For the Chicago Tribune

Robert Loerzel

Robert Loerzel is a copy editor and freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune. He also writes for Chicago Magazine.

A procession marks the opening of Wacker Drive, a double-deck roadway that replaced the old South Water Street along the south bank of the Chicago River, on Oct. 20, 1926. This photo looks east from State Street. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Doubling down: 100 years ago, Wacker Drive cleared riverside clutter to create an iconic Chicago roadway

October 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The double-deck Wacker Drive obliterated a tangle of buildings and produce stalls in favor of a broad Beaux Arts thoroughfare by the Chicago River.

The grave of Francis Hanford, who was killed on Aug. 7, 1876, by Alexander Sullivan, is shown 150 years later at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago on Aug. 6, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

A moment’s madness, or murder? 1876 debate on religion in Chicago schools took a deadly turn

August 7, 2026 at 3:02 p.m.

The murder trial of Alexander Sullivan became one of the era’s most-talked-about cases, sparking arguments over guns, justice and religion.

(Photo illustration by Joe Darrow/for Chicago magazine)

The Gospel Legend Who Spurred on MLK’s ‘Dream’ Speech

August 4, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

Mahalia Jackson was a pioneer in both music and civil rights. Here’s what we learned from a new biography.

The author looks through a box of federal lawsuit files from the 1920s at Chicago's National Archives, pulling out the file for a 1922 case called United States of America vs. Forty-Five Cans, More or Less, of Chloroform. (Robert Loerzel/for Chicago magazine)

What We Lose When the Chicago Branch of the National Archives Closes

July 24, 2026 at 11:50 a.m.

At a time when dubious information runs rampant, we need more — not less — access to our history.

Chicago’s top real estate agents

July 24, 2026 at 1:53 p.m.

To see Chicago’s top real estate teams, click here. Related: Pro tips for buying and selling a home Agent Company Sales (in millions of $) 1 Jena Radnay @properties Christie’s...

Chicago’s top real estate teams

July 24, 2026 at 1:53 p.m.

To see Chicago’s top real estate agents, click here. Related: Pro tips for buying and selling a home Team Company Sales (in millions of $) 1 Dawn McKenna Group Coldwell...

Photo illustration of Jena Radnay, an @properties Christie’s associate who racked up $392 million in residential sales to top Chicago magazine's annual rankings of individual agents for 2026. (Ben Kirchner/for Chicago magazine)

Jena Radnay’s Big Year

July 24, 2026 at 3:37 p.m.

Thanks to a red-hot North Shore market, the @properties Christie’s associate tops our latest rankings of real estate agents.

Couples dance on the Aragon Ballroom's 21,000-square-foot dance floor in 1966. The venue would be briefly rebranded as the Cheetah nightclub later that year. (Quentin C. Dodt/Chicago Tribune)

Vintage Tribune: The Aragon Ballroom once lived up to its name, enchanting dancers with music from the ‘Waltz King’

July 12, 2026 at 8:09 a.m.

The Aragon Ballroom, which later generations experienced mainly as a shabby, sticky home for rock music, was once the North Side’s hub for romance.

A group of women at the Sherman Hotel in Chicago display decades of bathing suit fashions in 1930, with a nod to the future of bathing suits through 1940. From left are Cleora Miller, Tiny Dini, Opal Begeman, Irene Daniels, Diane Suthard, Della Dean, Gloria Ellyn and Joan Goldman. Editors' note: This historic print shows some hand painting. (Chicago Evening American)

Chicago ordinance once forced female swimmers into cumbersome ‘bathing dresses’

May 10, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

By 1911, critics were complaining about rowdy behavior and “scantily clad bathers” at Chicago beaches.

Around 1933 the Marx Brothers were, from left, Leonard as Chico, Herbert as Zeppo, Julius as Groucho and Arthur (born Adolph) as Harpo. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Making the Marx Brothers: Groucho, Harpo and the rest honed their shtick on local vaudeville stages

April 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Marx brothers were born in New York, but Chicago was the true birthplace of the act called the Marx Brothers, one of the world’s funniest.

All Stories