Features

The Wrecker
by David Jackson

Behind a veil of blind trusts, Chicago’s worst landlord controls an astonishing collection of property. Here’s how he works, how it hurts, and how, perhaps, he can be stopped.

Star Search
by Carla and Allen Kelson
When it comes to giving four stars to a restaurant, our dining critics want it all: ambiance, hospitality, service, and, of course, exquisite food. Every time they go. Is perfection so much to ask?

Brave New Zoo
by Jon R. Luoma
At Brookfield, beyond the snack stands and fake-rock islands, researchers are discovering ways to help animals survive in an increasingly crowded world.

Orient Expressed
by Chris Vartanian
You’d be so much more mysterious in rich fabrics, bangles up your arm to here. This spring, go for neo-ethnic glamour.

Dogfight
by Tony Fitzpatrick
What kind of sense does it make to be down in a basement with 30 guys for the sole purpose of watching one dog kill another?

Bold Souls
by Lloyd Sachs
Avant-garde gets up-to-date: of videos and mailing lists, movies and marketing – and a talented new generation that’s changing the face of a world-renowned institution in Chicago jazz

Chicago Story: The Day the Show Didn’t Go On
by Beth Austin
Remembering the victims of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train crash of 1918, and the legend that began early one morning near Ivanhoe, Indiana

Departments

Letters

Journal
by Hillel Levin, editor
Understanding – and reporting on – despicable behavior

Metro
Cleanup crews go to school; schools go to the cleaners; the case of the detective landlord

Artworks
by Henry Hanson
Art Expo rises again; flag flip flies at SAIC; sculptures land in court.

The Late Show
by Dan Santow
Attendant to the stars; quarter beers; openings

Chicago Woman
by Marcia Froelke Coburn
Garter belts – there’s something a man can sink his philosophical teeth into.

Execs
by Dan Santow
Life before law school – will it sell?

Books
by Jack Star
Herman Kogan, 1914-1989

Theatre
by Anthony Adler
Updating Shakespeare – an unnecessary trend

Movies
by Penelope Mesic
Back to lunatic extremes with Terry Gilliam

Back Talk
by Henry Hanson
Paul Simon, Joan Collins, Jon Anderson, Mortimer Adler, Willie Gault

Chicago Guides
Events

Dining

On WFMT