Features

48 Hours
Spend a sensational summer weekend in the city-our game plans include detailed intineraries for families and the culturally inclined, for glamour girls and lovers, for gourmets and sports fans.

Star Gazing
From a Miss Illinois runner-up to a pro baseball player, we’ve gathered 20 of the city’s most glittering eligible singles. Plus: A guide to group dating options.

Meet Your Matchmakers, by Cassie Walker
Seven of the city’s top fix-up professionals came together for a frank roundtable on love, dating, and who pays for lunch.

The Dating Game.com, by Ericka Mellon and Cassie Walker
Thousands of single Chicagoans are connecting online every day. We put five Internet dating sites to the test.

Out of Exile, by Robert Sharoff
For years, star architect Helmut Jahn has been virtually locked out of his projects in his own city while his most ambitious work has been accomplished overseas. Now he’s back with an innovatoive new dorm complex at IIT.

Bouncing Back, by Kelly Kleiman
In a coup de theatre, the Goodman has snared the world premiere of Bounce, the first new Stephen Sondheim musical in nearly a decade. Is the Goodman turning more and more into a home for out-of-town tryouts?

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Frontlines
Soccer stud Craig Capano; makeovers for straight guys; schlepping along with Steppenwolf’s casting director; the inside scoop on funky brunches; more

Style Sheet, by Stacy Wallace-Albert
Green with envy-for Italian glass, Venetian marbles, a Coach beach mat

How We Spend | The Home Stretch, by Clare La Plante
It’s official: Chicagoans are homebodies. Two-thirds of us own homes, and that’s only partly because housing here is more affordable than in the big coastal cities.

Real Lives | Life of the Party, by Marcia Froelke Coburn
As state treasurer, Judy Baar Topinka is the top Republican politician in Illinois. Why should she run for a higher office, as rumors suggest, when she is already the life of the party?

Reporter | The Dry Season, by Steve Rhodes
In recent years, Chicago has become a tough town in which to get a liquor license. Credit Mayor Daley’s strict policies on booze-and enforcement by a stern and obscure bureaucrat.

Business | Never Send Resumes, by Jonathan Black
A shakeup at Playboy left the managing editor jobless after 16 years. Now he’s exploring the world of the newly unemployed.

Dining Out | Three for the Road, by Dennis Ray Wheaton
Lake Geneva may not be known for its upscale restaurants, but don’t tell that to these three smooth Lakeside spots. Plus: Two choice B&Bs

Deal Estate, by Dennis Rodkin
Record sales in St. Charles and Hinsdale, eclectic charm in Lincoln Park, plus condo news from Central Station, Des Plaines, and River West

The Closer, by Jeff Ruby
The French, someone once said, have a different word for everything. Now even the chefs can’t decide what to call their own cuisine.