Best of Chicago 2014: City Life

on June 25, 2014 at 6:30PM

Best of Chicago 2014: City Life

Best Response to the CTA's Disastrous Transition to Ventra

"V.E.N.T.R.A." by Alan Linic and Ollie Hobson

by Leor Galil on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

The rollout of the Ventra payment system was a clusterfuck: the byzantine sign-up process, the hours-long customer service calls, the tale of one commuter who had to cope with hundreds of new Ventra cards clogging up his mailbox. Even Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA president Forrest Claypool were pissed; they refused to pay Ventra's parent company, Cubic Transportation Systems, till it ironed out some issues.

Best CTA Employee to Go Out Smiling

Michael Powell

by Janet Potter on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

The Red Line conductor known for his uplifting, unorthodox announcements—"Cheer up, it's only Monday," "Don't forget your coffee," "May the force be with you"—retired last December after nearly 36 years driving CTA trains. During the 59-year-old's final run, on New Year's Eve, fans rode the entirety of the Red Line, passing out doughnuts and encouraging other riders to write Powell thank-you notes.

Best Reappearing Act

EveryBlock Chicago

by Aimee Levitt on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Once upon a time, hyperlocal news was seen as the bright new future of journalism. One of the brightest of the hyperlocal sites was EveryBlock, founded in 2007 by Naperville native Adrian Holovaty with a $1.1 million Knight Foundation grant.

Best Reason to Stay Up Late on Twitter

@PeterNickeas

by Jake Malooley on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Several years ago, Peter Nickeas had to make a big career decision: landscaping or journalism? He chose the latter, to the detriment of many lawns in suburban Addison, where Nickeas ran Green Pete's Lawn Care, and to the general betterment of Chicago crime reporting.

Best Hashtag to Rub It In

#Chiberia

by Gwynedd Stuart on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Refer to Chicago as "Chi-town" and you sound like a rube. (And for the record, something similar's true in Atlanta—call it Hotlanta, get backhanded.)

Best Love Story

Vernita Gray and Pat Ewert

by Jake Malooley on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

"In sickness and in health, until death do us part." The stock vow had a heightened meaning last November during the marriage ceremony of Vernita Gray and Pat Ewert, who made history as the first gay couple to tie the knot in Illinois.

Best Litter-Fighting Law (Even If It's Gonna Make Dog-Shit Removal a Drag)

The Partial Ban on Plastic Shopping Bags

by Mick Dumke on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

In 2007 a group of aldermen began talking about banning plastic bags, saying they were tired of getting nagged about bags flapping in trees and clogging sewer drains—not to mention ending up in the lake. Then Mayor Daley and retailers told them they were going to put stores out of business.

Best Mayoral Press Release

"Mayor Emanuel Announces City to Plant 5,400 Trees in Neighborhoods Across Chicago in 2014"

by Ben Joravsky on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Oh, brother—it's so difficult to pick just one! Every day brings another blessed release from the mayor's press operation heralding something wonderful that our fabulous leader has done or is doing for us.

Best Anti-Establishment Mouthpiece

Rachael Perrotta

by Edward McClelland on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Perrotta was working downtown as a receptionist when Occupy Chicago hit the streets. As a Columbia College public relations major, she was part of the promotional push behind a successful campaign to restore financial aid for low-income students.

Best One-Woman Think Tank

Valerie Leonard

by Ben Joravsky on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Valerie Leonard still lives in the K-town two-flat where she was raised by her father, Theodis Leonard, who was principal of Paderewski Elementary at Lawndale and 22nd Street, and her mother, Essie, a retired teacher. After earning her MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern—and following a stint in New York, where she worked for the Dinkins administration—Leonard returned to Chicago to form the Lawndale Alliance, a community group that has criticized the city for harsh budget cuts that hurt poor neighborhoods.

Best Organization to Put Its Pedal to the Mettle

Read/Write Library

by Aimee Levitt on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

In some ways, bookmobiles are even better than libraries. It's true that the selection is limited, but the bookmobile brings the books directly to you.

Best Municipal Reference Librarian

Lyle Benedict

by Steve Bogira on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Few Chicagoans know as much about local government as Lyle Benedict. The 57-year-old can tell you when the City Council slimmed down from 70 aldermen to 50 (1923).

Best Number to Call When the Police Swear You Don't Need a Lawyer

1-800-529-7374

by Steve Bogira on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

The decisions made by suspects in their first hours in custody often come back to haunt them. They may not know their constitutional rights or how to invoke them; they can be tricked into waiving their right to consult with a lawyer and their right to remain silent.

Best New Small-Business Incubator

Sunshine Enterprises

by Steve Bogira on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

500 E. 61st, 773-904-9800, sunshinegospel.org/what-we-do/sunshine-enterprises A three-block stretch of 61st Street, from King Drive to Champlain Avenue, is like many on the south side: once a thriving commercial corridor, it now consists largely of vacant lots and boarded storefronts.

Best New Home for the Recently Homeless

Harvest Commons

by Steve Bogira on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

1519 W. Warren, 312-660-1354 After a $22 million renovation, the old Viceroy Hotel on the near-west side reopened last year in stunning fashion. The architects behind the renovation, Landon Bone Baker, have restored the terra-cotta facade and the arched ceilings inside.

Best Affordable Medical Care

IMAN Health Clinic

by Steve Bogira on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

2744 W. 63rd, 773-434-4626, imancentral.org/services/health-clinic The south-side Chicago Lawn neighborhood is suffering from poverty and rampant foreclosures, but its residents at least have an accessible, affordable health-care option.

Best Intersection to Do the Pedestrian Scramble

Jackson Boulevard and State Street

by Jake Malooley on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Before Gabe Klein resigned his position as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation last November to reenter the private sector, he spent two and a half years overseeing a handful of projects that have nudged this city away from automobile centrism and toward a more progressive, inclusive transportation plan. The cycling enthusiast and former Washington, D.C., transportation chief helped bring to Chicago the bike-share program Divvy (which led to some claims that his past consulting work for the company behind Chicago's program, Alta Bicycle Share, corrupted the bidding process), about 50 miles of protected bike lanes, on-street bike parking "corrals," pedestrian plazas and "people spots," and the first phase of Bloomingdale Trail construction.

Best Escape From Navy Pier

Milton Lee Olive Park

by Molly Adams on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

500 N. Lake Shore Dr. Chicago native Milton Lee Olive III died in Vietnam in 1965 when he threw himself on a hand grenade to protect four of his compatriots.

Best Bloomingdale Trail Amuse-Bouche

Park 576

by Jake Malooley on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

1805 N. Milwaukee To glimpse the Bloomingdale Trail today, it seems inconceivable that the former rail line was once scheduled to open as a recreation destination in the fall.

Best Combination of Urban and Bucolic Scenery

Eggers Grove

by Julia Thiel on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

11200 S. Avenue E Located near the southeast edge of Chicago, Eggers Grove is a 25-minute drive from downtown—or a more taxing but rewarding 16-mile bike ride, almost entirely on dedicated cycling trails.

Best view of the city

Water Tower Place

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

835 N. Michigan 312-440-3166 shopwatertower.com Runner-Up

Best historic building

Chicago Cultural Center

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

78 E. Washington 312-744-6630 chicagoculturalcenter.org Runner-Up

Best attraction

Navy Pier

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

600 E. Grand 312-595-7437 navypier.com Runner-Up

Best tour

Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

architecture.org/tours/boat-tours Runner-Up

Best Chicago ambassador

Barack Obama

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

barackobama.com Runner-Up

Best street character

Puppet Bike

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

puppetbike.com Runner-Up

Best alderman

Ameya Pawar (47th Ward )

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

friendsofameyapawar.com Runner-Up

Best activist

Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

ctunet.com Runner-Up

Best politician you'd like to resurrect

Harold Washington

on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM

Runner-Up Richard J. Daley