2025 was a wild ride in Chicago — a rickety, upside-down carnival ride manned by a stoned teenager. Onwards and upwards, though! Here’s what I predict will be in and out in 2026.
In
- 💉 Getting. Your. Flu. Shot. My friend group was decimated by the flu over the holidays. Don’t be like us. And get your COVID booster while you’re at it!
- 💌 Sending postcards to out-of-towners. Spread the beauty of Chicago for the price of a postage stamp ($0.61). It’ll make you feel like you’re on vacation!
- 🏈 Casually queuing “The Superbowl Shuffle.” At least for now. Memorize a few verses and you’ll impress the whole bar. (Jim McMahon’s part is easy.)
- 📚 Using your library card. Here’s how. Also, this one’s a two-fer: Read more books!
- 🍕 The Empty Bottle happy hour. A shot, a beer, and a Detroit-style slice of ‘za for $8. Pair that with free Monday concerts, and you’ve got a dependable winter outing.
- ☕️ Cozy coffee shops. No more working at home alone! Normalize being alone in public spaces!
- 🚇 Clark and Lake. With the State and Lake station officially closed for three years, you don’t really have a choice. Red Liners, fear not: The Lake subway portion will remain open.
- 🎀 Wearing your hair rollers out. This is a trend I’m personally trying to push — in 2026, we’re caring less.
Out
- 🚨 The National Guard. The Trump administration is giving up on deploying the Guard to Chicago following a Supreme Court loss. Hopefully ICE and Border Patrol follow.
- 🍔 Small Cheval. It feels like fast food but costs like a true sit-down. And it’s not even the best cheeseburger on Armitage!
- 🥃 Dry January. Hot take, but let’s save the (holier-than-thou) self-improvement for the summer when there’s sober fun to be had. For now, leave me my gloomy nights with hot toddies.
- 🏈 Fourth-quarter comebacks. The Bears should keep winning, but we could all do with less stress this year.
- 🪩 Long lines to go dancing. (Looking at you Milwaukee Avenue — Slippery Slope is not all that.) Instead, pop out on a weeknight and/or take over TouchTunes at your local dive.
- 🗳️ Shady political succession. U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (4th) was not the first Chicagoan to orchestrate a political handoff by retiring at the last minute. But can he please be the last?
- 🚇 State and Lake, obviously. Also: ghost buses! Has your map app started showing canceled buses yet? They’re supposed to.
- 😭 Nihilism. Don’t get me wrong, Chicagoans showed out to help their neighbors in 2025. But it was hard. And the citywide malaise was real. Looking ahead, I hope everyone can keep their hope up.
Oh, one more! In: Emmi-generated news summaries. Out: ChatGPT. But you already knew that 😉
