The day after President Donald Trump’s administration began demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make way for a massive 90,000-square-foot ballroom, I sat in a room full of people witnessing what happens when we build, rather than tear down.

Structures. Communities. People. Imaginations.

The Chicago Public Library Foundation held its annual awards ceremony at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion on Tuesday night. Former Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey received a civic leadership award. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Percival Everett won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award and joined NPR host Scott Simon in conversation on stage.

Calumet City poet José Olivarez won the 21st Century Award, which honors an early career author with ties to Chicago. Past wi

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