CHICAGO — Happy Tuesday, Chicago! Here is what we're reading around the web today.
Sorry, But You Can't Have My Lottery Money: Monday’s DNAinfo story about the former monk who is using some of his $153 million lottery winnings to help fund a five-hour play at the Goodman Theater had senior writer Andrew Herrmann wondering about the effects of such a big prize. This New York Times piece on winners quotes Harvard social psychologist Michael I. Norton saying that giving away money makes people happy but a downside is all the folks looking for a handout.
"The problem with a big lottery win is that it adds a group of people to your life that you don’t want to be in contact with, and it disrupts the relationships with the people you do want to be in contact with,” says Norton, the co-author of “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.”
Ikea Is Not Playing Around: It’s easy to get lost in Ikea, just don’t do it on purpose. Apparently it’s a thing in Europe to play hide and seek in the cavernous stores, as Patty Wetli discovered via the Irish Examiner. Thousands of Dutch were all set to slither under Svelvik bed frames or curl up inside Betrodd bottom freezers when the company put the kibosh on the fun and games. Said a spokeswoman: “We need to make sure people are safe in our stores and that’s hard to do if we don’t even know where they are.”
Aldi’s Got a New Attitude: Crain’s Chicago Business details the attempt by Aldi to ditch its reputation as a haven for knockoffs and cheap food, which was at the heart of the debate at a community meeting last week in Portage Park about the future of a long-vacant bank building. While some residents said Aldi will hurt the neighborhood’s reputation, others said they love shopping at new-and-improved Aldi stores — and saving a ton of money. Aldi is working to expand its share of the grocery market by appealing to middle-class folks in good neighborhoods determined to save a buck by giving up brand names, according to the story. Whether that strategy is successful could play a big role in whether the new development in Portage Park gets off the ground.
CHA is a Saver, Not a Spender: The Chicago Housing Authority has been stockpiling cash for years through some tricky accounting techniques. Sam Cholke is watching HuffPost’s interview with Kenwood activists questioning why the CHA is paying down its debts early and plumping up its pension fund during a period when low-income housing is in high demand and the market is flush with cheap and available property.
GIFing Your Future: Social Media Director Jen Sabella is obsessed with these Astrology GIFs of the week from NY mag's The Cut — even though its Libra predictions have been bummers lately.
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