Features

Great Nights Out
When darkness descends on Chicago and the suburbs, the bright lights go up in restaurants, theatres, and clubs. Here’s a guide to some of the area’s liveliest nighttime destinations.

Lord Jim
by Steve Rhodes
Former governor Jim Thompson was considered Presidential material when he left Springfield in 1991. Instead, he’s using his clout to get rich as a lawyer and lobbyist.

The Battle for Ultimo
by Lucinda Hahn
Joan Weinstein built Ultimo into a legendary showcase of haute couture. But then she lured investors to fund expansion. Now she’s gone, and her store is not the same.

At Home

Behind the Blue Door
by Christine Newman
Six neobohemians in search of a place to live find it on North Milwaukee Avenue. After an extensive renovation, Harry’s shoes – a former storefront building – is a perfect fit.

The Straight and Narrow
by Christine Newman
Holding the line on seating

People Who Live in Glass Block Houses
by Christine Newman
Robert Fitzpatrick, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, and his wife, Sylvie, are carrying on the legacy of Gold Coast luminaries.

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Frontlines
David Duchovny waxes poetic; a know-it-all answers the call as a “Lifeline” on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; a gem of a party in Lake Forest; more

Style Sheet
by Stacy Wallace-Albert
For the birds: feathered fans and jewelry, a good-fortune swan in flight

Real Lives
by Marcia Froelke Coburn
For fundraiser Marion Simon, a gentle arm-twisting approach succeeds in bringing in big money.

Stage & Screen
by Penelope Mesic
Steppenwolf goes Cuckoo and brings back Ken Kesey’s psych ward classic.

Reporter
by Joel Reese
Popular in clubs, and very dangerous, GHB might be the Next Big Drug. It might also be the best hope for narcoleptics.

Business

by Ted Shen
Peapod, the Skokie-based Internet grocer, has struggled to mine success from its pioneering foray into e-commerce. But it has big plans in a hot dot-com sector.

Sullivan’s Travels
by Terry Sullivan
On the run with Sister Kathleen McDonough, a 75-year-old nun in training for the Boston Marathon.

Dining Out
by Dennis Ray Wheaton
With a modern spin, two downtown supper clubs do the Continental and take Chicagoans back to the good old days of chicken cordon bleu and cabaret.

Expert Witness
by Tara Croft
If Madonna can do it, you can too. Bikram instructor Liz Myers explains the ways of yoga.

Chicago Guides

Prime Time

Up for April
Joyce Owen’s paintings of masks and their wearers show up at Wood Street Gallery; trumpeter Orbert Davis fires up the Illinois Chamber Symphony.

Restaurants
Openings
Three hopefuls join the rush to American comfort food.  Loafin’ around: Man can live by bread alone, if it comes from Heavenly Hearth.