Windy City

The acclaimed author of the intensely powerful novel Pretty Birds, Scott Simon now gives us a story that is both laugh-out-loud funny and heart-piercing–as sprawling and brawling as Chicago, where politics is a contact sport. The mayor of Chicago is found in his office late at night, sitting in his boxer shorts, facedown dead in a pizza. The mayor was a hero and a rascal: dynamic, charming, ingenious, corruptible, and a masterly manipulator. The city mourns. But it’s discovered that the mayor was murdered–shortly after he may have begun to squeal on some of his colleagues at City Hall. Over the next four days, police race to find the mayor’s killer, while the politicians who bemoan his passing scramble for his throne.

Brown in the Windy City is the first history to examine the migration and settlement of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in postwar Chicago. Lilia Fernández reveals how the two populations arrived in Chicago in the midst of tremendous social and economic change and, in spite of declining industrial employment and massive urban renewal projects, managed to carve out a geographic and racial place in one of America’s great cities. Through their experiences in the city’s central neighborhoods over the course of these three decades, Fernández demonstrates how Mexicans and Puerto Ricans collectively articulated a distinct racial position in Chicago, one that was flexible and fluid, neither black nor white.

In the vein of Robert Crais’s fast-paced novels, Marc Krulewitch’s new Jules Landau mystery tells the action-packed tale of the private eye trying to keep his hands clean as he digs through Chicago’s dirtiest secrets. Jules Landau feels right at home in the ethnic stew of the Windy City, where he’s indebted to the hopes and schemes of his criminal ancestors. Street-smart and college-educated, Jules wants nothing more than to go straight and atone for his family’s past. But when he investigates a horrific killing, Jules uncovers a hidden world of lucrative corruption. Jack Gelashvili had his head bashed in and no one knows why. The most obvious answer is that he was a parking cop, a universally loathed job—especially in Chicago. Turns out there’s a lot of money to be made on expired meters, and when Jules starts making noise, he starts making enemies—from the head of a media empire to the mastermind of a prostitution ring. When rumors of bloodthirsty Mob connections arise, Jack’s gorgeous cousin Tamar objects, and Jules is increasingly swayed by the logic and charms of the sexy baker. Following this beautiful woman into the cloistered world of Georgian immigrants, Jules brings his hunches, his family connections, and his gun. But he’s just one man against a pack of criminals with a million reasons to shoot first. Praise for Windy City Blues “I am so glad to have found Marc Krulewitch and am looking forward to the next book in this series.”—Vic’s Media Room “I have only visited Chicago a few times, but both times that I finished Marc Krulewitch’s books I have wanted to make a return trip to see the things he describes in his books. I could feel the grittiness of the city and the neighborhoods that Jules Landau ends up in.”—Kritter’s Ramblings “Filled with colorful characters, adult dialogue and plenty of action, this story grabbed my attention from the very first page and never let go. Fans of crime thrillers and mysteries alike will enjoy sinking their teeth into this series.”—Queen of All She Reads “Thanks to the descriptions, I could experience what the characters did, like I was an observer in the story. I love that in a book—when I can be in on the action instead of merely watching it. It’s great to visit a city through the eyes of a once long-term resident.”—Back Porchervations “Keeps you thrilled and reading on until the very last page.”—Rhodes Review Previously published as Scofflaw Blues

The contributions of the Midwest and, specifically, Chicago to LGBTQ literature have been invaluable yet largely uncelebrated over the last century. This anthology charts a map of queer Chicago and showcases its thriving urban arts community, which boasts a unique history, legacy, and sensibility deeply rooted in the urban Midwest. Here is a first-rate collection of queer voices from Chicago's literary landscape. Celebrated writers Edmund White, Achy Obejas, Sharon Bridgforth, Brian Bouldrey, E. Patrick Johnson, Carol Anshaw, David Trinidad, and Mark Zubro are joined by emerging voices from the queer literary scene. These pieces span all literary genres, from fiction and poetry to memoir and essays, and portray a full gamut of gay Chicago lives from the everyday to the quirky, from public spectacles to quiet intimacies, from family life to nightlife, from dating to marriage, from loving to mourning. The writing that comprises this volume, which seeks to claim a queer space on the literary continuum, is surprising, smart, hilarious, and heart wrenching. "I grew up in and I'm married to Los Angeles, I had a ten year long hot affair with my adopted home NYC, but I have to admit I really left my diasporic midwestern gay heart in Chicago! Windy City Queer is a wonderful deepening of our national imagination about one of our greatest cities and regions."—Tim Miller, author of Body Blows and 1001 Beds

In 1960s Chicago, a young woman stands in the middle of a musical and social revolution. A new historical novel from the bestselling author of White Collar Girl and What the Lady Wants. “The rise of the Chicago Blues scene fairly shimmers with verve and intensity, and the large, diverse cast of characters is indelibly portrayed with the perfect pitch of a true artist.” —Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue Leeba Groski doesn’t exactly fit in, but her love of music is not lost on her childhood friend and neighbor, Leonard Chess, who offers her a job at his new record company in Chicago. What starts as answering phones and filing becomes more than Leeba ever dreamed of, as she comes into her own as a songwriter and crosses paths with legendary performers like Chuck Berry and Etta James. But it’s Red Dupree, a black blues guitarist from Louisiana, who captures her heart and changes her life. Their relationship is unwelcome in segregated Chicago and they are shunned by Leeba’s Orthodox Jewish family. Yet in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, Leeba and Red discover that, in times of struggle, music can bring people together. READERS GUIDE INSIDE

The place: Chicago, Illinois. The year: 1937. A city struggles to recover from the lawless legacy of Prohibition and the destructive aftermath of the Great Depression. The inequities of race and social class are vast and growing. In a rigidly segregated society, the average citizen keeps to his own kind, keeps his head down, and toils just to make ends meet. During this turbulent time, a young European immigrant labors in obscurity, deep within the teeming confines of the Pilsen district. He dreams of being a professional prizefighter. The young man’s prospects are few until he befriends an elderly African American boxer who operates a small gym on the city’s west side. The old man recognizes championship potential in the boy and agrees to coach him, molding him into a first class athlete. Together, the unlikely pair chase the elusive goal of a Middleweight Crown. Across town, another young man has a mentor of a different sort. One who schools him in the fine art of the “quick buck”. This boy, rescued from abject poverty, pursues wealth and power with ruthless zeal, surrendering to the darker side of human nature. Abandoning all compassion, he eagerly embraces a life of crime and brutality. A disillusioned Detective, grappling with a deep personal grief has become obsessed with fighting crime. His work has become his solace, his only virtue, his redemption. Exceeding the bounds of his authority, he fanatically persecutes the criminals of his precinct, setting him on a dangerous path of confrontation and violence. When these worlds collide, loyalty is forsaken and heartfelt dreams are crushed. A life is taken. This is a tale of good versus evil, of sacrifice and righteousness and love. This is a story of happiness and heartbreak and darkness. This Windy City Nocturne.

Lake Shore Drive, the Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier...just the mention of these iconic sights conjures up a skyline known the world over as the Windy City. Welcome to Chicago! And there's no better guidebook to the city than W is for Windy City: A Chicago Alphabet. Following the alphabet, the city's character and familiar landmarks are fully captured in poem and expository text. A is for Art Institute or Adler Planetarium. And if we want a "triple A," we'll add the Shedd Aquarium. Young readers can marvel at the treasures on display at the renowned Art Institute, go window shopping along Michigan Avenue's mile-long Magnificent Mile, or take in an afternoon game at Wrigley Field with the Chicago Cubs. W is for Windy City brings this famous city to life.A faculty member in the Department of Education at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, Dr. Steven L. Layne is a respected literacy consultant and keynote speaker, working with educators and children at schools and conferences throughout the world. With more than 20 years as an educator, Deborah Dover Layne has worked at elementary and middle school levels and has been a reading specialist. Currently, she is an elementary principal in Elgin. The Laynes live in St. Charles, Illinois. Rhode Island School of Design graduate Michael Hays teaches illustration and drawing at Columbia College and lives in Oak Park, Illinois. Judy MacDonald and Michael started Painted Pony Studio in Chicago several years ago, each of them bringing their own unique style to the drawing table while illustrating books and creating art for children.

In Wide Awake in the Windy City, Matt Golosinski traces the century-long ascent of the Kellogg School of Management, detailing its influence on marketing and its evolution as a globally renowned general management force. The story contextualizes the school's strategic decisions and brings to life some of its most important catalysts — deans, professors, students, and business practitioners. The school historically turned disadvantage to opportunity, finding innovative ways to remain in the vanguard of management education. At every turn, this journey involved the vision of extraordinary people who, against the odds, created an enduring example of educational excellence.