With recent headlines too often focusing on shootings and assorted bad guys, it’s high time to single out some people who have made good—no, amazing—things happen in Chicago this year. They include a low-key philanthropist, a community-minded playwright, an innovative jazzman, a dedicated educator, and a young teen and a pediatric surgeon linked by acts of bravery. Chicago will celebrate the achievements of these special six in a December luncheon at the Peninsula Chicago, sponsored in part by Spex. It’s impossible to read about them and not be inspired.

Photography: Taylor Castle