Chicago magazine is looking for the area’s most eligible men and women to spotlight in our annual singles issue. Find out how to nominate yourself or a friend. Read more
January 2009
January 22, 2009 -- For the 15th consecutive year, Chicago magazine honored its Chicagoans on the Year, seven individuals who have changed life in the city for the better. Joining a caliber of more than 100 past honorees, this year’s Chicagoans include a Northwest Side housing activist, an African American historian, a philanthropic chef, a concerned mother, a pair of dance makers, and a soulful singer with a voice for the ages. The magazine celebrated their achievements at its annual Chicagoans of the Year Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago Hotel. Read more
January 30, 2009 -- A dazzling night of Vivid fire delighted guests at the twelfth annual Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Grand Chefs Gala, presented by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The city's most magnificent "chef event" of the year featured the Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence. Guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres, a gourmet dinner prepared by the Fairmont Chicago's Executive Chef, Brad Parsons, and assorted desserts. The event raised more than $500,000 for medical research on behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Read more
January 24, 2009-- Grammy award nominated rock band Kings of Leon graced the stage at House of Blues in Chicago to perform a sold-out ‘Dare 2 Dream’ benefit concert. The event, presented by the Lisa Klitzky Foundation and hosted by Platform One Entertainment, was to raise funding for pediatric research and treatment at University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. The event brought the band, their fans, and children undergoing treatment to overcome cancer together for a soul-shaking show. Read more
January 25, 2009 -- After 1,500 performances and 3 1/2 years, WICKED flew out of Chicago. Over 300 cast & crew members celebrated at Vertigo Sky Lounge at the Dana Hotel & Spa. Read more
By Ann Weins
“To the east were the moving waters as far as eye could follow,” Nelson Algren wrote in 1951. Fifty years later, the abstract painter William Conger reinterpreted that famous first line from Chicago: City on the Make in his painting To the East Were Moving Waters. For Conger, who has lived most of his 71 years in Chicago, the relationship of the city to the lake is a central theme. “There’s the marvelous clutter of the city with its wild aspirations and energy, and the lake with its order and timelessness,” Conger says. “People go to the lake to see what forever is like, while the city is right now.” In advance of two shows opening in January—a retrospective at the Cultural Center and new works at Roy Boyd—we asked Conger to reminisce on a few of his most Chicago-centric paintings. Read more
By Stuart J. Rosenberg
In one of the most stunning developments in the history of rock, longtime fans of the heavy-metal stalwart Metallica are complaining that the group’s recently released album, Death Magnetic, is too loud (read the angry posts at metallicabb.com). To put the noise level in perspective, we ranked the band’s SPL—or sound pressure level, measured in decibels—against other noisemakers. Read more
By Catey Sullivan
The Xanadu aesthetic? That’s easy. “Think Casey Kasem–meets–Greek mythology–meets–drug-addled hallucinatory fluorescent roller derby,” says Christopher Ashley, director of the musical production—performed in part on roller skates—that hits Chicago in January. To help visualize the exceedingly campy universe, we grilled Ashley for specifics on the musical’s most crucial element: its props. Read more
By Jessica Girdwain
We found four readers whose official fitness conditions could be labeled “burnout” and asked them to keep a workout diary for a week. Then we called in a major-league expert—the director of conditioning for the Chicago White Sox—to help our readers reinvigorate their fitness routines for the start of the new year. Read more