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United Center
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showing 1 to 30 of 51
on June 25, 2014 at 6:30PM
Best of Chicago 2014: City Life
"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.
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.
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.
@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.
#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.)
Vernita Gray and Pat Ewert
"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.
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.
"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.
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.
Valerie Leonard
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.
Read/Write Library
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.
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).
1-800-529-7374
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.
Sunshine Enterprises
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.
Harvest Commons
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.
IMAN Health Clinic
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.
Jackson Boulevard and State Street
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.
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.
Park 576
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.
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.
Water Tower Place
on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
835 N. Michigan 312-440-3166 shopwatertower.com Runner-Up
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington 312-744-6630 chicagoculturalcenter.org Runner-Up
Navy Pier
600 E. Grand 312-595-7437 navypier.com Runner-Up
Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise
architecture.org/tours/boat-tours Runner-Up
Barack Obama
barackobama.com Runner-Up
Puppet Bike
puppetbike.com Runner-Up
Ameya Pawar (47th Ward )
friendsofameyapawar.com Runner-Up
Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union
ctunet.com Runner-Up
Harold Washington
Runner-Up Richard J. Daley
| Jun 22, 2017
| Jun 23, 2016
| Jun 20, 2012
| Jun 23, 2011
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