Features

The Spirit of ‘96
Our eight Chicagoans of the Year – whose contributions range from a rollicking political convention to a haven for the homeless – have done more than just make the impossible possible: They’ve made it real.

Earth Angel
by Penelope Mesic
Anne Heche, at 26, has gone from the Francis Parker School to leading roles in three upcoming films, leaving heartbreak behind.

Whose Life Is It, Anyway?
by Jonathan Eig
When a Northwestern journalism professor and three of his students helped free four innocent men from prison, the students were hailed as “real-life heroines.” Now an ugly battle has erupted over credit and movie rights.

Chicago’s Top Doctors
by Dennis Rodkin
Thousands of local physicians recently were asked where they would seek help with medical problems. This guide is the result – listing important information on more than 500 of the area’s specialists in 34 fields.

Eclectic Shock
by Todd Pruzan
Blues bars getting boring? Six local clubs host musical acts at least once a week that play to their own beat – Latin, polka, or a bit of everything.

Bride and Joy
by Libby Morse
Is it a match? Will love conquer all? Those are the easy wedding questions. We have come up with the answers to three of the really tough ones.

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Frontlines
Power Lines
by Marc Spiegler
Our new column on politics, media, and business: Did banks go easy on Mel Reynolds?

Stage & Screen
by Penelope Mesic
In Horton Foote’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, reality strikes like lightning.

Real Lives
by Marcia Froelke Coburn
Michael Morton invents a bigger Drink for the hip baby-bottle crowd.

Our Joseph
by Martin E. Marty
Open arms and affirmation – a remembrance of Cardinal Bernardin

Dining Out
by Dennis Ray Wheaton
With three new sushi bars, restaurants set out to prove that some like it raw.

The Goods

by Jennifer Epstein
She’s got a ticket to ride – but not past the point of no return.

Sullivan’s Travels
by Terry Sullivan
Et tu, Shakespeare: a birthday crisis of literary proportions