Features

Sweet Spots
For our roundup of bars and clubs we posed questions real Chicagoans might ask when searching out great nightlife. And we found answers: swanky lounges, hot dance clubs, out-of-the-way gems, and more.

That’s Entertainment
Stuck in a routine? These fresh ideas will put some life into your night.

Dramatic Effect
by Mara Tapp
Robert Falls ignited his career in the mid-eighties with a production of Hamlet. Later this year, marking 20 years with the Goodman Theatre, he takes on the heartbreak of the tormented King Lear in a Shakespearean play shaped by Falls’s own evolving maturity.

Nighthawks
At night in Chicago, DJs, bartenders, and other nocturnal types come out. We photographed some in their natural settings.

Night Moves
Expert advice on how to flirt, dance, tip, sing karaoke, send a drink, and more

Revisionist History
by Karin Horgan Sullivan
Celebrating its 150th anniversary, the Chicago Historical Society has changed its name, and hopes a $27.5-million overhaul and an unlikely new president will revive the city’s oldest cultural institution.

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Arena
How Craig’s List helped Lori Holton Nash break into TV; Chicago rappers Rhymefest and Lupe Fiasco dissect “the Kanye effect”; a sneak peek behind the curtains of the Rod and Judy show; college! the next big real-estate market? Musicals even “musical-haters” will love; Touch and Go owner Corey Rusk commandeers the fall’s top music fest; Victoria Lautman talks with Mary Gaitskill about bad behavior; new releases from Patricia Barber, Magnolia Electric Co., and the oversexed editors at Playboy; Midwest fashion rises for a major occasion, more! Plus: Style Sheet and Sales Check

Reporter | Long Time Coming
by Katherine Millett
Jovan Mosley was interrogated by police for 29 hours. Then he spent nearly six years behind bars, awaiting trial on charges of murder and armed robbery-crimes he says he never committed. Only after a chance encounter with a lawyer did he finally receive justice.

Health | Crusader for Cures
by Geoffrey Johnson
Chicago businessman Lou Weisbach-once a major player in Democratic fundraising-has turned his persuasive skills to a new project: creating a medical research institution dedicated to ending chronic diseases.

Four | One | One
A look back at Chicago¹s venerable department store Marshall Field¹s as it prepares for its name change. Plus: A lottery roundup (your odds of winning the Lotto? Hint: about the same as your chances of becoming president); and we scope out the best (and cheapest) bets for parking at some of Chicago’s cultural destinations.

Deal Estate
by Dennis Rodkin
A former church in Highland Park gets new life as a spacious residence after the suburb passes on it for municipal use; passersby snap up a quality two-flat in Graceland West. Plus: Condo news from the city and suburbs.

Classifieds

The Closer
by Jeff Ruby
Everyone from socialites to politicians occasionally seeks advice from various other- worldly sources. In need of a little guidance, The Closer consulted with several psychic experts and one amateur to ascertain his own system of belief.

Events

Chicago Guide®
During September: Hubbard Street Chicago Dance Company is going global this month, both choreographically and musically. The company’s performance schedule at the Harris Theater offers dances by a Japanese choreographer and one by a company member, Alejandro Cerrudo, who’s a native of Spain. Music for the dances is just as far-flung, arriving via Belgium, France, Norway, and Germany.
Marquee: A preview of coming attractions

Food & Drink

Dining Out | The Quiet Rooms
by Dennis Ray Wheaton
It¹s haute cuisine in serene settings at the Ritz-Carlton and Seasons, but where have all the foodies gone?

Restaurants
The definitive guide to Chicago‘s top restaurants
This month: Nine new and updated listings, including Tub Tim Thai and Le Français.
Dish: The hottest restaurants right now; gossip; Chefs on the Grill: a small-plates dynamo tells all in our first podcast column.