Keating is expert historian in Chicago public radio segment about suburbs

Ann Durkin Keating, North Central College Dr. C. Frederick Toenniges Professor of History, is the expert historian in a WBEZ-FM 91.5 “Curious City” segment titled “Don't believe the height! Why Chicago suburb names flat out lie about their elevation.” Click here to hear the audio (she begins at the 3:48 minute-mark) and read the story.

WBEZ’s “Curious City” is an ongoing series, whose mission is to include the public in editorial decision-making and strengthen multimedia coverage about Chicago, the surrounding region and its people. “Curious City” stories originate with questions submitted by the public. WBEZ producers and editors sift through those questions and work with reporters, radio hosts and others to find the best answers. Questions are placed into voting rounds, so the public can make the final decision about what to investigate.

In her segment, Keating discusses reasons 19th century residents moved from Chicago’s city center to higher elevations in the suburbs and why suburbs were named Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect, for example, at a time when “flatness just wasn’t fashionable.”

Click here to view Keating’s faculty profile.