Let the games begin
Special Olympics Chicago’s 2014 Spring Games are slated for next week. The event kicks off with an opening ceremony at Soldier Field at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Following the opening ceremony, track & field competitions are slated to take place at South Chicago’s Eckersall Stadium Wednesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit SOChicago.org/events for more information.
The road less traveled
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday announced that Chicago attracted almost 47 million out-of-town visitors last year – the highest number to date. The mayor’s announcement revealed that about 20 million people visited Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Lincoln Park Zoo and went on double-decker trolley tours, according to DNAinfo Chicago. Roughly 7 million people stopped by the Art Institute, the Willis Tower’s Sky Deck, The Museum of Science and Industry, the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum.
In response to the announcement, Mark Konkol of DNAinfo Chicago shared some of his favorite tourist spots in Chicago for those looking to escape the beaten path. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist recommended The Old Town Ale House, Garfield Park Conservatory and Logan Square’s Rosa’s Lounge, which touts itself as“Chicago’s Friendliest Blues Lounge,” among other destinations.
Cook County’s cookin’
DNAinfo Chicago this week provided a look inside Cook County Jail’s nascent culinary pilot program, which got cooking in late March. Bruno Abate, owner of Wicker Park’s Tocco restaurant, is providing 20 inmates with cooking lessons during the 90-day pilot.
The program is intended to help the inmates hone job skills that could improve their quality-of-life following their release. Abate, though, recognizes that for some, the program might simply provide a more basic understanding of cooking.
“In three months, I can’t do miracles,” he told DNAinfo. “My mission is to transfer to [the inmates] the love of food. Not everyone wants to be a chef. But if you have the love of food, you have the love of life.”
What a stud
The University of Chicago’s “Let’s Get Working” event, a three-day festival showcasing the work of University of Chicago alumnus Studs Terkel, is slated to kick off next Friday. The festival runs through Sunday and will feature screenings of Terkel’s documentary films, listening stations with excerpts from his radio archive and discussions of Terkel’s career.
Woman wordsmiths
Chicago media reporter Robert Feder on Friday released a list of what he considers to be Chicago’s 20 most-prominent female journalists. The list is a follow-up to a 2011 list in which Feder ranked the city’s 21 most-powerful female journalists.
The top three women on Feder’s list this year are: Jane Hirt, managing editor of the Chicago Tribune; ABC 7 Vice President and News Director Jennifer Graves; and Carol Marin, WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” political correspondent, Chicago Sun-Times columnist and NBC 5’s political editor. Check out Feder’s full list at RobertFeder.com.
-Tom Butala