Features

Best New Restaurants, by Dennis Ray Wheaton and Jeff Ruby
This year’s roster features familiar names, gifted newcomers, and every possible use for the cocoa bean that you can imagine.

What Does Junior Want?, by Steve Rhodes
Before he rewrites the Constitution, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.-son of the famous Reverend-plans on revitalizing his district, starting with the Peotone airport. Does that mean he’s running for mayor?

When the Lights Go Out, by Neil Steinberg
For 80 years, the Frederick Cooper Lamp Company on the North Side has been making stylish fixtures for the city’s homes. Now beset by low-priced competition, the institution is moving on. Here’s an illuminating last look at a world of elegant handicrafts.

The Man Who Would Be (Don) King, by David Zivan
As a heavyweight boxer, Bobby “Hit Man” Hitz fought big George Foreman. Now the gloves are off and Hitz is promoting boxing events locally-while looking for the young pugilist who could bring a title bout back to Chicago.

Fashion: The White Album, by Stacey Jones
Play it cool this summer with light colors and airy fabrics-and be true to your skin with the latest dewy looks.

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Arena
Staci Boris gets set to guide the Spertus Museum to new heights; learning chess with Zack Fishman; Billy Corgan vs. Jeff Tweedy, a poetry smackdown; a chat with “freakonomist” Steven Levitt. Plus: Style Sheet, The Shopper and Sales Check

How We Spend, by Clare La Plante
Is Chicago failing to create the conditions that boost per capita affluence? One study says so. PLUS: A breakdown of Mother’s Day spending.

Business | Grounds for Joy, by Robert Reed
There’s a reason why part-time workers covet jobs at Starbucks: the company offers them health care coverage and other generous perks. But amid rising competition, can even this hegemonic juggernaut continue such benefits?

Reporter | Calculus of Success, by Marcia Froelke Coburn
The founders of Chicago’s only public high school for girls hopes to launch their students-many of them poor and minority-into the male-dominated fields of science and technology.

Music | Soul Survivor, by Mark Guarino
After three decades in obscurity, a South Side music label called Bandit-and the story of its ill-fated front man, Arrow Brown-finally gets a wide audience with the re-release of its soulful recordings.

Deal Estate, by Dennis Rodkin
Uber-agent Sean Conlon sells his Lincoln Park house; famous names cluster around a Gold Coast mansion; condo news from the city and suburbs

Nightspotting, by Sarah Preston
Covering the beer necessities at the Map Room. PLUS: The new Celebrity is as unpretentious and hip as its Bucktown neighborhood.

Classifieds

The Closer, by Jeff Ruby
Each month, this magazine delivers pearls of timeless wisdom, as this catalog of our long-ago pronouncements demonstrates.

On the Town

Events

Calendar
During May: War is hell. So is its aftermath. The exhibition “Trauma and Metamorphosis”, opening at the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, displays works by former soldiers-victims of post-traumatic stress disorder-trying to heal their troubled psyches through art.
Marquee: A preview of coming attractions.

Food & Drink

Restaurants
The city’s definitive guide to Chicago’s top restaurants| This month: Five new and updated listings, including Le Lan and Vie
Dish: The ten hottest restaurants right now; a Q&A with a chef of the moment; openings, closings, the agony of a flat cappuccino, and more