Playing For Keeps

Five days a week, a group of widowers and retirees gather around three worn pool tables in a South Shore rec room to shoot some stick and razz one another. The men are old; their bodies are breaking down—but to Baby Ray and the rest, the place is one big, slow gulp from the fountain of youth.

Neff of Chicago’s Finishing Touches Presentation

April 5, 2011 — Architects, designers, and builders gathered at the Merchandise Mart to learn about the latest in kitchen cabinetry finishes. Pat Borg, owner and president of Neff of Chicago, and Richard Byard, vice president of world design for Neff Manufacturing, took attendees through Neff’s exquisite cabinetry options, from patinas, Euro-laminates, exotic veneers, and holographic treatments. Guests enjoyed breakfast items from The Chopping Block and were automatically entered into a raffle drawing to win one of five trips to Toronto to tour Neff Manufacturing’s state-of-the-art facilities.

Feedback

Age Before Beauty I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful people in your 50 most beautiful Chicagoans article [“Model Citizens,” March]. I liked the stories and loved the outfits, and I especially appreciate and applaud you for picturing a very diverse group. You succeeded in focusing on diversity on every level, except the age level. … Read more

Illinois School Reform In the Works

Big developments today in Springfield about school hours, teacher seniority, and collective bargaining. Illinois might be the next state to see dramatic revisions to educational policy, and without the fight that going on elsewhere.

Annals of Interruption: CeaseFire's Ancestor

The violence-prevention program known as CeaseFire has earned a lot of national attention, from a new documentary by Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James to a New York Times Magazine profile. But its model of street-level, ear-to-the-ground has a much earlier Chicago precedent in the Commission on Human Relations.