chris borrelli

It’s difficult to say what’s more surprising: That one of the leading surgeons in Chicago from 1900-1940s was named Victor Frankenstein, or that after Victor Frankenstein was born in Chicago in 1869, his parents still named him Victor Frankenstein. trib.al/dcbmqv9

When Frankenstein was a Chicagoan, or why Mary Shelley’s creation will never die trib.al/W272BQ0

The Chicago Humanities spring festival is as eclectic as ever. Filmmaker John Waters. Strategist David Axelrod. Genius cartoonist (and former Evanstonian) Lynda Barry. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood. trib.al/Tv5SYBQ

The Computer Guy of Chicago strikes when you least expect. Sitting in a coffeehouse. Reading your phone on the train. Working out. Waiting for food. Walking down the street. trib.al/qzBDJ5k

Chicago, you’ve been programmed: Meet Julius Mondragon, TikTok’s Computer Guy trib.al/OoS3OLD

@artinstitutechi just landed Norman Rockwell’s Cubs portrait, “The Dugout.” The donor? Former Gov. Bruce Rauner, who had it hanging in his house since 2009 chicagotribune.com/2026/02/10/art…

Rogers Park house officially declared NOT the ugliest in the nation - but definitely one of the most interesting in Chicago. chicagotribune.com/2026/02/06/rog…

What did it even mean to be a US citizen anymore? Northwestern's Daisy Hernández on the history of citizenship itself chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/nor…

Daisy Hernández’s new book, Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth,” is partly a family memoir and partly a world history. trib.al/ivg4xmp

Northwestern's Daisy Hernández and her new history of the (quickly) changing meaning of citizenship trib.al/GUqzSQC

Citizen pain: Northwestern’s Daisy Hernández and her new history of the (quickly) changing meaning of citizenship trib.al/KuvBJKO

Citizen pain: Northwestern’s Daisy Hernández and her new history of the (quickly) changing meaning of citizenship trib.al/ciNXJU6

Ghoulish Mortals in St. Charles runs an annual death pool to predict the celebrities who won’t live to see out the year. The guesses are in for 2026. trib.al/ryvvoL6

My piece on the local Ghoul Pool and who they expect to die in the next 12 months. No. 1 is a provocative tie. chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/gho…

My profile of Sara Levine, who writes that rare thing - the great literary comic novel. (Also please excuse the canine dick pics.) chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/wha…