Chicago alt-weekly survives column clash, going nonprofit

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

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Reader, the city'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 publication 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 after surviving multiple previous sales and the coronavirus pandemic.

In the column, Goodman wrote that “feverish hype by government officials, mainstream media outlets, and Big Pharma" made him question whether his 6-year-old daughter should be vaccinated.