1. The Best Pizza in Town
Homegrown styles have evolved thanks to a new crop of chefs putting their twist on pan, deep dish, and tavern. Here are our 25 favorite pizza joints, ranked.
2. The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe
BY DAN O’SULLIVAN
Ken Eto rose through the ranks of the Chicago mob, and then it tried to kill him. The underworld would never be the same.
3. The View From the Clouds
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS HYTHA
Photographer Chris Hytha’s architectural portraits show Chicago’s historic skyscrapers from a new perspective.
4. The Mystery Millionaire of Gage Park
BY EDWARD ROBERT McCLELLAND
When Joseph Stancak died, he left behind a secret: He was worth $11 million. How did a reclusive electrician living in a modest bungalow amass the largest unclaimed estate in American history?
5. The Violin Doctor
BY ELLY FISHMAN
He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to unlock the sound of a Stradivarius?
6. The Not-So-Glamorous Life of a Movie Extra
BY KIMBERLY NELSON
As a movie extra, the author has ridden the L with George Clooney and watched Christopher Nolan direct. But it’s not always so glamorous.
7. What $500 Means to Zinida Moore
BY ELLY FISHMAN
In an experimental program, 5,000 Chicagoans received monthly cash payments from the city for a year, no strings attached. Here’s how the money changed one woman’s life — and how it didn’t.
8. The Computer That Will Change Everything
BY TAL ROSENBERG
Eight years in the making, Aurora, a powerful new machine at Argonne National Laboratory, could help solve some of the most pressing questions of our time. Welcome to the new era of supercomputing.
9. Highland Park’s Darkest Day
AS TOLD TO MIKE THOMAS
A year after the Fourth of July parade shooting that left seven dead and 48 wounded, six central figures recount their experiences both then and since.
10. No Quiet in the Library
INTERVIEW BY LOLLY BOWEAN
As she ends her American Library Association term, Tracie D. Hall warns against efforts to hinder our access to books.