Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/297393
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIA PONCE BERRE (MELL); TERESA J. POTASIAK (VALENTINE'S); JEFF SCHEAR (IDONIJE, UNTITLED) FROM TOP: With Israel Idonije (happily a Chicago Bear again) at the opening of the Porsche Design store; enjoying Bunky Cushing's Valentine's Tea with visions-in-red Jennifer Lane, Darby Hills, and Sherill Bodine. Love the bow tie! Alderman Deb Mell was a real trouper during our Power Players photo shoot, happily enduring frigid temps in late March. Coincidentally, our shoot location—the stunning new Jeanne Gang–designed WMS Boathouse—is just across the Chicago River from her home 33rd Ward. Celebrating with A Haunted House 2 stars Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias, Marlon Wayans, and Affion Crockett at Untitled. I grew up with two older sisters and a smart, incredibly hardworking mother, so you'd better believe I'm familiar with the idea of "women of influence." They weren't just my family; they were my babysitters and mentors, my guardians and role models, and they and the other strong women in my life—my elementary and high school teachers, my sports coaches, my theater directors—helped me find my place in the world. No question that I am the person I am today because of them. That's why it's a genuine pleasure to devote this issue of Michigan Avenue to Chicago's women of inf luence. All across the city, thousands of women are making an enormous difference at work, at home, and in their communities every day, and we're proud to spotlight a handful of the ones who inspire us most. Women like Toni Preckwinkle, one of the most powerful politicians in the city, who is respected as much for her candor as for her ability to get the job done. Like Elena Delle Donne, a true basketball phenom who, instead of being satisfied with WNBA stardom, is using her fame as a platform for the causes she is most passionate about. And like ABC- 7 anchor Linda Yu, who in her 30 -year career has been both a reliable and comforting source for the news and an inspiration to young women to follow their dreams into broadcast journalism. If you're going to talk strong Chicago women, you have to mention Joan Rivers, who is the perfect cover star for the issue. The Second City alum and legendary comic may be controversial, but as you'll read in my interview with the 80 -year-old icon, she's never, never dull. And with a career that is well into its sixth decade, she has plenty to teach about being a woman of undeniable wit, smarts, and longevity. So here's to Joan—and, in honor of this month's holiday, here's to all the city's mothers. Because as we all know, they are truly the most inf luential women in Chicago. J.P. ANDERSON Follow me on Twitter at @JP_Anderson and at michiganavemag.com. 32 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF