Inside the Start of the Chicago Bulls' Championship Run

BOUND FOR GLORY: An oral history of how Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, and the rest of the 1991 NBA champs learned to play together and started the greatest pro sports dynasty the town has ever seen

Bryan Smith

Former Chicago Athletes: Where Are They Now?

What do star athletes do after their playing days are over? We tracked down a onetime Bears cornerback who’s now a practicing dentist and a missionary; a former Blackhawks star who copilots...

Michell Eloy, Geoffrey Johnson, Jenna Marotta, Graham Meyer, and Shane Tritsch

How the Bulls' Derrick Rose Went from Good to Great

THE TIPPING POINT: This season the soft-spoken Chicago native has blossomed into one of the most dazzling basketball players on the planet. Here's how he did it

Jonathan Eig

The Wisdom of Coaches

Top local coaches—from Ozzie Guillen and Tom Thibodeau to Oliver Purnell and Kelly Amonte Hiller—reveal sacred truths about perseverance, motivation, the importance of hard work, the value of...

Noah Isackson

2011 Green Awards

For our fifth annual eco-awards, we assembled a class of locals who are building a cleaner future by channeling the past.

Table of Contents

Contributors

APRIL 2011: Jonathan Eig, Catey Sullivan, Taylor Castle, Noah Isackson

Lena Singer

Feedback

IN APRIL'S LETTERS: Searching for answers in Lost Chicago

A Look at The Aviary

IN THE ROCKS: It's a brave new cocktail world at the high-concept lounge

Jennifer Tanaka

A Night Out at Maude’s Liquor Bar

PARIS MATCH: How I became a date crasher at the West Loop’s French spot

Amalie Drury

Five Best Things to Do in April

POCKET GUIDE: A cultural short-list for April, in order of buzz

Jennifer Wehunt

Uji Films Duo Looks at School Lunches in the New Documentary, 'Lunch Line'

TRAY TALK: A Q&A with Michael Graziano and Ernie Park on the school food movement

Dennis Rodkin

'The Interrupters': Kartemquin Films Goes Inside CeaseFire

THE PEACEMAKERS: A new documentary by Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz follows three former felons who return to their Chicago neighborhoods and embark upon a unique antiviolence campaign

Rod O'Connor

What Lupe Fiasco Is Reading, Listening to, and Wearing Right Now

Get inside the mind—and the closet—of Chicago’s cerebral hip-hop star

Kevin McKeough

Jon Michael Hill, Steppenwolf Actor and Star of 'Detroit 1-8-7,' Returns to the Local Stage in 'The Hot L Baltimore'

A STAR ON DECK: A look at the next big thing

Kevin McKeough

Realtor Jobs Decline With Housing Market

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT: It’s a “good correction,” says group’s local president

Dennis Rodkin

A “To the Nines” Gold Coast Rehab

ARE WE THERE YET?: Gregory Crecos, head of head-hunting firm Gregory Michaels & Associates, sells a distinctive, renovated home that includes an elevator and expanded coach house

Dennis Rodkin

Ambassador’s Lake Forest Mansion Slides Off the Market

THE CUBAN SLIDE: Despite being designed by one of MOMA’s architects for a Cuban envoy, the 25-room house goes as short sale

Dennis Rodkin

Foreclosed Humboldt Park Condos On Market, Under Market Price

PROJECT GIVEAWAY: Developer passes along savings reaped in townhouse-unit deal

Dennis Rodkin

South Loop Rentals Return to Market

CATCH AND RELEASE: Condos in the 20-story Marquee on South Michigan Avenue go on sale as rental leases run out

Dennis Rodkin

Lucien Lagrange Condo Grows With the Economy

ON THE LEVEL(S): Lincoln Park 2520 regains six of its eight lost stories after a final round of construction funding comes through

Dennis Rodkin

The Hot List: 10 places everyone’s talking about and dining at in April in order of heat

Chicago's most-buzzed-about restaurants this month

Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby

Best New Hotels: Seven Spots to Please a Spectrum of People and Budgets

CROWD PLEASERS: Your siblings, your uncle, and your in-laws? Everyone you know is coming to town this spring, and not only are you the object of their affection—you’re responsible for showing...

Katherine Sacks

Sports Medicine Doctors Offer Tips to Avoid and Treat Injuries

DOCS FOR JOCKS: Twelve ways to avoid and treat common sports injuries from the doctors who help Chicago's professional athletes

Karen Springen

Fashionable Rain Gear: Hunter, Burberry, and more

LIGHTNING JOLT: So April brings showers. It doesn't mean your style has to wash away. This spring, runway-worthy coats and boots top our list of desires

Urban Partnership Bank Chairman David Vitale on ShoreBank, Federal Aid for Banks, and Detroit’s Troubles

WHAT I WAS THINKING: Q & A with the longtime banking executive

Take an Anti-Spring Break in Guanajuato, the Thinking Person’s Mexico

THE ESCAPE ARTIST: Surrounded by the Sierra Madre, the central Mexican city is a colonial city rich with lore

Catey Sullivan

An Annotated Dish from Grant Achatz's Upcoming Restaurant, Next

Take a peek at Chef David Beran’s work-in-progress hors d’oeuvres selection

Jennifer Tanaka

Fish Bar Coming to Lake View

Whole fried clams, lobster rolls, and gumbo, are on the menu at this new spot.

Carly Boers

Austin BBQ in Wheaton Sticks to ‘Hard-Core Texas’ Way

Pit master Doug Pierce emulates smoking techniques from the Lone Star State

Carly Boers

New to Chicago: Chimney Cake Island in Rogers Park

SINGLED OUT: The treat is part doughnut, part coffeecake, pure guilty pleasure

Penny Pollack

Time is Money at Homaro Cantu’s Ing

HOUR TOWN: The chef describes his new lab of gastronomic imaginings

Jeff Ruby

Dining Reviews: Crofton on Wells and Takashi

STAYING POWER: Long after their moments in the sun, two terrific restaurants survive in very different ways

Jeff Ruby

Lousy Parenting: One Family’s Experience with Head Lice Removal

Nothing sends a family into a fury like Pediculus humanus capitis—a.k.a. head lice

Jeff Ruby