Chicago alt-weekly survives column clash, going nonprofit

By KATHLEEN FOODY
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s famed alt-weekly is expected to become a nonprofit this month after the sale was nearly derailed over a co-owner’s column opposing COVID-19 vaccine requirements for children. The Chicago Reader’s sale was on track to be sold to the new nonprofit last year until the November printing of defense attorney Leonard Goodman’s column headlined “Vaxxing our kids” prompted allegations of misinformation and censorship. Goodman agreed to step aside in late April, allowing the sale to go through. Still, the standoff among the alt-weekly’s managers left staff members in limbo for months, wondering if the Reader would be shut down.