A half century of award-winning journalism, from best feature story of 1974 (Chicago Newspaper Guild) to more than half-a-dozen consecutive annual column and profile honors (Northern Illinois News Association).
Birds of a feather
Evanston RoundTable, July 30, 2026 My father, a frequent and harsh critic of my native dumbness as a kid, would take to calling me “bird brain,” or sometimes in a
The annual parade of July 4 chairs
Evanston RoundTable, July 2, 2026 I hate to admit it, but I may be something of a Pecksniff. He was a fictional character in Charles Dickens’ 1843 novel Martin Chuzzlewit who was,
The goodness of work
Evanston RoundTable, June 10, 2026 Pope Leo XIV recently issued an encyclical (Magnifica Humanitas, “Magnificent Humanity: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence”) about the importance and dignity of
Get your kicks: the mother of all road trips
Evanston RoundTable, April 20, 2026 This year is the 100th anniversary of Route 66, which officially opened Nov. 11, 1926. Kickoff celebrations to mark the centennial are being held this week.
In praise of gratitude
Evanston RoundTable, April 9, 2026 We know we should do it more often, give thanks for all the good things in life. But we rarely do. Sometimes it helps to
Walking with Dr. King
Evanston RoundTable, Feb. 5, 2026 Along with 400 or 500 other people, I marched around the block from First United Methodist Church at 516 Church St. on Jan. 19 as part
On turning 80: Lessons on a milestone birthday
Evanston RoundTable, Jan. 7, 2026 They say with age comes wisdom. (Added author Oscar Wilde archly, “But sometimes age comes alone.”) Wise or not, I turned 80 on Dec. 31.
Gloria Boyell at 99 — Busy as ever
Evanston RoundTable, Nov. 27, 2025 At an age when most people are dreading the Grim Reaper, Gloria Boyell says the only thing she’s afraid of is being bored. No chance
Evanston’s oldest firms
Evanston RoundTable, Nov. 13, 2025 The two oldest businesses in Evanston — Cahill Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, founded in 1890; and Lemoi Hardware, founded in 1895 — have been