Features What Ever Happened to the Great Chicago Families? by Megan McKinney, Dennis Rodkin, Judy York, Amber Holst, Geoffrey Johnson, and Bryan Smith The people who built some of Chicago’s major fortunes and institutions, and whose works forged a mighty metropolis, bore names like Pullman, McCormick, Armor, Swift, Field, and Palmer. Today the descendants of … Read more
Features The New Doctors, by Dennis Rodkin Looking for more ways to keep their patients healthy, some MDs are integrating alternative therapies-such as acupuncture, yoga, and herbal remedies-into their practices. We examine this trend and five local clinics that champion “integrative” medicine, and we list several dozen Chicago-area doctors who are blending the old and … Read more
Why would Illinois Supreme Court justice Robert R. Thomas, a rugged former placekicker for the Bears, sue a small newspaper’s scrappy columnist for defamation? Some observers believe the judge wants to clear the air before making bigger political moves.
For a brief but wild time in the twenties and thirties, an openly gay culture thrived in Chicago—a period historians call the “Pansy Craze.” Nightclubs and cabarets drew crowds of homosexuals, lesbians, and voyeurs—among them, sociologists who dutifully recorded the proceedings. Recently rediscovered recollections from that era have landed the city in the forefront of the small but popular field of gay historical research.
Six Chicago artists—two emerging, two established, two mid-career—garnering attention today.
Despite a recent crash, the medical transport helicopter team at the U. of C. Hospitals is among the nation’s leaders in safety and has rescued hundreds. Still, some critics say the skies are becoming too crowded.
There are more than 1,690 streets in the city of Chicago, a surprising number of which are named after Dead White Guys. Many of the men whose names grace our street signs lived incredible lives, did wonderful things, and made their mark on the world. Others . . . not so much. Here are the … Read more
For decades, Kiyoko and Nathan Lerner were the caretakers of the astonishing collection of outsider art left by their reclusive tenant Henry Darger. But what remains unsold has found no permanent Chicago home.
Photo: Kit DeFever Frank McCourt Frank McCourt slogged away for 30 years teaching in New York City public schools-hardly the traditional route to literary stardom. The self-described “late bloomer” retired in 1987 and wrote the memoir that would amplify his existence: Angela’s Ashes. When it arrived in 1996, McCourt, a ripe 66, became an international … Read more
Laurie Anderson, NASA’s first artist in residence, talks about her unusual commission, the wisdom of Godard, and her newfound enthusiasm for the red planet.
