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In this blog post, CHM research center associate Annika Kohrt highlights resources in the Chicago History Museum’s Abakanowicz Research Center that may be helpful in conducting genealogical research.

Are you looking to unravel the stories of your Chicago ancestors? The Chicago History Museum’s Abakanowicz Research Center (ARC) might be a helpful stop on your journey. Our librarians are happy to assist you in navigating the resources in our Family History Guide.

Group of immigrants at Union Station, Chicago, 1950. ST-17500902-E1, Chicago Sun-Times collection, CHM

Let’s start with your ancestor’s arrival in Chicago. Were they born here? Vital records are handled out of the Cook County Clerk’s Office, but you might find newspapers listing their birth in our newspaper databases.

Wedding announcements for (from left) Mrs. Harold H. Adams Jr. (Frances Amelia Cannon), Mrs. John O. Stoll (Margaret Crowe), Mrs. Robert Morrison (Florence Meling), and Mrs. John J. Schwab (Catherine Tunison) (lower center) in the Chicago Daily News, October 10, 1925.

If they were adopted, a record of them might exist in one of our orphanage records. If they moved to Chicago from another country, there are plenty of records of the immigrant communities of Chicago, and we can help you imagine their life with published, photographic, and archival material from the relevant enclaves. Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, and the one where your ancestors lived deeply shaped their lives.

Death notices in the Chicago Daily News, October 10, 1925 

Our archive’s strength is really in contextualizing and providing narrative to the experiences of people living in Chicago throughout history. So, your next question might be the essential one: What was their life like in Chicago? If you’re lucky, something newsworthy might have happened in their life, and you’ll find results in our newspaper databases when you search for their name. If their name and address don’t appear in the newspaper, you can investigate where they lived with the city directories. We have a complete collection of city and telephone directories, dating from 1839 to the present.

Chicago City Directory, 1877–78, p. 819. Photograph by CHM staff

The city directories will also tell you a person’s occupation, and if you know what company they worked for, you might be able to find some company records and publications. If you have their address, you can use fire insurance maps to look at the neighborhood they lived in, as close as you can manage to the time that they lived there. You can look for photographs and neighborhood histories, and you might be able to find a school or church that they attended. We have a yearbook collection and high school and college periodicals. Some churches published anniversary publications and histories of their spaces, which you might also be able to find in the ARC.

Fire insurance map of Sedgwick Street, Hammond Avenue, and North Park Avenue near Wisconsin Street, Chicago, c. 1892. Published in Atlas of Chicago, Volume 2, Plate 158

If your ancestor was a performer, you might find a program featuring them in their church’s ephemera, or you might find something in our theater, dance, and music program collection.

The cast list for Julius Caesar at the Chicago Opera House, September 24, 1888. Photograph by CHM staff

This is the essence of research at any archive: there are dozens of questions to answer, and each new discovery may send you to a new source. Some people’s lives and communities are very well documented, and some are not. Parts of this pattern are because of systemic differences in historic preservation and collecting, but some of this is due to luck as well! For example, we don’t have every yearbook from the history of Chicago, but maybe your ancestor is in one of the ones that we do have, and there’s only one way to find out! We love assisting researchers with their research, so come visit and follow the thrill of the chase with us!

Additional Resources

• Explore our digitized images at CHM Images
• Read about the importance of discovering the full names of women in our blog post “Naming Women to Recover Histories“
• Search the collections of several Chicago institutions at Chicago Collections

October is LGBTQIA+ History Month. In this blog post, CHM senior public and community engagement manager Greg Storms writes about Gregory A. Sprague, a Chicago historian of gay culture who laid the foundation for a comprehensive historical account of queer people.

Looking back at my nearly two-decade career in LGBTQIA+ history and education, I draw inspiration from a number of my predecessors. That’s easier when looking at a national or even global level, but studies of Chicago’s queer communities and their histories took longer to become established than other regions. In fact, one of the reasons I specialized in researching Chicago was to help lift up Midwest LGBTQIA+ research. Unfortunately, those who have historically studied our city’s queer history have not gotten the acclaim we see elsewhere. One such figure is Gregory Sprague.

Gregory A. Sprague in front of a window, c. 1980. CHM, ICHi-065053. Gift of Robert C. Peppard and Edward Warro. 1987.627. Gregory A. Sprague papers, box 2, F. 1 – Misc. personal photographs

Born in 1951, Sprague earned a BA in history from Augustana College in 1973, a MA from Purdue University in 1975, a Master of Science in Education from Indiana University in 1976, and pursued a PhD at Loyola University Chicago (1980–85). He is remembered for his historical research on Chicago gay and lesbian history, but perhaps of greater long-term importance than his actual research was his work in creating systems for supporting LGBTQIA+ history as a materially supported subset of historical inquiry more broadly.

Two items related to Gregory Sprague’s membership in the American Historical Association—a name tag from the 1984 annual meeting and a postcard from 1978. Gregory A. Sprague papers, box 21. Photograph by CHM staff

In addition to being a cofounder of the American Historical Association’s (AHA) “Committee on Lesbian and Gay History” (now known as the LGBTQ+ History Association, an AHA affiliate), Sprague founded the Chicago Gay History Project in 1978. This volunteer-led group would become a precursor to Chicago’s premier LGBTQIA+ historical archive, the Gerber/Hart Library. He also served on the national board of directors of the Gay Academic Union (GAU, 1973–87) for several years and on the steering committee for the Chicago chapter. He was also the program coordinator for one of the GAU’s national conferences held here in the city.

Crowd of people at gay rights rally at Daley Plaza, Chicago, April 1981. CHM, ICHi-039699. Gregory Sprague color slide collection: Box 2

For some context, LGBTQIA+ history, and indeed most all academic research conducted by and for queer people, did not develop until the 1970s. As a result of significant social activism following the Homophile Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, liberation-centered activism and approaches to queer social existence developed by and in tandem with many other social movements, both nationally and globally. For example, the rise of the Black Power Movement, women’s liberation, youth-centered social movements, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and global efforts at decolonization all contributed to the shift from the more assimilationist approach of earlier fights for LGBTQIA+ people to the rise of the gay liberation movement of the late 1960s and especially the post-Stonewall period after 1969.

Undated photograph of Gay Pride Parade marchers carrying Illinois Gay Rights Task Force banner, Chicago. CHM, ICHi-050720. Gift of Robert C. Peppard and Edward Warro. 1987.627. Gregory Sprague color slide collection: Box 1, red binder

Part of this work was to develop a comprehensive historical account of queer people despite the continuing impact of structural homophobia (and biphobia and transphobia) embedded within society at large and institutions of historical inquiry specifically. To be blunt, studying LGBTQIA+ history—especially in an affirming way—was a career killer. Like many researchers of marginalized backgrounds who study their own communities, at best accusations of bias created barriers for professional growth.

With this in mind, people like Gregory Sprague become special figures within LGBTQIA+ communities, helping lay the groundwork from which the general public can find real and often positive representations of people like them that had been previously denied. Even today, with the impressive growth of the field, there is a continuing need for and importance of this type of historical work—work that is not only LGBTQIA+ history, but Chicago history, US history, and global history, all in one.

AIDS Action Project Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 3, 1983, which documented the AIDS epidemic and reaction to it on national and local levels. Gregory A. Sprague papers, box 21 Photograph by CHM staff

Like so many other gay men of his generation, Sprague did not live past the 1980s. On February 7, 1987, he died of complications related to HIV/AIDS. Many younger LGBTQIA+ people depend heavily on the work and legacies that researchers like Sprague leave behind. Unlike many other communities, LGBTQIA+ folks are typically not taught their history either in school or through familial channels. For gay and bisexual men especially, nearly an entire generation of people who could have formed that bridge between older generations and those born after the late ’70s simply weren’t there due to the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Thankfully, Sprague’s work has been preserved in a number of ways. Both the Gerber/Hart Library and Archives and the Chicago History Museum retain collections of Sprague’s materials. The Gregory Sprague papers [manuscript], 1972–87, include materials written and collected by Sprague, such as his diplomas, transcripts, correspondence, and topical files containing photocopied articles and book chapters pertaining to his research. The Gregory Sprague photograph collection (c. 1975–87) documents his personal life in Chicago during that time, as well as social events such as the Gay Pride Parade. Both collections can be accessed at CHM’s Abakanowicz Research Center, which is free to visit.

An event calendar (left) for Sunday Night at the Archives: Education and Cultural Series in Los Angeles, November 11, 1981. Sprague presented a slide show titled “Chicago Gay History” on January 3, 1982; his lecture notes are on the right. Gregory A. Sprague papers, box 13. Photograph by CHM staff

While he may have lived in Chicago for only a decade, his impact remains palpable. His legacy goes on through the evolving landscape of organizations that continue doing the critical work of documenting, representing, and preserving queer history. Sprague’s reputation lives on through the LGBTQ+ History Association’s biannual Gregory Sprague Prize, which recognizes “outstanding published or unpublished” work by graduate students on LGBTQIA+ history in English. He was posthumously inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1994, where he is remembered for “(knowing) that the history of lesbians and gay men in Chicago was being carefully tended in lifetimes of memories, and he was instrumental in gathering those memories.” And his role in “gathering those memories” continues to shape the work that I and a growing number of LGBTQIA+ scholars and educators do to this day.

Additional Resources

• Read more blog posts on LGBTQIA+ history
• Listen to Studs Terkel’s interviews with LGBTQIA+ activists, artists, and writers of the mid to late 20th century

CHICAGO – The Chicago History Museum (CHM) is proud to share its upcoming exhibition, “Aquí en Chicago,” opening October 25, 2025. This milestone exhibition celebrates over 170 years of Latino/a/e culture and contributions in Chicago. Inspired by the voices of students from Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, who challenged the Museum to better represent their communities’ stories in the face of longstanding marginalization, the exhibition responds to their advocacy. It reflects the Museum’s commitment to honoring the histories, resilience and triumphs of Latino/a/e communities amid the cultural and racial tensions that have shaped the city’s past and present.

“This exhibition is about the longstanding presence of Latino/a/e communities in and around the Chicagoland area. It came about in response to the students, and the story of their work with the Museum is at the heart of this exhibition,” says exhibition curator Dr. Elena Gonzales, CHM Curator of Civic Engagement and Social Justice. “‘Aquí en Chicago’ is a direct answer to the students’ questions about their communities’ histories.”

Through art, photographs, interviews, clothing, personal items, everyday objects and historical treasures, the exhibition traces the lives of Latino/a/e communities that have maintained a persistent cultural presence and flourished in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Visitors will be able to see a variety of items in the exhibition including protest signs from 2019, a paletero’s cart from PaleterÍa Reina de Sabores, a quinceañera ensemble and more. Throughout the exhibition they will also find murals by co-designer Cecilia Beaven.

Resistance to the status quo can be overt, like protests for fair education and housing, while other acts are more subtle but just as powerful, like preserving family recipes, native languages and spiritual practices. Latino/a/e action has taken many forms. Calls for equitable education and housing access, designing art to build awareness of Latino/a/e social movements and the active preservation of cultural heritage practices for future generations are embedded in the longstanding presence of Latino/a/e communities from the 1800s and onward. Their descendants have actively carried on and protected Latino/a/e cultural heritages and traditions. Today they stand firm in the face of systems and policies of oppression and remain Here in Chicago—“Aquí en Chicago.”

“This exhibition is proof that we are still here, still telling our stories, still creating, still building,” says Dr. Ester N. Trujillo, Public Scholar and exhibition advisor. “I’ve dreamed of walking into a space that shows the stories of our communities so much love and the care that they deserve and this is that. This is a love letter to Latine Chicago.”

The Chicago History Museum invites the public to join them in exploring the rich history of Latino/a/e communities in Chicago and reflecting upon what it means for the city to be a place of belonging to the community.

The exhibition will be presented in both English and Spanish.

A preview week for “Aquí en Chicago” will be held the week of October 22, during which members of the press are invited to tour the exhibition and hear from the curator. For more information, please visit the Chicago History Museum’s website or contact the Museum’s press office.

Media kit available here: https://app.box.com/s/tke6g6tqtk5eg9qz30rv3iwzrhhvjg9x

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ABOUT THE CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM

The Chicago History Museum is situated on ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi people, who cared for the land until forced out by non-Native settlers. Established in 1856, the Museum is located at 1601 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park, its third location. A major museum and research center for Chicago and U.S. history, the Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, publications, special events and programming, the Museum connects people to Chicago’s history and to each other. The Museum collects and preserves millions of artifacts, documents, and images to assist in sharing Chicago stories. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chicago Park District on behalf of the people of Chicago.

September 14 marks Pope Leo XIV’s first birthday since being elected head of the Catholic Church. Rebekah Coffman, curator of religion and community history at CHM, reflects on his ties to Chicago, what it means to be an “American” Catholic, and how his views on immigrants and refugees echo those of previous Catholic leaders.

Mural commemorating Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field, Chicago, 2025. Photograph by Rebekah Coffman

On May 8, 2025, an unprecedented historic event took place: the selection of Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, to be the first Pope of the Catholic Church from North America and the second to have South American citizenship. Not only was the new pope born in the United States, but in our one and only Chicago, spending his formative years and early career in and around the city. Chicago, and the internet, responded to this news with a righteous combination of surprise, spiritual reverence, hometown pride, and—of course—a ridiculous amount of memes and merch.

Pure Brewed Pope Bag. Image: Transit Tees. Post on X (formerly Twitter) by @mtcderek

The uproar and visual claiming of Pope Leo XIV’s Chicago roots have brought forward a number of important and timely questions: will a pope from the United States bring new relevance to Catholicism amidst declining Catholic Church attendance? Will younger generations find him approachable and relatable? What perspectives will he bring to leadership on key social issues such as climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, racial inequity, and gender equality? Is he a Cubs or White Sox fan?

Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home, 212 E. 141st Pl. Dolton, Illinois, 2025. Photographs by Rebekah Coffman

Before delving further into theological beliefs and baseball allegiances, we’ll first give a brief overview of Pope Leo XIV’s many connections and roots in Chicago. Robert Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago’s Near South Side at Mercy Hospital. He was raised in the near south suburb of Dolton, while his home parish church, St. Mary of Assumption, was just over the border in Chicago’s Riverdale community area, with both communities home to major industrial activities and the ethnically and racially diverse workers that followed.

St. Mary of Assumption Catholic Church in the Riverdale community area, 310 E. 137th St., Chicago, 2025.

Prevost is an alumnus of Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, attending just after joining the Augustinian Order in 1977 and before embarking on a decades-long career in international ministry to Peru, where he served in various parish ministry positions from 1985 to 1998. Upon returning to Chicago, he served in a regional leadership role from 1999 until becoming prior general, meaning the head of the entire Augustinian Order, from 2011 to 2013. He returned to Peru in 2014 to serve first as an administrator, then later as bishop in the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru, and finally as vice president of the Peruvian Bishop’s Conference. He became a Peruvian citizen in 2015. In 2023, Prevost was called to service at the Vatican by Pope Francis until being chosen as his successor earlier this year.

Event flyer for Chicago Celebrates Pope Leo XIV, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV’s full perspectives on many of the global issues mentioned above are still being revealed. However, fortunately for Chicago and the world, the issue of baseball allegiance was quickly clarified as his South Side roots confirmed him as a lifelong White Sox devotee, now enshrined by the above mural at Rate Field marking his seat for the infamous 2005 World Series White Sox win. This was further solidified on June 14, 2025, when the Archdiocese of Chicago held a widely attended celebration mass in the pope’s honor.

The mass included many speakers who attested to his humble roots as a Chicagoan, describing him as an everyday man while assuring crowds that his humility did not outpace his thoughtful, assertive, and skilled leadership. A video message directly from Pope Leo XIV shared his personal stances on the importance of global relationships and international community building. The Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich spoke after, and his message tied this theme specifically to the importance of welcoming immigrants and refugees in Chicago, especially for those who are undocumented, who are “not here by invasion but by invitation.”

Clergy standing in Soldier Field surrounded by a crowd at the International Eucharistic Congress, 1926. DN-0081750, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, CHM

Gathering in stadiums or other big, public secular spaces to appeal to mass audiences has been a common historical playbook for religious leaders. A striking past example in Chicago includes the XXVIII International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) held at Soldier Field in June 1926. The IEC came at another crucial period for considering how newly arrived immigrants and migrants would, or would not, be embraced and welcomed into the Chicago Catholic fold. This was especially true for Chicago’s growing Mexican and Spanish-speaking Catholic communities in the 1910s and 1920s.

Cardinal George Mundelein (center right) with Cardinal John Bonzano (center left, holding hat), special delegate from the Vatican to the International Eucharistic Congress, 1926. DN-0081691, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, CHM

The archbishop at the time of the IEC, Cardinal George Mundelein, was a strong advocate for unified, “Americanized” Catholicism. Yet, he also saw the value that national and ethnic parish churches had played for earlier generations of European immigrant communities. As historian Deborah E. Kanter writes in her book Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican, Mexican Catholics created a “conundrum,” as they didn’t fit the existing national parish church molds, nor would English-speaking parishes serve their community needs. Mundelein, sensitive to this as well as to declining Catholic church attendance in areas of neighborhood succession, gave a new platform to Mexican Catholic presence through events held as part of the IEC at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, a formerly German-majority parish on the Near West Side that, through advocacy by the Claretians, became the second Mexican parish church in the city.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church exterior, 3200 E. 91st St., Chicago, 2022. Photograph by Rebekah Coffman
Just two years before, in 1924, Chicago’s first Mexican Catholic church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, was formed to serve growing communities who lived and worked near South Chicago’s steel mill industries. In the following decades, the city’s growing Latino/a/e communities would fill increasingly more Catholic pews as Spanish-speaking services were provided. This was precipitated in part by the work of the Cardinal’s Committee for the Spanish Speaking who became particularly interested in the distinct needs of Puerto Rican Catholics and racial concerns for their visible proximity to Blackness. We discuss more of the history and legacies of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Francis, and other sacred spaces for diverse Latino/a/e communities in our forthcoming exhibition Aquí en Chicago.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church interior, 3200 E. 91st St., Chicago, 2022. Photograph by Rebekah Coffman

The questions the IEC and Cardinal Mundelein were discussing—this idea of what it means to be an “American” Catholic and how immigrant Latino/a/e communities did or did not fit this definition—holds an echoing resonance with the ideas and sentiments shared at the Rate Field gathering in June 2025 and with themes of welcoming strangers as a Sanctuary City. Another similar historical parallel is the question of how “Americanness” may or may not extend beyond the borders of the US and could expand to include Mexico, Central and South America, as their names linguistically imply. To this end, the Pope’s experiences in the US and South America embrace this intercontinental definition of American Catholicism.

Even further, reports on his personal identity and genealogy have been examined on a near-granular level for how he physically embodies what it means to be, as Henry Louis Gates Jr. described, the “first pan-American pope.” Reports going back as far as fifteen generations of family lineages have described Pope Leo XIV’s diverse Creole, Cuban, Spanish, Italian, French, and Black heritages, much of which was lesser known and suggest what some call an “unreconciled” history of racism, colonialism, slavery, and segregation that is an important part of American and Chicago Catholic histories and experiences.

Detail of St. Mary of Assumption Catholic Church facade, 2025. Photograph by Rebekah Coffman

This question of reconciling historical racial and ethnic inequalities lingers amidst a critical time in both global and local Christianity as shifts away from mainline denominations continue to trend. Numerous historic church buildings in Chicago have closed and congregations have merged as declining attendance and limited financial resources become stretched too thin. This is reported to disproportionately affect communities of color. Pope Leo XIV’s childhood parish of St. Mary of Assumption is a prime example, having closed in 2011 due to diminishing attendance and subsequent physical decline, while today, more than 90% of its surrounding residents identify as Black or African American. Many across the city are thinking of ways to preserve St. Mary’s as a landmark and tourist stop in honor of its connection to the pope while hopefully maintaining community use, but plans are not yet publicly solidified.

As of 2024, the Archdiocese of Chicago serves ~1.9 million Catholics in 216 parishes with 1,177 weekly services, of which nearly a quarter are conducted in Spanish. In fact, 42% of Catholics in Chicago are Spanish-language speakers. And, of the 216 parish churches, at least 100 serve Latino communities, and 30 are Black Catholic parishes. Historically, it is through the efforts of these communities that parish churches that were once on the brink of closure or demolition were revived and made relevant for new generations of Catholic congregants.

While over half of Latino/a/es in the US still identify as Catholic in some way, that number is shrinking as many shift to Protestantism, non-Christian traditions such as Islam, and increasing lack of affiliation with any religious tradition. Chicago has set the precedent and been an active agent in shifting religious tides of the past. Perhaps it is these Chicago roots that will serve Pope Leo XVI as he leads the world in what will be Catholicism’s future.

For Further Reading

• “We owe so much to so few.”, a blog post on Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
• “‘Here Comes Everybody’: The 28th International Eucharistic Congress,” Chicago History (Spring 2009)
• “Black Catholic Revolution,” Chicago History (Summer 2018)

PRIMARY SOURCE TYPE: DOCUMENTS, 2D OBJECTS
Recommended for grades 7—12

In 1955, the murder of Emmett Till, a Black teenager from Chicago, and the subsequent criminal trial in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, attracted international attention and sparked the Civil Rights Movement.

Injustice: The Trial for the Murder of Emmett Till focuses on the trial through courtroom sketches by Franklin McMahon. The drawings give a visual account of a trial that amplified the inequities Black Americans face within the US court system.

This activity invites students to read excerpts from the trial testimony and examine courtroom drawings to analyze key parts of the trial, learn about the people involved, and consider how these primary source materials shape our understandings of the trial.

Access the full learning guide with standards alignment, a suggested activity, background information, resources, and student materials. Note: Spanish translations of student handouts coming soon.

Jojo Galvan Mora joined the Chicago History Museum (CHM) in 2021 as a researcher for Chicago00. In this blog post, he talks about his path to CHM and his work on our upcoming exhibition Aquí en Chicago.

What led you to the Chicago History Museum?

I began collaborating with the Museum on some digital humanities projects right around the time COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were easing up. One thing led to another, and then I found myself here in my current position of Digital Humanities Fellow. The history of Chicago and the surrounding area had always been a big interest of mine during my time as an undergraduate, and it only grew stronger as I matriculated through grad school. Ultimately, the wind blew me in the right direction!

When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a career involving history?

In a way, I’ve always known, which has often been both a blessing and a curse. Stories that transcend time or help us better understand our current moment have always fascinated me. I’ve always been a collector of just about anything that catches my interest: rocks, toy cars, bottle caps, books, furniture, etc. Growing up, we moved around a lot for a number of reasons, and that often meant leaving collections behind because I couldn’t take everything with me. That also meant that wherever we landed, I’d have the opportunity to start new collections.

Over the years, it wasn’t just about collecting things I could touch or hold, but things that I could carry with me wherever I went, like bits of folklore or urban legends. That interest only grew with time, and while it was helpful in giving me a rough idea of the trajectory I wanted to have, it also meant accepting that the journey in front of me was not going to be an easy or straightforward one. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned not to hold my breath and just let things go where they will.

Today, I’m working on finding a way to make our ever-increasing digital footprint as an institution more sustainable and accessible. Tomorrow I could be in someone’s residence because they reached out to the Museum and wanted to donate material related to an obscure topic that I just happen to know a lot about. The love of things of this world and the people behind them is what has kept me here.

Why is translation work important to the museum field?

The short answer to this question is straightforward: translation work is vital because museums should be welcoming to all, regardless of what language they speak. It’s our responsibility as cultural workers to do everything within our grasp to make the Museum’s galleries welcoming to everyone curious to learn.

The lengthier answer is one full of nuance. If we focus on Chicago, the data presents a compelling case. As of 2020, one in every three Chicagoans over the age of five speaks a language other than English at home. According to a 2025 Language Needs Assessment Report commissioned by the Illinois Governor’s Office of New Americans, in Cook County alone, there are almost 700,000 individuals who the census identifies as “Limited-English” persons (individuals who do not speak English very well, if at all). Out of that sum, more than half of those individuals (roughly 400,000) speak Spanish at home.

By comparison, the second most spoken language in Cook County is Polish, with almost 49,000 speakers. In our present-day world, translation/multilingual resources, as well as education, have become the standard in school classrooms, government offices, and faith-based and social service organizations. Suppose we’re taking seriously the promise of museums as sites for civic engagement, community connection, and individual empowerment. In that case, the importance of translations in galleries and educational materials quickly becomes non-negotiable.

Going beyond the numbers, our reality at the Chicago History Museum is that the history shared in our galleries extends beyond the United States. Chicago is, and has always been, a global city. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for us to encounter languages other than English in our research and Museum collections. Whether it’s Spanish, Polish, Vietnamese, Arabic, or one of the many Indigenous languages spoken here long before the arrival of outside settlers, the city and the region’s history haven’t been recorded or understood exclusively in English. As the museum tasked with interpreting the city of Chicago’s history, telling a more accurate and encompassing story demands that we go beyond the English language.

Tell us a little about your contributions to the Aquí en Chicago exhibition.

Well, I think my most obvious contribution to Aquí is the Spanish label text in the gallery and exhibition catalogue. While I’ve translated entire exhibitions, both in and out of CHM, Aquí is undoubtedly the largest translation project I’ve ever led. Outside of that, my fingerprints are all over the exhibition. I loaned a few works of art for the show. I led the research for some artifacts and helped with the acquisition process for others. My favorite contribution comes from the two summers I spent mentoring Aquí summer interns with my colleague, Dr. Elizabeth Barahona. It’s a great feeling knowing that I had the tiniest bit of influence in helping the writing process for the next generation of storytellers.

Jojo Galvan Mora (left) at a community collections workshop held at the 18th Street Casa de Cultura, which taught members of the general public how to best preserve their family heirlooms, Chicago, 2023. Photograph by CHM staff

Do you have a favorite object in the exhibition or is there a part of the exhibition that resonates most with you?

There isn’t anything in Aquí that doesn’t resonate with me! Everything included was carefully selected. However, an object that is both incredibly important to me and likely to be overlooked by many guests due to its small size is the air quality sensor we borrowed from the Cicero Independiente.

Cicero Independiente air sensor installation, 2023. Photograph courtesy of the Cicero Independiente

This small sensor was one of several that the newspaper’s reporters installed across the homes of Cicero residents, as part of a project focused on monitoring the town’s air quality. After roughly a year of data collection, what they discovered was devastating. It wasn’t uncommon for the data to show that Cicero regularly had the worst air quality in the area. As a result of the paper’s coverage, the issue garnered widespread attention, shedding light on decades of environmental injustice suffered by residents. While the Independiente’s work on this is far from finished, this investigation and the many others their newsroom have published demonstrate one of the many ways that change comes about through community work and resistance. Issues like air quality or access to local health data don’t impact specific neighborhoods and ignore others. They should be of interest to all of us.

What is one thing you hope people will learn when they visit the exhibition?

Outside of the rich history presented in the galleries through artifacts, images, and label text, I want Museum guests to walk away and truly consider the city’s future. While the stories in Aquí illuminate close to two centuries of Latino/a/e presence and resistance in Chicago, we’re also putting forward a compelling hypothesis: the future of Chicago is Latino/a/e. I hope that this idea inspires Museum visitors to learn more about and immerse themselves in the diverse cultures from all across Latin America that are breathing new life into the city’s neighborhoods.

Tell us about some of the connections you’ve made with community members while working on Aquí en Chicago.

There are far too many connections to count! From bringing the Hojarasca® cookies created by the Bonilla family, proprietors of the El Nopal® Bakeries in Chicago out of retirement and into the Museum’s North & Clark Café or interviewing members of the Alcala family about their legendary western wear store, it’s been an amazing experience.

However, if I had to choose a favorite connection, it’s undoubtedly building the link to the beautiful relationship that has blossomed between the Museum and the Kichwa Community of Chicago, an organization focused on the cultural preservation of Indigenous community practices from Ecuador.

Kichwa mural in Chicago, July 1, 2025. Photograph by CHM staff

Through this partnership, the Museum was able to collaboratively publish a trilingual (English, Spanish, and Kichwa) article in Chicago History magazine in 2025, detailing this community’s history and culture and expand the Museum’s collections by adding traditional Kichwa men’s and women’s ensembles to our costume collection. I’m excited to see how these relationships continue to develop long after the exhibition closes.

Five Favorites

1. Favorite ice cream flavor? Most days it’s vanilla. Every now and then a seasonal fruit flavor catches my heart.
2. Favorite season? Fall, always and forever.
3. Favorite animal? I have a thing for animals that are “ugly cute” like hyraxes and capybaras.
4. Favorite book? Too many to list, so I’ll keep it to stuff that I read as a child but continues to resonate with me into adulthood: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Neighborhood by Norbert Blei, and the entire Michigan Chillers series.
5. Favorite place to vacation? Anywhere with bodies of water. Michigan is always in my top five, but I’ve also come to love the Pacific Northwest, from Vancouver to Cannon Beach.

CHICAGO (July 25, 2025) – The Chicago History Museum is excited to share it has acquired the collection of former Playboy Bunny/Playmate and Chicago media personality Candace Jordan thanks to funds provided by The Costume Council of the Chicago History Museum. These items add to the Museum’s large collection of Playboy-related material and contain a more personal history of Playboy in Chicago.

“These items are a great addition to our already incredible holdings surrounding the history of Playboy in Chicago,” said CHM costume collection manager Jessica Pushor. “Having an employee’s perspective, someone who worked in the clubs and for many other facets of the company, gives us a fuller picture of the importance Playboy played in the greater history of the city.”

This acquisition includes a complete Playboy Bunny of the Year costume, three sets of Bunny ears, trophies, a Playboy Mansion rule book and dozens of images and records related to Candace Jordan’s career with Playboy. Once the collection has been processed into the Museum’s collection, the 2D (paper) items will be available for scholars and researchers through the Museum’s Abakanowicz Research Center.

In 1973, Jordan first worked as a Bunny at the St. Louis Playboy Club before moving to Chicago in 1974. She worked at the original Playboy Club at 116 E. Walton Street, and for a time even lived at the Playboy Mansion at 1340 N. State Parkway. Jordan would go on to become the 1976 Chicago Bunny of the Year, the December 1979 centerfold and a nine-time Playboy cover girl. After leaving the mansion, she appeared in several films and commercials and continued her modeling career. Today she is an award-winning media personality in Chicago where she is a publisher with Chicago Star Media and a columnist. She also runs her own lifestyle blog (CandidCandace.com), podcast and YouTube channel.

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ABOUT THE CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM
The Chicago History Museum is situated on ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi people, who cared for the land until forced out by non-Native settlers. Established in 1856, the Museum is located at 1601 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park, its third location. A major museum and research center for Chicago and U.S. history, the Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, publications, special events and programming, the Museum connects people to Chicago’s history and to each other. The Museum collects and preserves millions of artifacts, documents, and images to assist in sharing Chicago stories. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chicago Park District on behalf of the people of Chicago.

PRIMARY SOURCE TYPE: PHOTOGRAPH, DOCUMENT, 2D OBJECTS
Recommended for grades 3-5

A rapidly growing city built of wood. A summer-long heat wave. An exhausted and misdirected team of firefighters. Racial, social, and economic tensions bubbling just below the surface—all Chicago needed was a spark. Our past exhibition City on Fire: Chicago 1871  was divided into four parts: pre-fire Chicago in the “Wooden City,” the three days of the fire in the “Burning City,” the immediate aftermath in the “Smoldering City,” and the recovery and rebuilding efforts in the “Rebuilt City.” This video series is designed to duplicate the four sections of the exhibition by examining key content with embedded activities for the classroom.

Each video has an English and Spanish version, narrated and captioned. All student handouts are bilingual, either side by side translation or split into separate single language worksheets.

• The Wooden City
• The Burning City
• The Smoldering City
• The Rebuilt City

CITY ON FIRE: THE WOODEN CITY

Running Time: 7 mins 45 secs (English); 8 mins 39 secs (Spanish)

The “Wooden City” introduces Chicago at the time of the fire, noting the factors that enabled the fire to spread rapidly through the city and the social tensions that later influenced recovery efforts. Activities can be used independently of each other, enabling educators to customize their classroom experiences.

CITY ON FIRE: BURNING CITY

Running Time: 9 mins 57 secs (English); 10 mins 07 secs (Spanish)

The “Burning City” explores firefighting in 1871, the spread of the fire throughout the city, and how one Chicago couple, the Hudlins helped their neighbors. Activities can be used independently of each other, enabling educators to customize their classroom experiences.

CITY ON FIRE: THE SMOLDERING CITY

Running Time: 6 mins 18 secs (English); 7 mins 17 secs (Spanish)

The “Smoldering City” introduces what happened in the immediate aftermath of the fire and the ways people remembered the Great Chicago Fire through collecting and saving objects, taking photographs, and creating paintings. Activities can be used independently of each other, enabling educators to customize their classroom experiences.

CITY ON FIRE: REBUILT CITY

Running Time: 10 mins 42 secs (English); 11 mins 10 secs (Spanish)

The “Rebuilt City” encourages students to analyze drawings of post-Fire life, introduces how people navigated the post-Fire aid system through a questionnaire activity, returns to the story of Mrs. O’Leary, and examines fire safety today. Activities can be used independently of each other, enabling educators to customize their classroom experiences.

PRIMARY SOURCE TYPE: 2D OBJECTS, DOCUMENT, PHOTOGRAPH
Recommended for grades 6-12
Running Time: 9 mins 27 secs

This video is based on the Stockyards section of Chicago: Crossroads of America. This video can be used as a stand-alone activity or prior to a CHM visit. Please note: Objects in the Museum rotate periodically, so artifacts featured in the video may not be currently on display.

This video takes a close look at how Chicago’s stockyards and meatpacking industries affected everything in the city from immigration and migration, to changing neighborhoods, to workplace safety, public policy and labor organizing. Students will be asked to consider these impacts, how work shapes a city, and what the future of work may look like in Chicago.

These additional resources support the use of this video in classroom instruction.

• Impacts of Stockyards and Meatpacking learning guide (PDF)
• Impacts of Stockyards and Meatpacking image packet (PDF)
• Video transcript in English (PDF)  and Spanish (PDF)

PRIMARY SOURCE TYPE: PHOTOGRAPHS, DOCUMENTS, 2D OBJECTS
Recommended for grades 3-5
Running Time: 11 mins 20 secs

This video is based the Great Chicago Fire section of Chicago: Crossroads of America. This video can be used as a stand- alone activity or prior to a CHM visit. Please note: Objects in the Museum rotate periodically, so artifacts featured in the video may not be currently on display.

Students are asked critical thinking questions throughout this video as they discover not only the events of the three days of the fire but also consider how people were impacted and the sometimes unjust decisions made during the recovery efforts. Explore the lasting legacy of the fire and the lessons we can learn from the past when we face similar challenges today.

These additional resources support the use of this video in classroom instruction:

• Lessons from the Great Chicago Fire learning guide (PDF)
• Lessons from the Great Chicago Fire image packet (PDF)
• Video transcript in English (PDF)  and Spanish (PDF)