Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2023 i Chicago magazine

CONTRIBUTING WRITER MIKE THOMAS, LIKE MOST OF US, reads the news accounts every time there is a mass shooting — something that happens with alarming frequency. But sitting down with six people deeply affected by one (“Highland Park’s Darkest Day,” page 84) gave him, he says, “a whole new perspective on how painful events like this are.” Thomas was struck by the openness of his interview subjects in discussing not only their experiences that Fourth of July morning but also what they have been through since. “Even months removed, it was still very raw for them,” he says. “But they were willing to bare their souls. The chance to tell their stories in their own words was something they appreciated.” It wasn’t just about catharsis. “They want to get the word…

In Streetwise Chicago, the 1988 definitive guide to the origins of our city street names, authors Don Hayner and Tom McNamee came up mostly empty on Division: “There seems to be no satisfactory explanation for how this street got its name, but one story is that it was so named because it divides Goose Island, an industrial island in the city, in half.” However, Alfred T. Andreas’s three-volume History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, published from 1884 to 1886, offers a two-word explanation—“section line” — that might be a clue to a different possibility. Under the Land Ordinance of 1785, federal land in the Northwest Territory was divided into townships, which were then subdivided into 36 sections each, for sale to settlers. The settlement that…

WHEN IT CAME TO fundraising, Paul Vallas had Brandon Johnson beat. Days before the April 4 mayoral runoff, Vallas reported contributions of over $19 million, more than half of that coming from 44 individuals or organizations. Johnson clocked in at just over $11 million, largely from unions. But where Johnson had the upper hand, and what ultimately propelled him to an upset victory, was his community outreach — appealing to supportive voters to turn out to the polls. The person leading that charge was Emma Tai, executive director of United Working Families, a political advocacy organization started in 2014 by social-welfare and labor groups, including the Chicago Teachers Union. Tai spoke to Chicago about the decade-long effort to elect a progressive mayor, how she abandoned a community organizer’s mindset of…

FOSTER DADE EXPLORES THE COSMOS By Nash Jenkins A transfer to a New Jersey boarding school falls in with two social heavy hitters and gets expelled. The student who moves into his old dorm room tries to figure out why. This debut novel by a Northwestern doctoral candidate is a late-aughts period piece—think BlackBerrys and Vampire Weekend — with prep-school-scandal bones. May 16 DUAL MEMORY By Sue Burke The Edgewater author took a break from her popular Semiosis sci-fi trilogy (the third installment is expected next year) to write this standalone novel, whose protagonist joins forces with his AI personal assistant to rebel against their Arctic island’s pirate overlords. May 16 WOMEN WE BURIED, WOMEN WE BURNED By Rachel Louise Snyder Snyder, originally from Chicago, wrote about domestic violence in…

BY HIS OWN ADMISSION, JOHN MANION has a problem with French onion dip. “Left to my own devices, a party bag of Ruffles and a large tub of Dean’s wouldn’t last an hour,” says the El Che Steakhouse & Bar chef. So while brainstorming a grilled oyster dish, he tapped his favorite party snack, reenvisioned as caramelized onion aïoli. As if that weren’t sufficiently crowd pleasing, these bivalves finish with crushed potato chips and crumbled bacon, pretty much ensuring they’ll win every backyard barbecue. New to shucking oysters? The internet abounds with tutorials that’ll train you up in a snap. JOHN MANION’S GRILLED OYSTERS WITH ONION AÏOLI Makes 3 servings Active time 40 minutes Total time 1 hour 20 minutes Special equipment Oyster knife 1 Tbsp. olive oil½ Tbsp. unsalted butter1…

North Side EDGEWATER Median sale price: $235,750 (condos/townhomes) Five-year change: 9% Here you will find buildings that are much older than some of the top spots downtown but with an equally timeless view of Lake Michigan—and a level of affordability that attracts older couples. “You can get a pretty decent unit for $250,000 or less,” says Nitasha Kassam of @properties Christie’s. “The flip side is that the assessments are a bit higher. But if you’re paying cash [for the condo], then the assessment of $900 kind of feels like your rent payment.” And that often comes with some welcome amenities. Take the 22nd-floor one-bed, one-bath on Sheridan Road that sold for $182,000 this spring. With relatively modest HOA fees of $531, you get a 24-hour doorman, tennis courts, and most…

It started out a beautiful morning. We hadn’t had a parade for a while because of COVID, so it was so nice to see people I hadn’t seen in person in a while. The police department had started a summer baseball card program to try to reengage with kids, so the other officers and I were handing out cards along the parade route. I was near the train tracks at Laurel Avenue, about a block out, when I heard what I thought were gunshots. We fire assault rifles, so the sound was very familiar. That drew my concern. I got on the radio and in short order confirmed that’s what it was. As I approached Port Clinton Square on my way to the scene, people were coming towards me, bloodied…

Jacki was such a positive, giving person. She would always make time for everybody. She worked for our temple, so we’d been wrapped up in temple life for 30 years. When we’d go to a restaurant, invariably we couldn’t get through a meal without somebody coming up and saying, “Jacki, how are you?” It used to annoy me. But when you think about it, it’s a large temple, and Jacki was there for basically every life event. One of the reasons we had such a great marriage is that she was good at all the things I hate, so we complemented each other. Making appointments, maintaining friendships, that kind of stuff — I’m terrible at it. She was the social chairman. I just went along for the ride. I’m trying…

1 Chicago’s not a 2026 World Cup site, but here’s a consolation: The U.S. men’s team plays a Concacaf Gold Cup game against Jamaica this June 24 at Soldier Field. 2 Mayor Brandon Johnson promised a new approach to policing. That starts at the top. The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, a civilian board, has until July 14 to nominate three finalists for superintendent. 3 The state’s gas tax goes up July 1 — for the second time this year. The 2019 Rebuild Illinois Act provides for an annual inflation-based increase, but last year’s hike was delayed until this Jan. 1. Why? Politics. The governor was up for reelection. 4 Baseball teams have long lured fans with free bats, balls, and bobble-heads. On July 4, the Schaumburg Boomers will…

Not all pollsters were predicting a slim Paul Vallas victory going into the April 4 mayoral runoff. IZQ Strategies had Brandon Johnson in the lead—and by an eye-opening 5 percentage points. Once mailin votes were tabulated, that forecast wasn’t far off: Johnson wound up with 52.1 percent of the vote to Vallas’s 47.9. What is IZQ? It’s a firm founded in 2021 by Gustavo Sánchez, a 29-year-old Chicagoan of Puerto Rican descent who specializes in surveying difficult-to-interview Latino voters. “I’m the bilingual pollster” is how Sánchez, who grew up in St. Louis and studied political science at the University of Chicago, sums up his specialty. Skeptical of mayoral polls he was seeing, Sánchez raised $809 on GoFundMe toward conducting his own, released April 3. His results showed Vallas winning the…

I AM NOT A TRAINED CHEF, but I am a trained eater and cook,” says Anupy Singla, 54. Born in India, she started working in Chicago in 1999 as a reporter for CLTV’s morning show. Inspired by her grandfather and his traditional way of cooking, Singla made a career pivot in 2010 and cofounded the lifestyle brand Indian as Apple Pie, which has grown to encompass a line of spices and four cookbooks. Her latest, Instant Pot Indian, came out in April. Cooking, not surprisingly, is a big part of Singla’s wellness routine. She approaches it as a meditative exercise, as well as an opportunity to be healthful. The same goes for her other hobby: surfing. While earning her master’s in Asian studies at the University of Hawaii, she learned to…

WHEN PARACHUTE REOPENED in May 2022 after closing for the pandemic, diners were in for a surprise: The hugely popular baked potato bing bread was off the menu. Not only did its labor-intensiveness make it too pricey to produce, but it “just didn’t fit with the menu anymore,” says chef Johnny Clark. Instead, diners found fare that chef Beverly Kim says “leans more into the heart of Korean food.” Since opening the acclaimed Avondale restaurant (3500 N. Elston Ave.) in 2014, the two had been serving a menu that Kim has called “a hybrid,” melding Korean cuisine with global ingredients like ras el hanout or nuoc cham. Leading up to their pandemic closure, they had started to explore a more classic Korean menu. Upon reopening, they decided to go all…

1 DAISIES What Chef-owner Joe Frillman’s Italian-meets-Midwest favorite finds larger digs down the street and gains a partner in executive pastry chef Leigh Omilinsky (Swift & Sons). Why You’ll still find bites like the potted carrots and onion dip with Ruffles, plus new brunch, a daytime coffee bar, and cooking and pasta-making classes. Bonus: Frillman is transforming Daisies’ original location into a grocery shop and lunch restaurant. Where 2375 N. Milwaukee Ave., Logan Square 2 ASADOR BASTIAN What Hsing Chen and Doug Psaltis (Andros Taverna) opened this luxe Basque-influenced steakhouse. Why Caviar churros? A sherry-focused drink list? Fancy bar pintxos like jamón and truffle grilled cheese? Sign us up. Where 214 W. Erie St., River North 3 LITTLE GOAT DINER What Stephanie Izard’s comfort-food-driven diner reopens in its new (albeit smaller) Southport location. Why Dishes…

West Side PILSEN Median sale price: $395,000 (condos/townhomes) Five-year change: 43% Though prices for condos in the Lower West Side as a whole have been escalating, Pilsen is “still cheaper relative to other areas,” says Tim Kavanaugh of eXp Realty. He points to recent development along 18th Street that is particularly promising for first-time buyers who don’t need all the amenities that come with high-rise living. “A lot of the buildings are three to six units,” Kavanaugh says. “They’re going to have a smaller feel compared to a Gold Coast skyscraper.” They’re also going to have a smaller price tag: A two-bed, two-bath condo listed at $319,000 this spring had monthly HOA fees of just $200. And in Pilsen, you won’t need all the in-house perks that come with a…

Cosmetic Dermatology Murad Alam Botox, laser surgery. Northwestern Medical Group, Streeterville. 312-695-6647 (Northwestern Memorial) Stefanie Ali Dermatopathology, Botox, fillers. Derick Dermatology, Naperville. 847-381-8899 Martha P. Arroyo Acne, rosacea, psoriasis. Lakeside Dermatology, Libertyville. 847-367-5575 (Advocate Condell) Juliana Basko-Plluska Acne, rosacea, Botox, dermatopathology, psoriasis, eczema. Basko Dermatology, Naperville. 630-596-8045 (Edward) Mark Allan Berk Laser surgery, acne, psoriasis. Skin Care Center, Lake Forest. 847-234-6121 (Advocate Masonic) Kenneth B. Bielinski Acne, Botox, fillers, laser hair removal. Skin MD, Orland Park. 708-636-3767 (Advocate Christ) Tracy Campbell Dermatologic surgery, Botox, fillers. Derick Dermatology, Elgin. 847-381-8899 Jordan Carqueville Facial rejuvenation, dermatologic surgery. Derm Institute of Chicago, Magnificent Mile. 312-319-1978 (Advocate Good Samaritan) Jerome M. Garden Laser surgery, hemangiomas, facial rejuvenation, Botox, fillers. Physicians Laser and Dermatology Institute, Streeterville. 312-280-0890 (Northwestern Memorial) Scott Glazer Collagen, fillers, Botox, varicose…

As medical director of emergency preparedness at NorthShore University HealthSystem, I’ve been putting plans in place for disasters since 2005. Every year we do a hazard vulnerability analysis to gauge our risk areas, everything from a cyberattack to a severe weather event. A mass shooting has always been in our top 10. I was at the parade, two blocks from the shooting. My wife and our three teenage boys were with me, along with my parents, who were visiting from Utah. We were on Central, just west of Green Bay, where the parade comes down the hill. We’d already seen the fire trucks go by, some police, and people on bicycles. Then, all of a sudden, we started seeing teenagers from the band running down the street towards us. People…

■ My studio was criticized for years and years because we didn’t have a signature. Each project looks different. And that was seen as bad: “You should be producing a philosophy and perfecting it and bringing it to fruition.” But I’ve always thought that it is the process of design I’m perfecting, where I can truly understand the needs of a community and a site and a culture and a situation and make a design that’s beautiful. ■ It took 15 years to complete the Riverwalk. Part of it was the lack of maintenance on Lower Wacker and part of it was the water. The old dock wall was five feet above the river. We wanted to rebuild the riverbank so when you walked along the water, you felt more in…

LESLEY WILLIAMS IS TICKED OFF. THE IRE OF THE LONGTIME EVANSTON RESIDENT and community activist is aimed at a rich and powerful neighbor: Northwestern University. She is part of a growing residential and political coalition challenging what it calls the boldest and potentially most disruptive university-led initiative ever imposed on the suburb. Northwestern is proposing an $800 million plan to demolish the aging Gothic-style Ryan Field, the football stadium a couple of miles west of its lakefront campus. The site would be reconstituted into a 35,000-person sports and entertainment complex that would be in a class with other elite university facilities and could host more than the current half-dozen or so football games each autumn. But to build its field of dreams—detractors call it a “field of schemes” — Northwestern…

ALEX ROSS CHANGED THE course of superhero stories. Hitting the scene in the early 1990s, when such comics were in a phase of hyper-exaggerated art, Ross and his fully painted approach offered a new vision of these fantastic concepts, referencing photographs of models to bring unprecedented realism to the genre. It’s an approach rooted in Ross’s first exposure to superheroes as a child growing up in Texas, when he saw a live-action Spider-Man appear on the PBS children’s series The Electric Company. “That was the most uniquely exciting and abstract thing I’d ever seen, and I just wanted to be the character, to dress up as the character, and subsequently draw the character,” says Ross, who moved to Chicago at 17 to study at the American Academy of Art and now,…

THERE ARE SEVERAL ways to enter Kindling Downtown Cookout & Cocktails, the new restaurant in the Willis Tower. One revolving door opens into its soaring main dining room. Another takes you to a vestibule where the seating staff — chic and businesslike with iPads and headsets — awaits. The best approach, though, is through the tower’s lobby: Upon entering the restaurant, you see the reason for its campfire smell: an 11-foot-long wood-fired grill. In this vicinity you will also likely spy Kindling’s celebrity chef, Jonathon Sawyer. After a storied run in Cleveland, where he was named a best new chef by Food & Wine and won a James Beard Award for his work at Greenhouse Tavern, he returned to his hometown of Chicago to open Adorn in the Four Seasons Hotel…

I AM FRANTICALLY PACING AROUND DR. A’S OFFICE, TALKING SO fast that she can hardly keep up with me. I am so agitated that I want to peel the skin off my body, but I keep digging my fingernails into my flesh instead. Even I know that I’m unraveling: For the last two weeks, I’ve lost my appetite and virtually stopped sleeping, and I’ve been unable to sit in one place for more than 30 seconds at a time. “Manic,” Dr. A offers as her diagnosis. “You are having a severe bipolar episode and need to be hospitalized. I’m worried you might hurt yourself or do something crazy, like go out and buy a Corvette.” She snatches the phone from the edge of her desk to find out if there are…

South Side WOODLAWN Median sale prices: $478,500; $230,000 (condos/townhomes) Five-year change: 242%; 64% As recently as 2019, 27 percent of lots in this neighborhood were vacant. Today? You’ll find an influx of new buildings like the $800,000 three-flats—three-bed, two-bath units—at West Woodlawn Pointe, perfect if you want to be a landlord that calls one of those floors home and rents out the rest. There has also been notable new single-family home construction. In February, you could get a four-bed, three-and-a-half-bath house, built in 2022, on St. Lawrence Avenue for $515,000. “The price boom in Woodlawn has been astonishing,” says eXp’s Tim Kavanaugh. With the coming of the Obama Presidential Center and the restoration of Jackson Park Golf Course, that will likely continue. But the city has created development stipulations to…

In January of 2020, I was at a United States Conference of Mayors talk about responses to mass shootings. In the middle of it, the mayor of Seattle had to get up and go because there had been a mass shooting in Seattle. It’s a fear all mayors have — that the devastation of something like this will land in their front yard. For us, it did last Fourth of July. We had started the parade at 10 right outside City Hall. We had walked four blocks to Green Bay Road and started down the hill on Central Avenue, with the high school marching band following us, when I turned to my council colleagues and said, “I wonder why the band stopped playing.” All I could hear was a drum…

■ Leslie Roberson has a worthy mission for Black Beauty Collective, the South Side boutique she opened in April: help Black-owned wellness lines get off the ground. “The biggest hurdle they face is lack of access of capital to scale their business,” says Roberson, who also works as a model and corporate recruiter. “This is an attempt to help solve that.” She rents shelf space to the brands, which receive all profits on sales. Drop in to discover hair care products, skin serums, and makeup — some from local up-and-comers like Tori Prince Beauty. Advisers are on hand to offer tips and give mini-makeovers. Roberson has big plans to expand the concept to Houston and beyond. 5305 S. Hyde Park Blvd., Hyde Park…