Features

Julie Brandt was just four when her father’s work took the family from Illinois to Japan. She only lived there a few years, but those few years were enough to instill in her a deep curiosity about the world. And when she began to make her own way in the world, she set her sights

When Brooke Skinner Ricketts was growing up in Kentucky, her parents told her she could be anything she wanted to be. She wanted to be a bird. Although Ricketts might not technically have wings, she’s definitely soaring—and as President of Beyond Barriers, she is helping other women to do the same. In 2020, together with

Wellness House is woven into the texture of our community. We walk with the Crown Royals team and thousands of others in May and come October, we’re inspired at the Wellness House Ball. Always one of the most elegant evenings of the year, it’s also the most moving as the stories shared are those of

A 2021 internship at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium ignited a passion for sustainability in Hinsdale’s Dylan Singla. The Hinsdale Central student was a valuable member of the sustainability action team. Singla spent his time immersed in the implementation of groundbreaking sustainability initiatives in rescuing and maintaining animals’ well-being and preserving marine habitats. He and his fellow

As 2019 rolled into 2020, members of the Lake Forest Symphony became increasingly aware that the symphony was likely to disband due to fundraising challenges and the onset of COVID-19. Indeed, the day before Governor JB Pritzker ordered Illinois residents to stay at home, the symphony closed its doors. That’s when Deb Stevenson and a

Don Pierson took a class taught by former Ohio State University football coach Woody Hayes. He met often, at 6 a.m., with Mike Ditka to help the former Chicago Bears head coach write his autobiography in 1982. And Pierson attempted to interview Walter Payton while the late Bears great banged a set of drums at