The December Issue Of Chicago Magazine

Having returned to Denver from Florida just a little over a week ago, I did not have a chance to look at the December issue of Chicago Magazine until yesterday. The cover story is titled Chicagoans of the Year, and I must say I was very impressed with the selections. The Leo High School Choir, which appeared on NBC's America's Got Talent, not to mention performed at Wrigley Field during Juneteenth festivities and at the celebration of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field, made the list. So did Rachel Cohen, an attorney who resigned from Skadden, a big Chicago law firm, when she learned it was going to give into demands from Donald Trump. She posted a video on TikTok about it, which has racked up two million views. Cohen has been interviewed on the PBS News Hour and has become "a loud voice of resistance." Earl Abernathy made the list for spotting a 7-month-old baby girl in a car seat on the steps of a church on Roosevelt Road. The baby had been in a vehicle that was carjacked earlier that day and Abernathy was instrumental in returning her to her family. Maureen Graves made the list, too. She started out by helping migrants adjust to living in Chicago, and after Trump was reelected, opened up a South Side legal clinic to help immigrants currently being targeted by ICE. Doug McConnell was honored for starting the Chicago River Swim, which has raised a lot of money for ALS research and has also demonstrated that the Chicago River is now clean enough for swimming. McConnell also launched A Long Swim, a foundation that has raised $3 million for ALS research at Northwestern University. Finally, not surprisingly, Pope Leo XIV made the list, a Chicagoan from a working-class neighborhood, the son of a teacher and a librarian, who many Chicagoans feel "is one of us." There is also a photo essay this month by cinematographer and photographer Carlos Javier, who was able to capture the dramatic events when ICE was deployed to Chicago. In addition, there is a column about why so many taverns in Chicago display Old Style signs, and even an "epicurean guide" to eating at Midway and O'Hare Airports. Seriously. All in all, an issue jampacked with interesting articles that are well worth reading.