Patrick Filbin

2 days ago | blockclubchicago.org | Patrick Filbin

CHICAGO — For many years, Black and Brown trans women in Chicago have sounded the alarm on a crisis that has been forced into the shadows. While public focus has come and gone, anti-trans violence has never faded for those closest to it. They’ve gathered to mourn, marched to demand justice and organized to protect one another in the absence of lasting solutions. In November, when the city launched a task force to address that violence, Channyn Lynne Parker didn’t call it a victory.

2 days ago | blockclubchicago.org | Patrick Filbin

LINCOLN PARK — A corner restaurant on Armitage Avenue in Lincoln Park is starting a new chapter this summer with the opening of Dimmi Dimmi Corner Italian, an Italian-American spot from Cornerstone Restaurant Group. The restaurant will open at 1112 W. Armitage Ave., formerly home to Tarantino’s, a neighborhood favorite for 30 years that closed this year. Dimmi Dimmi marks a homecoming for chef Matt Eckfeld, who is returning to Chicago after more than a decade in New York’s fine-dining scene.

1 week ago | blockclubchicago.org | Patrick Filbin

LAKEVIEW — “The Compound,” the player-led sports podcast co-hosted by Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ and fellow professional ballplayer Dakota Mekkes, was born out of boredom. When the 2020 MLB season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Happ was in Arizona with his spring training roommates Mekkes, Nico Hoerner and Zack Short, all looking for a creative outlet and a way to stay engaged with fans.

1 week ago | blockclubchicago.org | Patrick Filbin

LAKEVIEW — The iconic Music Box Theatre is expanding. Thanks to a $1.2 million city grant, the historic and world-famous movie theater in Lakeview will soon add a third screen to its 100-year-old building, the first expansion at the Music Box since a second screen was added in 1991. For the expansion, the Music Box will convert two long-vacant commercial storefronts at 3727 and 3729 N. Southport Ave., just south of its main entrance, into a third auditorium with 115 seats.

1 week ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Patrick Filbin

WRIGLEYVILLE — Growing up as a second-generation Filipino American in Chicago, Louis De Guzman had a hard time finding his place. De Guzman’s parents immigrated to America when they were in their early 20s. They spoke little English and made every big life decision with their kids in mind, De Guzman said. As his parents acclimated to life in a new city, De Guzman struggled to find his identity. “I didn’t really understand my heritage growing up,” De Guzman said. “Was I Filipino? Was I American?