architecture/dp/0471144266

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JZFG6QS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West is another one I'll throw in with your list, if I may.

Check out Gang Leader for a Day

While it might not get in to specifics for your project, you may find more resources. If you do have the time, it's a great read.

The main source for this article is Matt Hucke & Ursula Bielski's excellent book, Graveyards of Chicago.

I bought this one. and for $6 I bought a 2-yr warranty to go along with it. I got the $50 for 155mbps deal. It's fantastic.

I think you'd really enjoy this book then; it's about a grad student who spent some time observing the gangs at the Robert Taylor homes for his research.

> Hope the elders of those cliques squash this shit soon.

Seriously, even the gang leaders that ran robert taylor homes and cabrini green understood that shootings are no good for anybody.

edit: for chicagoans that haven't read gang leader for a day, I suggest it. Good read of how an understaffed Chicago PD and gang members used to work together to make a "uneasy pact" of sorts.

I'd recommend taking this book out from the library:

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Chicago-David-Garrard-Lowe/dp/0226494322

its just incredibly sad the history and beauty we've thrown in the garbage

A good start is to read Boss.

Thanks for the tips. I ended up getting this router and my wired speed went from 80 Mbps to 200. And my wireless speeds doubled

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JZFG6QS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Like this?

There are no Children Here

Gang Leader for a Day

Hoop Dreams - Also a very good documentary film.

I'm going to assume you have this book, or have seen it, but if not, its a must have. Lost Chicago

>ultimately that's where the power is.

Exactly. There is a book by Robert Dahl called Who Governs?. It's a case study on a small town in Connecticut (IIRC) and he at first believed the wealthy had all the power. But what he found was that when the people actually got together and voted, their will trumped the will of the wealthy. The problem, as seen in Chicago, is that voter turnout is low, sometimes single digits.



> the book on corruption would be written here

Funny you say that. Don't Make No Waves...Don't Back No Losers and the book Boss talk a lot of the Machine politics that ran/run Chicago. (The argument is that Rahm runs a modified "Machine Politics" platform perfected by Daley). But these books hint at patronage and corruption that was so prevalent in keeping Daley and his cronies elected. It talks about how they worked with Republicans in keeping Democrats in office during that time period. There are stories of Republican opponents setting up offices, but when the author went to check them out they either didn't exist or no one was ever working there. They're interesting books you should check out.

The notion, according to the authors of both books was that Daley didn't care what type of corruption you did, as long as you didn't make any noise. "Hear no evil" type of deal. It also touches on how politicians prefer low voter turnout (hence don't make no waves) because it almost always benefits the incumbent.