Chicago magazine June/July 2022

IN TALKING TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS FOR HER story “Where to Buy Now” (page 64), Carisa Crawford Chappell kept hearing a similar refrain: “The first thing they’d say is, ‘Oh, we had an open house and like 100 people came through and we got 20 offers.’ And that’s in every neighborhood.” It’s another indicator of how hot the Chicago-area housing market is right now. But even with prices hitting record highs, buyers can still find good values. “There are neighborhoods that haven’t quite peaked yet. So that’s a good place to start,” says Chappell. For example: “East Garfield Park might be a little short on food options and that kind of thing, but it’s ripe for development because it’s a 15-minute ride to downtown.” And keep in mind that value is…

“LAST YEAR, I REALLY GOT INTO WOMen’s basketball,” says Kalyn Kahler, a staff writer at Defector who previously spent five years at Sports Illustrated. “I totally jumped on the Chicago Sky bandwagon.” That made Kahleah Copper, who helped lead the Sky to their first championship last season, the ideal subject for Kahler’s Chicago debut (page 78). Kahler mostly covers the NFL — she got her start assisting Peter King, the longtime “Monday Morning Quarterback” columnist—but, she says, “I try to write about women athletes whenever I can.” When she met Copper, Kahler took note of the Philadelphia native’s two distinct sides: “Philly Kah is the Kah that plays basketball and is aggressive and in your face. The regular Kah is very quiet and takes a while to warm up to…

How will her radicalization help the failing students in Chicago Public Schools? Corrie Caldwell via Facebook I only know Stacy Davis Gates from Twitter, but have felt gratitude, respect, and admiration for her. As a CPS parent, [I think] she is a force for good that inspires me to see this district and city in their totality. Heidi Stevens nailed this. @MaryTylerMom via Twitter Odd. The Chicago Teachers Union is engaged in a lawsuit alleging outside influence in our internal election. You just gave CORE quite a boost with this fluff piece. Outside influence — but it’s OK when they do it? One month before the election? It didn’t come up in conversation? @Kay_Amooty via Twitter FINDING HERSELF Paula is truly a Chicago gem [“Being Paula Camp,” April]. So glad she is now making some really good…

@monsteradeliziosa At first glance, you might not be able to tell that Kala Colella’s photograph is of a cake at all. “I like experimenting with creating things that will make people think they’re sculptures, but they’re actually edible pieces,” says the Lake View resident with a background in advertising, 3D modeling, and animation. She bakes cakes under the name Monstera Deliziosa, printing 3D designs and making molds before hitting the kitchen. Inside her Caramel Volcano (a take on a lava cake) are oozing layers of coconut marshmallow, caramel, and chocolate sponge. WE ALSO LOVED … NEXT CONTEST Post your best high-resolution shots of hot dogs on Instagram by July 15. Follow and tag @chicagomag and include #chimagcontest on your story or post to be considered. The winner will be featured in the September issue…

1 The Oscars of the culinary industry, the James Beard Awards are back, June 13 at the Lyric Opera House, after a two-year hiatus during which the foundation worked to “eliminate systemic bias” and “increase the diversity” of voters. 2 With Roe v. Wade in the balance, 16th Street Theater mounts Natalie Y. Moore’s The Billboard (June 23 to July 17), about an Englewood clinic defending abortion rights against a City Council candidate. 3 July is Chicago’s deadliest month. The city recorded more than 100 homicides the past two Julys; over last year’s July Fourth weekend (when we asked, “Gunfire or fireworks?”), 17 people were killed. 4 When the Pirates visit Wrigley Field July 25 and 26, they’ll extend baseball’s most prolific rivalry: 2,554 games since 1887. The Cubs won 21–0 in April—still…

ILLINOIS JUST CAN’T KEEP A GOVERNOR. IN THE 21ST CENTURY, WE’RE THE ONLY STATE that hasn’t had one who served two full terms (except Virginia, which limits its chief I executive to one at a time). First, George Ryan declined to run for a second term because of the licenses-for-bribes scandal that eventually landed him in prison. Rod Blagojevich was impeached. Pat Quinn fumbled away his shot at a second full term to Bruce Rauner, whose refusal to sign a budget led to his landslide defeat in his own second time around. Governor J.B. Pritzker, though, looks ready to break that streak. Unlike most of his recent predecessors, Pritzker is neither corrupt nor incompetent. Those sound like obvious qualifications for a governor, but in modern-day Illinois, they’re almost as rare as…