Cover Story

Winning Combinations
by Dennis Rodkin
The area’s 121 top public elementary and middle schools—plus a guide to getting into the best of the best and a look at education’s shaky financial future

Real Estate 2010
by Dennis Rodkin
With home values at about the same point they were eight years ago, local residents are feeling like it’s 2002 all over again. Plus: Our annual survey of home prices in 288 Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs

The Discreet Charm of RL
by Amalie Drury
The only American restaurant in the Ralph Lauren empire has become the go-to spot for Chicago’s elite. We take a dishy look at the secret of RL’s success.

The Insider
by David Bernstein
Sitting on a panel that decides property tax appeals, Joseph Berrios is a consummate practitioner of Illinois-style politics. Now he seeks more clout as Cook County assessor.

Departments

ARTS & CULTURE For the third year in a row, we preview Chicago’s fall theatre offerings and pluck out the top stage attractions to buy tickets for now. We go behind the curtain of the new, homegrown Julia Child play, To Master the Art, and check in on scene shapers such as Robert Falls and Barbara Gaines. Plus: “Pocket Guide” seizes a golden opportunity. WHAT I WAS THINKING The philanthropist Ann Lurie on surviving her husband, investing meaningfully, and doing good in Africa THE ESCAPE ARTIST Get a seasonal dose of the shivers at Raven’s Grin Inn, a haunted mansion in picturesque Mount Carroll, Illinois. STYLE We deck the halls with the latest trend in home design: botanical-themed wallpaper. Plus: Possibly the most whimsical chair designs ever; a new home store opens on Grand Avenue.

Table
Girl & the Goat finally goes live; Andersonville goes Dutch; St. Charles goes green; six dishes worth eating on a dare

Cheers
by Amalie Drury
Boystown looks to the Wild West; Lake View picks up a British accent.

Top 40 Buildings
by Geoffrey Johnson
Counting down to the magazine’s 40th anniversary, we identify Chicago’s 40 most significant buildings.

Health
by Geoffrey Johnson
In cooperation with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., Chicago presents more than 140 of the area’s top pediatricians.

Deal Estate®
by Dennis Rodkin
Chicago’s annual roundup of the area’s priciest home sales

Outer Drive
by Jeff Ruby
Yelp hasn’t killed off professional restaurant critics. And it won’t.

Chicago Guide®
Poe, pooches, and The New Pornographers: Chicago runs the gamut in October.

Restaurants
Purple Pig clinches a spot in the listings; two restaurants take things up a notch.

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