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February 2011
From Krasnodar with Love
By Richard Babcock
As the editor of Chicago magazine, I am pleased to announce that we have just published our first Russian edition! Just kidding. But a Chicagoan might be entitled to wonder, if he or she happened to be visiting the south Russian town of Krasnodar and picked up the local city magazine. Witness above the basis for confusion: Our “40 Reasons to Love Chicago” cover from December 2010 and Krasnodar magazine’s “30 Reasons to Love Krasnodar” dated February 2011. The striking similarity was first brought to my attention by Olga Smolkina, a... Read more
Defy Bags
By Gina Bazer
Whether you are a guy in search of a man purse or gal in need of a rugged go-everywhere satchel, I defy you to find a more durable option than the locally made Defy Bags... Read more
Dave Duerson, Concussions, and the NFL Players' Union Battle
By Whet Moser
The latest development in the tragic death of the Bears' great is that Duerson's brain will go to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy so that it can be studied for trauma. It's another chapter in a story that's been haunting the NFL for a decade, and an issue that looms over a pending lockout. Read more
What to Do This Weekend: Warm Up in Wisconsin
By Catey Sullivan
A glass of wine (or two) and a fuzzy sweater. Such are the survival tools for February. There’s plenty of both in the Manitowoc and Two Rivers, Wisconsin this weekend, where you can sample the wares of Wisconsin’s oldest licensed winery and get up close and personal with alpacas (and the cozy sweaters they provide)... Read more
Nightlife Photos: White Mystery @ Streetside
On the turntables Thursday night at Streetside, in Logan Square: White Mystery, the hard-to-miss brother and sister duo currently grabbing attention left and right for their lo-fi garage rock (just look for the dual shocks of curly red hair). Organized by the Wicker Park gallery Johalla Projects, the night also featured a guest spot on the decks by Ald... Read more
Controversial Pastor and Chico Supporter Herbert Martin—plus Memories of Steve Cokely
By Carol Felsenthal
At the ABC7 debate Thursday, the candidates for mayor were asked whom they would name to their “kitchen” cabinets—their unofficial group of advisers. Not surprisingly, Gery Chico named two men whose endorsements are crucial: Congressman Luis Gutierrez and the Reverend B. Herbert Martin, Sr., longtime pastor of the Progressive Community Church in Bronzeville. Martin, 68, is best known for being Harold Washington’s close friend and pastor—and for standing with Steve Cokely in 1988 after Cokely, then 37, made inflammatory recorded lectures at Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam headquarters. Read more