Category Archives: Chicago

Chicago’s nextScholars Paves Way for Students

Posted on December 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

Celebrations begin after decisions are announced. (Photo by Phillip Shilling)

Audio Slideshow: Follow the journey of these Chicago college hopefuls.

By Audrey Plank, Elizabeth Schuetz and Phillip Shilling

Despite 40 mph winds whistling outside, students from more than 80 Chicago-area high schools gathered on Oct. 26 to attend the Fourth annual Chicago Scholars Onsite Admissions Event at the UIC Forum.

While the morning was dark, dreary, and rainy, the atmosphere inside the UIC Forum was anything but. Amid interviews and introductions were cheers of joy and excitement as scholars gained admission and scholarships to national universities on the spot.

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Posted in Chicago, Education, News

Tagged admissions, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Scholars Onsite Admissions Event, college, nextScholars, UIC

Chicago’s Late-Night Restaurants Bring the Flavor

Posted on December 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

Pick Me Up Cafe’s Drunken Chicken Appetizer

Audio Slideshow: Visit three Chicago late-night diners.

By Allison Barinholtz and Katie Fraser

Peter Poulos has a simple formula for the success of his business, Margie’s Candies.

“When you go to Gene and Gorgetti’s for a big steak dinner and you spend all that money on dinner, you don’t have a desire for dessert,” said Poulos, owner of Margie’s Candies. “So you get out and drive around with your lady and you come here an hour later, that’s the time to have dessert.

“What better thing can you do than share a banana split with your boyfriend and feed each other with one spoon?”

Margie’s Candies sits on the corner of Western and Armitage avenues in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Opened in 1921, it has stayed in the Poulos family for almost 90 years and has stayed the same since, except for the slight change in hours of operation.

“I changed the hours to 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. just to make my life easier,” said Poulos, 74, owner of Margie’s. The original hours: 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.

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Posted in Business, Chicago, Entertainment, Food, Streets

Tagged Arturo's Tacos, Chicago, diners, First Security Candies, Food, foodies, Margies Candies, Nookies, Pick Me Up, PMU, The Big Onion, Wicker Park

Flirty Cupcakes Puts Desserts on Wheels in Chicago

Posted on December 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

Logo courtesy Flirty Cupcakes

Audio Slideshow: A look at a day downtown with the Flirty cupcakes truck.

By Vi Nguyen, Nimrah Pervez and Beth Kotz

Cakes are cumbersome. Cupcakes, on the other hand, are compact confectionary treats- the perfect baked good for any glutton on-the-go. The Flirty Cupcake truck, a mobile mini bakery, roams city streets seeking to satisfy the sweet teeth of busy Chicagoans.

Tiffany Kurtz, owner and founder of the Flirty Cupcakes, attributes her novel idea not to big city trends, but to enjoyable moments from her childhood. Kurtz began the venture with her husband, Chris Sewell.

“I remember being so excited when I heard the ice cream truck coming,” she said, “then I saw this beat up old truck sitting on the street, and it all just came together. While I wouldn’t chase after ice cream now, I would chase after cupcakes.”

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Posted in Business, Chicago, Food, News, Streets

Tagged Chicago, desserts, Flirty Cupcakes

Chicago’s Englewood Neighborhood on the Rise

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 3 Comments

Audio Slideshow: Listen to Asiaha Butler and Englewood residents talk about what they’re doing in their community.

By Matt Bailey and Rashanah Baldwin

Frustrated with the lack of programs and outlets for youth in Englewood, lifelong neighborhood resident Asiaha Butler started working to change the impression of her neighborhood with a program that gives young people an opportunity to express themselves with words rather than gunfire.

Asiaha Butler begins the dialogue (Photo by Matt Bailey)

“I’m not an anti-violence activist. I’m a peace activist,” Butler said.

Beginning last April, she started a series of documentary screenings, in donated spaces, followed by open-floor debates of issues raised in the films, called, “So Fresh Saturdays: Docs and Dialogue.”

This monthly gathering of people between the ages of 12-20, provides an opportunity to have “a fun, safe and educational space, in the heart of a place that people call so violent,” Butler said.

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Posted in Chicago, Maps, News, Streets

Tagged Asiaha Butler, Chicago, Englewood

Misericordia: Chicago’s Hidden Community

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

Misericordia is a community for people with special needs. (Photo by Kristen Aguirre)

By Catherine Durkin and Kristen Aguirre

For the past 18 years Tina Stendardo wakes up, gets ready, and heads to work, where she strives to help people with intellectual disabilities do the exact same thing. Enhancing the lives of others with special needs is her passion, which correlates with the values of Misericordia.

Stendardo is the developmental training director at Misericordia, a not-for-profit corporation that houses individuals with developmental disabilities. As the developmental training director, she oversees the work programming at the organization. Stendardo has worked with Misericordia for almost two decades, and says her experience has been anything short of “wonderful.”

“As corny as it sounds there is such a family feel here,” Stendardo said. “For an organization who has 1,000 employees and 600 residents and so many things coming and going, there really is a nice family feel at Misericordia.”

Podcast: Tina Stendardo discusses how Misericordia allows its residents to feel like they belong in this world and are part of a special community.

Misericordia Final 2 by Cdukin2