The Gay '30S

For a brief but wild time in the twenties and thirties, an openly gay culture thrived in Chicago—a period historians call the “Pansy Craze.” Nightclubs and cabarets drew crowds of...

Lucinda Fleeson

Studio City

Six Chicago artists—two emerging, two established, two mid-career—garnering attention today.

Deborah Wilk

Night Moves

Designs for the holiday season's main events are simply chic and sensationally smashing—let's celebrate.

Stacey Jones

Betting Her Life

Barbara Hermansen found happiness and fulfillment as a North Shore wife, mother, and lawyer—until she started taking a prescription drug for a neurological disorder. Then a trip to Las Vegas set...

Bryan Smith

Bargain Dining

Chicago is full of restaurants that offer good food for not much money; you just have to know where to look. We've gathered a definitive package of 90-plus great spots—ethnic, classic, nocturnal,...

Dennis Ray Wheaton with Jeff Ruby and Joanne Trestrail

How We Spend - Urban Sprawl

Chicago keeps making it onto lists of the fattest cities. Are Chicagoans also fiscally unfit?

Clare La Plante

Table of Contents

Street Creed

Jeff Ruby

The Lost World

For decades, Kiyoko and Nathan Lerner were the caretakers of the astonishing collection of outsider art left by their reclusive tenant Henry Darger. But what remains unsold has found no permanent...

Amber Holst

Bowl Marketing

The new Lucky Strike Lanes; a lobby bar without the hotel; celebrity beat

Sarah Preston

Writers on the Record - Frank McCourt

Victoria Lautman

Style Sheet

Space Invader

Laurie Anderson, NASA's first artist in residence, talks about her unusual commission, the wisdom of Godard, and her newfound enthusiasm for the red planet.

Bradley Lincoln

Sister Act

Entrepreneurs Monika and Erika Simmons hook up Chicagoans with their funky crocheted apparel line.

Stacy Wallace-Albert

Rubber Soul

Why Converse picked Dwayne Wade for its first signature shoe in 82 years.

Noah Isackson

Paint by Numbers

At the University of Chicago and in a forthcoming new book, the economist David Galenson explores his theory that an artist's type can predict his likely career arc.

Kevin McKeough

Man on the Right

The Northwestern University law prof Steve Calabresi tells why he helped found the Federalist Society.

Geoffrey Johnson

It's Easy Being Green

On a westerly stretch of Armitage Avenue, Michele Fitzpatrick makes a case for enviro-friendly design with her sophisticated new furniture line.

Stacy Wallace-Albert

Great Grapes!

Want to ratchet up your wine smarts before the holidays arrive? We asked area sellers for their classes and good swigs.

Deborah Wilk

Funny Girl

Ana Gasteyer shares her latest finds, her favorite stuff, and her way of coping with the green goo.

Bradley Lincoln

By Our Writers

The latest publications from the staff of Chicago magazine

Lauren Murrow

Loss's Cause

Two decades after the state supreme court went to extraordinary lengths to reject him, Edward Loss finally became a lawyer in Illinois—completing his triumph over a troubled past and closing a...

Lester Munson

Help From Above

Despite a recent crash, the medical transport helicopter team at the U. of C. Hospitals is among the nation's leaders in safety and has rescued hundreds. Still, some critics say the skies are...

Jeff Ruby

Requiem for a Heavyweight?

Preservationists and the federal government face off over the fate of the 17-acre estate on the North Shore owned by the jailed insurance mogul Michael Segal.

Dennis Rodkin

The Perfect Cure

A brief tour of good spots to score a charcuterie plate.

Penny Pollack and Deb Wilk

Recipe File

Thyme Café's Artichoke Fritters

Dining Tidbits

The latest from the dining scene