A WRITER’S STORY: For more than 40 years, while laboring here on his own novels, Curt Johnson used his little magazine, December, to champion other authors—including a then-unknown Raymond Carver
“I hear you’re an Oxxford guy,” I said to Rod Blagojevich in 2003, shortly after he became governor. His beady, closely-set eyes popped in excitement, and he launched into a detailed timeline of his suit and “accessories” purchases. Blago’s enthusiasm was palpable, but I didn’t know its $200,000 pricetag until the IRS weighted in this week at his trial…
THAT FACE: Our pick for the unofficial portrait of Rod Blagojevich
Jonathan Alter grew up in Lincoln Park before heading east for school and then to New York to write for Newsweek. Currently the national affairs columnist for the beleaguered magazine, Alter is also the author of The Promise, a fast-paced analysis of President Obama’s first year. In Chicago to promote his book, the journalist stopped by my house last week…
When Rod was at the top of his game in 2003, just after he was elected governor—and when fantasies of the Oval Office danced in his head—he told me that his favorite presidents were Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. But the memories Blago shared with me during our interviews showed something different: from boyhood on, he was obsessed with Richard Nixon…
Otis McDonald sued for the right to own a handgun in Chicago, and the Supreme Court ruled in his favor on June 28. Read his story, from our archives
OUR TALK: Chicago’s history weaves through English—we identified the 40 words where the city’s voice speaks loudest
Bradley Tusk, who served as deputy governor during Rod Blagojevich’s first term, was in the hot seat yesterday at the former gov’s corruption trial. I met Tusk, then 30, while interviewing Blago in 2003, and I continued to follow his career because he seemed like such an anomaly in the administration: a young man hired for his abilities rather than his…
Joel Pollak, the 32-year-old Harvard-educated Tea-Party-backed candidate for the 9th Congressional District (currently occupied by Jan Schakowsky), had what seemed like a hugely successful fundraiser on Wednesday afternoon. Featuring Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, the luncheon was held at the…
Click the thumbnails for larger images RELATED STORY: Chicago‘s most eligible singles of 2010 » Photography: Esther Kang and Megan Lovejoy
