The city doesn’t go to sleep just because most of us do. Some people work nights, keeping the city going. Haley Hatton, a harm reduction specialist for the Night Ministry, put it plainly: “[This work] doesn’t just happen by magic.”

So, for a month, I stayed up late and met night workers across the city and across industries. In addition to Hatton, a corner store clerk, a diner server, a firefighter, and a vet tech all shared their stories with me. Most of them feel working nights offers a cheat code to the city’s chief annoyances, like traffic and crowds. There’s also a magic to Chicago nights to which they have special access: the golden hue that radiates from streetlights, the skyline shining off the lake, quiet solitude difficult to find in the city, and a kinship with their fellow nig

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