Chicago Magazine Wins Big at 34th Annual CRMA Conference

The City and Regional Magazine Association honored Chicago magazine with four awards at the 2010 CRMA Conference on June 7th in Providence, Rhode Island. Competing amid 142 finalists representing 38 publications, Chicago magazine was recognized for the following coverage.

Longman’s One-night Stand

Our top five picks for things to do this week: Snag a sneak peek of Longman & Eagle’s second floor … gorge on Beethoven, beer, and Chicago fashion … plus three freebies (She & Him!) for easing the pain of a two-day weekend

Robbie Fulks Reinterprets Michael Jackson’s Music in New Album, “Happy”

When Michael Jackson died last year at age 50, the published, broadcast, blogged, and Tweeted tributes rehashed the sordid details of the King of Pop’s saga: Bubbles the chimp, the nasal surgery, his bleached skin, and so on. But all Robbie Fulks could think about was the music. “With Michael Jackson, the celebrity factor is … Read more

“The Promise,” by Jonathan Alter, Examines Obama’s First Year in Office

The barrage of Obamacentric books continues. The latest is The Promise (Simon & Schuster; $28), a 480-page account of the president’s first year in office by Jonathan Alter, a senior editor at Newsweek. Alter grew up six blocks from Wrigley Field and began his career as a freelancer for the now-defunct Chicago Journalism Review. He … Read more

The Other Hawks

Our top five picks for things to do this week: Not those hawks. Ballhawks … Jeanne Gang, Aquawoman … It’s alive! Sue stalks the Field … and more finds for Memorial Day weekend

Forgotten Fate of the Place Where Lincoln Won His Party's Nomination

This month marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln winning the Republican nomination for president here in Chicago. That momentous event occurred on May 18, 1860, inside a large, two-story, pine-plank convention hall at what is today the southeast corner of Lake Street and Wacker Drive. Like other political gathering places in its day, the hastily built hall was known as the Wigwam. Everybody knows what became of Lincoln (who wasn’t in Chicago for the convention), but what happened to the Wigwam?…

By Our Writers: 'Now Hiring: White House Dog' by Gina Bazer

While the blogosphere buzzed about the value of our nation’s top dog ($1,600, according to the Obamas’ financial disclosure form, released this past Monday), Chicago magazine staffer Gina Bazer recalled another time when Bo’s worth was under consideration. Not long after the president’s election-day declaration that he would be delivering on his promise of a dog for his daughters, Bazer co-wrote a children’s book loosely based on the first family’s search for the perfect pup…