Photo: justinwkern/Flickr Nearly every significant moment of my grown-up life has somehow involved Lake Shore Drive. Not once, not twice, but three times my wife labored in the back seat of our Honda as I raced south to the University of Chicago hospital, pressing the pedal and my luck as far as they would go. … Read more
An ode to Chicago Avenue
Jamie Kalven’s Invisible Institute keeps the police accountable.
There is almost too much to look at from this bridge. Spin around on a single spot and you can give yourself a master class on 20th-century American architecture: the neoclassical wedding cake of the Jewelers Building, the art deco jazz of the Carbide & Carbon Building, the organic Brutalism of Harry Weese’s church, the … Read more
A family enjoys the skyline from Promontory Point Photo: Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune Chicago, you punish us with your harsh winters, your face-slapping winds, your bone-chilling blizzards. Why do we stay with you, C, when you treat us this way? But then. You melt the snows, you thaw the ice, and you hold out your hand. … Read more
My daughter Gemma didn’t talk much until she turned 4. Now we can’t get her to shut up. Her stories are rambling and nonsensical and adorable, but the best thing about her newfound verbosity? She speaks with a Chicago accent: Daddy, can you get me some of dose jelly beans over dare? It’s like she’s … Read more
City rivals: Simeon vs. Bogan PHoto: Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune Three years ago, I would wander into the gym at Whitney Young high school on a Monday or Wednesday evening, plunk down $5, and take a (literal) front-row seat to watch a 6-foot-11 dunking-and-shot-blocking machine by the name of
In January, the Service Club of Chicago, one of the oldest and most exclusive women’s charity organizations in the city, made Simona Garcia its new president. Born Simona Groza, she had come to the United States from Romania 16 years earlier with $100 to her name. Her first job was as a hotel housekeeper and … Read more
We’re tired of our city getting knocked around. So we decided
to punch back with this tribute, bursting with heartfelt and humorous contributions—67 in all—by our best writers, artists, poets, scholars, and entertainers. How do we love thee, Chicago? Let us count the ways.
