Nora Best, seated at a sewing machine in her Chicago home, makes some last-minute repairs to her burlesque costume. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Nora Best and Katie Faris, members of Plan 9 Burlesque, get dressed in preparation for the annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Lizz Anderson tests out her plastic gun with Katie Faris, dressed as The Watchmen’s Silk Spectre, on their way to the Expo. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
The ladies strike a pose on their way to the main floor of the Expo, held in the West Building at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Another pose in front of giant red “C 2 E 2″ letters, shorthand for the Expo, installed outside the entryway. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
MEDILL REPORTS CHICAGO — Altgeld Gardens: Turning poverty into possibility. Photo by Robyn Murray.
The memorial wall in Altgeld Gardens stands in a dilapidated breezeway that leads to an unmarked convenience store. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Daphne Whitington, creative writing teacher at Julian High School on Chicago’s South Side, readies for rehearsal with her spoken word poetry team. The teens were preparing to compete in the 2013 Louder Than a Bomb competition. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Subway singers perform in the Red Line station in downtown Chicago. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
The Rookie League Tigers come together after a spring game in Evanston, Ill. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
The Rookie League Tigers play in the cages while waiting to bat. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
A Rookie League player slides through home base and into the photographer. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
A Rookie Tiger heads up to bat. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
A Tiger dashes to first base after a solid hit. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Kate Townley and her 20-month-old daughter, Jane, enjoy a warm afternoon on the porch of their home in Omaha, Neb. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Medill graduate student Kavya Sukumar walks home to her Chicago apartment in the rain. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Drag artist Darling Shear prepares for a performance at dance club/restaurant Unbridled in Chicago. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Completing the transformation, Shear performs as host of the event at Unbridled. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
A hula hoop dancer at Unbridled in Chicago. Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Performers at Unbridled with Shear as host (bottom right). Photo credit: Robyn Murray/MEDILL
Robyn Murray 