Chicago doesn’t stop moving, but it does know how to live. From the jazz joints of Bronzeville to the corner taverns of Bridgeport, this city’s heart beats loudest when the sun goes down and the bottle caps start clinking. There’s food on every corner, music in every alley, and storefronts full of smoke, laughter, or both. What passes for leisure here is half escape, half declaration—every plate, tune, and prayer a way of saying, “We’re still standing.”   Each neighborhood has its own rhythm. Irish bars packed with meatpackers just off shift. Baptist churches that hum with voices and heat. Teens leaning into jukeboxes, blowing cigarette smoke through soda straws. Some pray. Some fight. Some gamble with their souls in Veil-tainted dance halls. But make no mistake—whether it’s baseball, big band, or backroom dice, leisure in Dark Chicago always comes with a price.