๐ Happy Monday! It's Valentine's Day. The last-minute rush is on to buy something for your loved ones. Or not. We don't judge.
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- Today's weather: Warming up! Partly sunny with a high of 27 and a slight chance of snow. +
Today's newsletter is 873 words โ a 3-minute read.
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+ A boy watches candy bars being made at the Curtiss Candy plant in Chicago, 1961. Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images
+ +Chicago was once known as the candy capital of the world. But the remaining industry is now a (chocolate) shell of what it was.
+Why it matters: At one time, more than 1,000 local candy companies supplied Chicagoans with relatively high-paying jobs. The industry, driven by immigrants and the river and railroads bringing in affordable corn syrup and sugar, stayed strong for more than a century.
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- But in recent years, the city has lost factories that made Brach's candies, Fannie May and now Mars products. +
๐ This Valentine's Day, we want to take current stock of the industry by breaking down which companies are still operating in town.
+Mars/Wrigley: The company just announced plans to shutter its West Side candy plant, reassigning 280 jobs.
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- The building was built in 1928, has its own Metra stop and makes M&Ms, Snickers, and Skittles. +
- Mars and Wrigley merged in 2008. Its global headquarters are now on Goose Island. +
Tootsie Roll Industries: The famed chewy chocolate candy is made on the South Side. They moved headquarters here in 1966.
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- This facility also makes Tootsie Pops and Dots. +
- Tours are available. +
Ferrara Pan (now Ferrero): Chicago's Ferrara Pan was bought by European giant Ferrero, which owns Nutella.
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- Its headquarters are in the old Post Office building, but the main attraction is the outlet store in Forest Park. +
- They make millions of Lemonheads per day as well as Red Hots and Now and Laters. +
Blommer Chocolate Company: One of the last remaining chocolate factories in the downtown area, Blommer is known less for its candy than for the intoxicating smell its plant produces.
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- When the wind hits the right way, the whole Loop can smell like Blommer chocolate, as the EPA found out in 2005. +
Cupid Candies: The South Side factory started in 1936, but the Western Avenue location closed in 2020 after the death of its owner.
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- It was bought by Brown Sugar Bakery owner Stephanie Hart, who later secured a $200,000 grant to start production. +
What's next: Even with these losses, the candy industry, represented by the Sweets & Snacks Expo, is returning in May.
+๐ญ Monica's thought bubble: My step-grandmother Carmela came to Chicago from Peru in the 1960s and found work at the Curtiss Candy factory. It kept her grandkids plentifully supplied for years with Baby Ruths and Butterfingers.
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+ Zach LaVine flies through the air during a win against the Timberwolves on Friday night. Photo: David Banks/Getty Images
+ +The Bulls got bad news yesterday.
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- Zach LaVine is seeing a specialist in Los Angeles about his ailing knee, according to ESPN. +
Why it matters: LaVine is a two-time All-Star averaging almost 25 points a game, and the Bulls didn't make any trades at last week's deadline.
+Driving the news: LaVine has played on his sore left knee for a few games but sat out Saturday night during a win over Oklahoma City. He already missed games this season due to the injury, though a recent MRI revealed no structural damage.
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- He still wants to play in the All-Star game this weekend, per ESPN sources. +
Context: The Bulls have played short-handed this season without injured contributors Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and Patrick Williams.
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- They also lead the league in players who have missed time due to COVID protocols. +
What's next: The Bulls still hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, just a game behind the Miami Heat. They play the Spurs tonight at the United Center.
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+ Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
+ +๐ซ CPS wants you to choose when your kids go back next year. Spoiler alert: both options are before Labor Day. (Chalkbeat Chicago)
+๐ฉโโ๏ธ Closing arguments in the Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson fraud trial are expected today. (Chicago Tribune)
+๐ The White Sox are the first MLB team to require minor league players to get the COVID-19 booster. (Axios)
+๐ Congratulations to Whitney Young for winning the boys basketball city championship! (Chicago Sun-Times)
+A message from Facebook
+Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Since July, weโve taken action on:
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- 34.7M pieces of explicit adult content. +
- 26.6M pieces of violent and graphic content. +
- 9.8M pieces of terrorism-related content. +
See whatโs new on our job board.
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- Human Resources Business Partner at Enfusion. +
- Managing Editor, Alt-Meat / Senior Editor, Meatingplace at Alt-Meat. +
- Associate Multimedia and Center Communications Specialist at Discover. +
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+ Over 500,000 readers now wake up to Axios Local in their inbox. You can reach these smart professionals in their hometown.
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+ Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
+ +We recently reported on the criticism surrounding the city's new marketing slogan: "Chicago not in Chicago," which some find confusing and way too focused on other cities.
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- We asked you for better, or just more amusing, alternatives. As always, you did not disappoint. +
๐ Sunil G: Chicago: We don't want nobody that nobody sent
+๐ Mike N: Bureaucracy Is Beautiful
+๐ฏ Patrick D: Please f*ck off
+๐ง Peter B: At least itโs warmer than Green Bay
+๐ค Jerry C: You don't understand us, and that's ok
+โ๏ธ Matt T: Come for the political corruption and stay for the snow in April
+๐ Nathan G: Giving St. Louis all of our sh*t since 1900
+โค๏ธ Kelly M: Calling Dibs on Your Heart (in time for Valentine's Day)
+๐ Tom N: Where people fold their newspaper, not their pizza
+๐ Miranda S: Where Each Block Has a Unique Smell
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- ๐ Culture, Cuisine, and Cannabis +
+ The 2100 block of North Clark Street in February, 1929. Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
+ +Today marks the 93rd anniversary of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
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- This photo shows the block where the shootings happened. The building on the right was a rooming house where Al Capone's gangsters rented a room to spy on the garage where Bugs Moran's gangsters hung out. +
- The garage where the shootings took place is on the left, between the laundry and tailor shop signs. +
Zoom in: Today, this block is in the heart of Lincoln Park. That rooming house is now the restaurant Riccardo Trattoria.
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The 2100 block of North Clark Street in February 2022. Photo: Justin Kaufmann/Axios
+A message from Facebook
+Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Since July, weโve taken action on:
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- 34.7M pieces of explicit adult content. +
- 26.6M pieces of violent and graphic content. +
- 9.8M pieces of terrorism-related content. +
Our picks:
+๐ค Monica recently heard about Chicago's Bev Rage and the Drinks from a reader. Now she can't get enough of this drag queen garage pop. Expect a new album out this year.
+๐ถ Justin skipped the chocolate this year and went with spicy, cinnamon-flavored gummy bears for his 14-year-old son. Why not live a little?
+Want free Axios swag? Refer your friends to Axios Chicago and get cool merch like stickers, totes, hats, T-shirts and more!
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