By Whet Moser
Rahm Emanuel and Pat Quinn may both be pretty vague on their tax-reform ideas, but at least it means important questions about Illinois and Chicago taxes are making the news. Read more
February 2011
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $5 million
The Property: This classically styled 12-room mansion on a bluff in Lake Forest that overlooks Lake Michigan has its fine points, and I’ll get to them. But first, a nod to its former resident, the formidable Sarah Wood Armour, who was a key supporter of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for over five decades and the daughter of Robert Wood, who helped build both the Panama Canal and Sears, Roebuck & Co. Mrs. Armour bought the house in 1980 with her husband, the philanthropist and businessman Andrew W. Armour III of the meatpacking family... Read more
The Property: This classically styled 12-room mansion on a bluff in Lake Forest that overlooks Lake Michigan has its fine points, and I’ll get to them. But first, a nod to its former resident, the formidable Sarah Wood Armour, who was a key supporter of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for over five decades and the daughter of Robert Wood, who helped build both the Panama Canal and Sears, Roebuck & Co. Mrs. Armour bought the house in 1980 with her husband, the philanthropist and businessman Andrew W. Armour III of the meatpacking family... Read more
By Whet Moser
The bookstore chain is closing down most of its Chicago stores and about half its stores in the Chicagoland area. But buying and business habits are as or more important than reading habits in the decline of the company. Read more
By Penny Pollack, Graham Meyer, and Carly Boers
Six Questions for Alfredo Sandoval:
Sandoval, Larry Silver, and Felipe and Patricio Sandoval (Alfredo’s brothers) are opening Tavernita (151 W. Erie St.; no phone yet), the fifth restaurant for the partnership, this summer... Read more
By Whet Moser
The census numbers are in, and Chicago is smaller than it used to be, with a striking decline in its black population, which is leaving for the suburbs and the South. What's driving black and white flight from the city? Read more
By Amalie Drury
I have this rule: No hanging out at bars in the morning. I don’t care if the World Cup is on, I don’t care if you’re supposed to take shots at 8 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, and I don’t care if the bartender makes a mean Bloody Mary (actually, I kind of hate Bloody Marys). In fact, unless I’m on vacation, I can’t get into bar mindset until about four in the afternoon—you know, when the British take their tea... Read more
Our top five picks for things to do this week: Smart money moves, courtesy of the Seldoms … the reigning Turner Prize winner muses on art … a gem of a film series flickers back to life … free theatre, free snacks … plus—genius alert—what the pianist Reginald Robinson is doing this weekend Read more
By Dennis Rodkin
In recent months, two groups of Lincoln Park residents have been fighting proposals that they believe will have a negative impact on their neighborhood—and the two battlegrounds are just three blocks apart on Webster Avenue. “There’s a lot going on over there on Webster these days,” says Alderman Vi Daley (43rd)... Read more
By Jan Parr
As anyone who has ever searched for them knows, it’s really tough to find modern doors... Read more
By Whet Moser
WGN turns to reserve announcer and former Cubs stalwart Keith Moreland to fill the big, gruff shoes of Ron Santo. Read more