Oprah Unbound

After 25 years, Chicago’s Media Queen builds a bigger business and charitable empire, dabbles in politics, and strikes out for the West. Can $2.7 billion buy happiness?

Marcia Froelke Coburn

Paying with the Past

Lawyers for victims of two 20th-century terrorist bombings are trying to force the sale of a cache of 2,500-year-old Persian tablets currently on loan to Chicago's Oriental Institute.

Gwenda Blair

Bagging the Media Queen

For two years, Kitty Kelley, America’s most notorious celebrity biographer, has been tracking Oprah, a notoriously private subject. The multimillion-dollar game of cat-and-mouse promises to play...

Josh Schollmeyer

Tale of the Tape

The former Channel 5 news reporter Amy Jacobson saw her career and personal life derailed after a video showed her in a bikini at the home of a man under investigation after his wife’s...

Lucinda Hahn

Contributors

December 2008 Table of Contents

Feedback

In December’s letters: multidimensional Stevenson, boats missed, armchairs, memories, Starbucks, Homer Glen, and back to reality

DIY-conomics

What do you really save when you do it yourself? A pseudoscientific experiment

Beth Marino

I'll Pass, Thanks

If you've been thirsting for plagues, taxi driver stories, and miracle food in The Closer, you're not alone

Jeff Ruby

Radical Rehab

Chicago offers second chances for long-ago rebels

Andrew Schroedter

Mile High Club

Dizzying views, sexy catsuits: Vertigo takes River North for a ride

Sarah Preston

Recipe File

City dwellers who aren't prepared to cab it to Downers Grove's newly reopened Stardust can mix this holiday party-pleaser at home.

Sarah Preston

Open House

Will Sully's House Tap Room & Grill stick it out in the shadow of glitzier clubs like Crobar, or will it go the way of many of the area's recently constructed condos: unoccupied?

Sarah Preston

The Blip

Bright spots on the month's cultural radar

Cassie Walker

Soul Food

Our dining editor, Penny Pollack, dishes on her favorite cookbooks from 2008

Writers on Writers: In Vino

Reflections from the man who introduced America to the moschofilero

William Rice

House in a Bag?

A giant Ziploc is but one proposed protection against the flooding that plagues Farnsworth House, the glorious landmark by Mies. But are floods yet another natural disaster we just can't outwit?

Jay Pridmore

Kids and Play

A room full of toys. Two tough critics under 12 PLUS: A behind-the-scenes photo gallery

Geoffrey Johnson with Bridget Maiellaro

Sales Check

A roundup of December's sales, store openings, and shopping news

Rebecca Little

Bookmarked

New Ayers book postponed by politics

James L. Merriner

You Should Know ... Tom Irwin

He's as nice a guy as they come—in real life and on TV. But Tom Irwin is finally getting to exercise his dark side with a sinister Steppenwolf role and a cameo on Lost

Catey Sullivan

Bah, Humbug!

Three Scrooges walk into a bar. (And it hurts like the Dickens. Ha!)

Nora O'Donnell

Sweet Victory

Challenge your friends by hosting a holiday cookie contest. We tell you how, plus eight great recipes from top local pastry chefs

Jennifer Tanaka

Turf War

A band of hard-charging Lincoln Park activists scuttled the Latin School’s deal for priority use of a new soccer field on public parkland. But, in the end, did anyone really win?

Debra Pickett

Taking Stock

Inventory of the region's high-end homes eclipses their rate of sale

Dennis Rodkin

A Really Big Show

Homebuilders' display house included $300,000 in add-ons

Dennis Rodkin

Basket Case

Former Bulls coach endures yet another loss with sale of home

Dennis Rodkin

Three's Company

Jaunty tower is final piece of RDM's Trio development

Dennis Rodkin

Reign Check

Royal Corner condos replace old motel at site fit for a king

Dennis Rodkin

Senior Circuit

Embattled Lake Shore Athletic Club reborn as retirement home

Dennis Rodkin

Dining Tidbits

Chef Ryan McCaskey, Jamaica Jamaica, Eve, and Farmerie 58

Dining Out: Dream Teams

Take a seasoned chef, put him in a modern space with a slick bar, and turn him loose. Two new spots follow the tried-and-true formula

Dennis Ray Wheaton

Odyssey: Fun Size

In the tradition of miniature lap dogs, miniskirts, and Mini Coopers, mini food is the next big little thing. Many Chicago chefs and bakers are pushing the traditional boundaries of food in...

Becca Milfeld

Pour: Skyhawk Red Talon

On the 2004 Skyhawk Red Talon from Napa Valley, a delicious blend of cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, and syrah

Dennis Ray Wheaton

Singled Out: Lunch

On the $18 "Pinto Box" at Sepia

Jeff Ruby

Tea: Green Heaven

If The Green Teaist can't get us hooked on tea, nothing will

Jeff Ruby

Front Burner: Bill Kim

December 2008: Short Rib Fried Rice

Under the Influence

We chart the vortex of influences that came to bear on the latest 500 Clown Christmas show

Catey Sullivan

Second Look

The original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back with a new name and a new DVD series

Yea or Nay

The Simpsons' Harry Shearer and his wife bring their holiday sing-along to Chicago

Stuart J. Rosenberg