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Best of Chicago 2012: City Life

Critics' Picks

Best Local Writer who Excels at Social Media

Britt Julious

The best indication of what to expect from 25-year-old writer Britt Julious can be found in her Twitter handle, which is also… Continue

Best Example of Old Media Hanging in There

Chicago Reporter
The Chicago Reporter is 40 years old and still covering racial issues as well as anyone anywhere—which makes it more necessary than it's ever… Continue

Best Activist Hipster Magazine

Lumpen

960 W 31st Street 773-837-0145

http://lumpen.com

Editor and publisher Ed Marszewski has built a small empire for the artistic left, from spearheading alternative arts festivals such as Version and the… Continue

Best Alderman to Turn up at a Rock Show

Proco "Joe" Moreno (1st)

1035 N. Western Ave. 773-276-3600

http://emptybottle.com

When Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno isn't dealing with his constituents in the First Ward, he’s often hitting one of its music venues.… Continue

Best Aldermanic Flip-Flop

Ameya Pawar (47th)

Man, what a difference a year makes! Last year Pawar was the golden boy of reform, coming from nowhere without any major endorsements… Continue

Best Politician We'd Like to Resurrect

1990s Helen Shiller (46th)

Chicago once appeared to be on the cusp of a new era. Back then, the monarchy had run its course and candidates for office… Continue

Best Politician Guided by a What-the-Fuck-Do-I-Have-to-Lose Attitude

Robert Fioretti

For his first five or so years in the City Council, Fioretti, the Second Ward alderman, was a little wobbly on reform issues,… Continue

Best Baby Step Forward on Pot Policy

Chicago moves toward sort of almost decriminalizing possession
Best of Chicago 2012: Chicago moves toward sort of almost decriminalizing possession Continue

Best Place for an Awkward Pat Down and Discussion of Your Breath Mints

Security checkpoint, Cook County criminal courthouse

2650 S. California Ave.

I would advise you to avoid the criminal courthouse at 26th and California. If you can't, I'd at least suggest you avoid being… Continue

Best Reminder of How Chicago Got So Segregated

Former home of the Hansberry family

6140 S. Rhodes

In the early 1900s white and black Chicagoans often lived side by side. But as blacks began flowing into the city in larger numbers… Continue

Best Public School Parents

Tie: Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization, Raise Your Hand Coalition, and Parents in Beverly, and Mount Greenwood

In the past year the members of KOCO valiantly fought against Mayor Rahm Emanuel's efforts to close Dyett High School. The parents in… Continue

Best Theo Epstein Alter Ego at City Hall

Transportation commissioner Gabe Klein

Golden boy Theo Epstein—general manager of the Boston Red Sox when they ended an 86-year World Series drought—was hired last year to bring… Continue

Best Local Myth

The Curse of the Billy Goat

430 N. Michigan Ave. 312-222-1525

http://billygoattavern.com

Cross superstition with a heap of empirical evidence and you get—well, either a religious movement or the Curse of the Billy Goat, the legend… Continue

Best Moment of Unity on the Red Line

When Cubs fans finally get off the train at Addison

Not many civic experiences are worse than when you're a CTA regular pitched into a train full of Wrigley-bound Cubs fans: you're minding your… Continue

Best Bus Route for Glimpsing a Palimpsest of the City

#81 Lawrence

Some might pick the #63 east from Midway, with its route through eastern European, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, and African-American enclaves. Others might consider the… Continue

Best Train Station Steel-Pan Drummer

Joseph Glenn

I'm all for hearing an acoustic rendition of Bill Withers's "Ain't No Sunshine" echo through the CTA underworld, but how often do you get… Continue

Best Stoplight for a Catnap

Hayes Drive at Lake Shore Drive

6300 S. Lake Shore Dr. 312-742-5369

http://chicagoparkdistrict.com

Leaving 63rd Street Beach can take awhile: during the afternoon rush, the westbound light at Hayes and LSD can be the longest red of… Continue

Best Venerable Program for Pregnant and Parenting Teens

Project Hope

212 S. Francisco Ave. 773-722-7440

http://marillachouse.org/programs/projecthope.html

For 32 years Marillac, a west-side social service center, has been working to strengthen the bond between teen parents and their children. Home… Continue

Best House of Worship to Turn to When You Hit Bottom

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church

1351 W. Evergreen St. 773-278-2470

http://sanctuaryofthedivinemercy.org

The Kennedy Expressway bends east to spare the imposing St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. St. Stanislaus returns the favor. Four years ago its pastor,… Continue

Best Reason to Appreciate the Serene Architecture That Lines Much of Lower Lincoln Park

The Conservatory

2314 N. Lincoln Park West

Sometimes we don't value a skyline until it's ruined. Ugly and completely out of scale, the Conservatory is as crass a building as was… Continue

Best Place to Get Attacked by a Red-Winged Blackbird

Humboldt Park

1440 N. Sacramento Ave. 312-742-7549

http://chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/humboldtpark

I was walking along a path in the park last summer when I was hit in the back of the head by a small… Continue
Readers Poll

Best View of the City

Winner: John Hancock Center Continue

Best Historic Building

Winner: Chicago Cultural Center Continue

Best Attraction

Winner: Millennium Park/the Bean Continue

Best Tour

Winner: Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise Continue

Best Chicago Ambassador

Winner: Barack Obama Continue

Best Street Character

Winner: Puppet Bike guy Continue

Best Alderman

Winner: Proco "Joe" Moreno Continue

Best Activist(s)

Winner: Andy Thayer, Gay Liberation Network Continue

Best Politico

Winner: Rahm Emanuel Continue

Best Politician You'd Like to Resurrect

Winner: Harold Washington Continue

Best Celebrity

Winner: John Cusack Continue

Best Power Couple

Winner: Barack and Michelle Obama Continue

Best Local Genius

Winner: Weed Wolf Continue

Best Lawyer

Winner: Adam Airhart, Brunswick Corporation Continue

Best Charity

Winner: PAWS Chicago Continue

Best LGBTQ Organization

Winner: Center on Halsted Continue

Best Overall Neighborhood

Winner: Logan Square Continue

Best Neighborhood for Nightlife

Winner: Wicker Park Continue

Best Neighborhood for Culture

Winner: Pilsen Continue

Best Neighborhood for Affordability

Winner: Logan Square Continue

Best Neighborhood for Diversity

Winner: Rogers Park Continue

Best Neighborhood for Schools

Winner: Lincoln Park Continue

Best Suburb

Winner: Oak Park Continue

Best Street

Winner: Milwaukee Avenue Continue

Best College Degree for the Money

Winner: University of Illinois at Chicago Continue

Best Place for a New El Stop

Winner: United Center Continue

Best Overall Radio Station

Winner: WXRT 93.1 Continue

Best Radio DJ

Winner: Cooper St. James, WLUW 88.7 Continue

Best Morning Show

Winner: This Is Hell!, WNUR 89.3 Continue

Best Journalist

Winner: Chuck Mertz, WNUR 89.3 Continue

Best Local Blog

Winner: BadSandwichChronicles.net Continue

Best Chicagoan to Follow on Twitter

Winner: Brendan Kelly, @badsandwich Continue

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Agenda Teaser

01.22.13

The Sound, the Soul, the Syncopation

Galleries & Museums

The Sound, the Soul, the Syncopation Expo 72 Gallery

November 15

Johnny Young, Michael Vallera, MT Coast, Double Morris

Music

Johnny Young, Michael Vallera, MT Coast, Double Morris Empty Bottle

January 22

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