Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Today, we’re taking a look at a new study that shows how Chicago’s Mexican American community has grown to populate multiple neighborhoods — and become crucial to the city’s economy.
“It’s time policymakers and city leaders recognize the Mexican contribution to Chicagoland through actions, not just words,” one researcher told my WBEZ colleague Esther Yoon-Ji Kang.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on the must-see acts at this weekend’s Riot Fest, Garrett Popcorn’s 75th birthday and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Chicago’s new ‘Brown Belt’ is populated by Mexican residents who help fuel the area economy, report says
Reporting by Esther Yoon-Ji Kang | WBEZ
New research: Chicago’s Mexican residents — now the dominant group in 15 community areas — undergird the region’s low-wage workforce and make significant contributions to its economy and culture, a report released this week reveals. The findings were highlighted Tuesday at the Latino Research Initiative 2024 Summit, organized by the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Responding to costs: The report, “Fuerza Mexicana: The Past, Present, and Power of Mexicans in Chicagoland,” shows a big drop in the population from historic Mexican neighborhoods and a move to other community areas, most on the Southwest Side. Tens of thousands of longtime Mexican residents in Pilsen and Little Village were displaced by rising home prices and gentrification, according to the report, and many spread out to nearby neighborhoods.
Areas of growth: In 2000, six Chicago community areas had a more than 50% Mexican population. That list has grown to 15, including a swath of Southwest Side neighborhoods covering Brighton Park, Archer Heights, McKinley Park and New City.
Key quote: “There’s a ‘Brown Belt’ right here in Chicago,” said Juan González, a senior research fellow at the Great Cities Institute.
Policy recs: Researchers make several policy recommendations, including increasing affordable housing, helping small-business owners and increasing voter participation among Mexican residents.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Remembering Joe Monastero: For many, Mr. Monastero’s restaurant on Devon Avenue was a generational touchstone shared with family. He died Sept. 7 at age 93.
Key interest rate cut: The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point today, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates, the Associated Press reports.
Hall of Fame prospects: Former Bears Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman and Brandon Marshall are among the 167 modern-era players nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class this year.
3.5 stars for ‘Rigoletto’: Mané Galoyan, Igor Golovatenko and Javier Camarena mesh beautifully in Verdi’s propulsive, fast-action work, writes Kyle MacMillan in a review for the Sun-Times.
RIOT FEST WEEKEND 🎸
Riot Fest 2024: 5 can’t-miss acts
Reporting by Selena Fragassi | For the Sun-Times
After announcing it would leave for the suburbs, then reversing its decision, Riot Fest is back this weekend in Douglass Park and ready to rock.
Beyond the obvious — Slayer’s much-anticipated reunion and a set from hometown heroes Fall Out Boy — here are five other acts to pencil into your schedule if you’re going.
Tornillo: The 20-year-old Mexican rapper/singer staged his first headline dates in America this year (including Bottom Lounge in March). His style pays homage to traditional cumbia while adding hip-hop flourishes for a unique past-future mashup. (3:25 p.m. Friday; Rise Stage)
Public Enemy: Chuck D and Flavor Flav are back together to fight the power. The hip-hop legends are celebrating 35 years of their seminal album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” which changed the game with its poetic pleas and groundbreaking sonic style. (7:25 p.m. Friday; Radical Stage)
The Marley Brothers: Five of Bob Marley’s sons — Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian — are touring together for the first time in 20 years, united in performing the works of their late father. (8:30 p.m. Friday; Rise Stage)
Dat_Boy_Zach: This North Lawndale savant is the youngest performer ever to take the Riot Fest stage, at just 9 years old. He will bring his incredibly catchy G-rated songs like “Summer Break.” Dat_Boy_Zach is one of the acts Riot adds every year to spotlight local artists from the North Lawndale and Little Village communities. (11:15 a.m. Saturday; Radical Stage)
St. Vincent: Annie Clark could just as well have taken the headliner spot on Saturday (sorry, Beck). Her complex songwriting, incredible guitar playing, visual theatricality and art rock mashup are worthy of stadiums, even if she keeps a New York underground vibe about it all. (6:35 p.m. Saturday; @ Cabaret Metro Stage)
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Garrett Popcorn turning 75 — and still churning out an iconic Chicago treat
Reporting by Stefano Esposito
Like an L train rumbling over the Wells Street Bridge at sunset or the giant hot dog flexing his biceps atop SuperDawg on the Northwest Side, the sugary warmth that wafts from a Garrett Popcorn shop is unmistakably Chicago.
Newcomers to the city may sniff at how readily people will line up outside a place that sells popped corn — that is, until they catch a whiff. It’s an aroma that’s perfumed the city’s streets for 75 years.
“I like the smell. You can smell it a block away,” said Richard Phelps, 87, a retired physician who lives in the Gold Coast neighborhood and stopped off at the Water Tower Place location for a bag of popcorn this week. “It’s a Garrett smell.”
Gladys Otto Garrett started in her Milwaukee kitchen, before testing the waters at Madison and State Street in Chicago, where the corn was made in brass kettles (it’s still made that way). And when it comes to what kind of kernels are air-popped for all the varieties offered, according to the company, it’s all from custom-grown, non-GMO butterfly (resulting in light and airy popcorn) and mushroom kernels (resulting in firm, round popcorn).
“We are authentic, and we’re still making Garrett popcorn the same way that they did at 10 W. Madison in 1949,” said owner Megan Chody, whose family bought the company from the Garrett family in 2005.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
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Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Esther Bergdahl
Copy editor: Angie Myers