Marcus originally hails from the bastion of high intellect, Alabama. After college, he moved to New Orleans where he spent several years drinking, dodging streetcars, and trying not to look so suspicious. After Hurricane Katrina and growing tired of living in the post-apocalypse, he traded in his FEMA check for a case of Miller High Life and a one-way ticket to Chicago. He now resides in Roscoe Village with his dog Franklin, where they read, write, and listen to Avril Lavigne records all night long.

Tankboy resides in the body of Jim Kopeny and lives in Bucktown with his girlfriend, Pickle the Kitten, Sasha the Cat, and a beagle named Betty who may actually be slightly more famous than most of the musicians slogging through the local scene. He's written about music for much longer than most bands you hear on the radio have even existed. He also swears that it wasn't him who did that and has learned that "deny everything" is a basic tenet of existence.

You can, and should, direct all arts & entertainment inquiries to Jim.

Chuck (aka "The Decider") grew up on the far northwest side of the city and, at the behest of a sweet-talking recruiter, joined the Navy after high school to study nuclear power. After his discharge in '94, he came back to Chicago and wasted the rest of his twenties and a good part of his thirties on good bourbon and gin; beer; jazz, soul, and insurgent country music; long bike rides; high-calorie breakfasts and women who don't stay for them. Chuck migrated through various north and west side neighborhoods until settling in Bridgeport eight years and one larger pants size ago. He always wanted to live east of Halsted near the home of a major league baseball team. He just never expected it to be Bridgeport. He's since grown accustomed to its face.

Chuck contributes the occasional article to the Chicago Sun-Times food section. His writing also pops up now and then in Time Out Chicago and Centerstage. His dog, Emmylou Harris, is the best looking dog owned by a Chicagoist staffer. Everything else can be found at his weblog, Bridgeport Seasoning. As evidenced by his picture, he also has a great smile.

You can, and should, direct all food & drink inquiries to Chuck.

Rachelle lived in various parts of the country before moving to Chicago to get back in touch with her midwestern roots. She is now a resident of Roscoe Village. When Rachelle isn't doing something online, which isn't often, she can be found with either a book, a beer, or a burrito in her face. Possibly all at the same time. Rachelle has a personal site at rachelleb.com.

Julienne has spent the last almost-eight years in Chicagoland searching for pizza and bagels comparable to those found in her homeland of New York.  A Lakeview resident with one of the best spots along the weekend drunk parade route, she would operate a late-night snack vending business through her window if she weren't so sure she'd eat all her inventory.  When not working at her "real job," Julienne is most likely in a theater, watching terrible/awesome VH1 or Bravo reality programming, taking dance class, or hoping for the elusive "musical theatre" category to come up at bar trivia.

After moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles to New York, Suzy expanded her list of major cities she’s lived in when she arrived in Chicago in January. So far, she is not a fan of the weather, but the arts scene makes up for it. Suzy was a Broadway diva in a former life and enjoys convincing people that “bad” shows are actually good and “good” shows are really bad.

Alex spent most of his formative years in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, where he was educated about such things as tobacco and how to contract words in a charming, folksy manner. He initially went to the Cleveland Institute of Music but returned south to attend George Washington University, graduating with a degree in philosophy, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Alex has performed with professional orchestras in Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia, and with professional law firms in Illinois and Washington, D.C. His writing, composed using all ten fingers, has been lauded by friends and relatives alike. Alex currently rents in Wicker Park.

Lizz left Boston the day after graduation from BC to roadtrip home to Milwaukee, but stopped off 90 miles south in Chicago and hasn't left since. She's bounced from neighborhood to neighborhood, finding the best coffee, sushi, beer, and live music in each and finally settling in Ravenswood. A big fan of intimate rooms and approachable artists, Lizz is most often found failing to look cool in Chicago's coziest music venues and friendliest brew pubs.

Rob grew up in suburban Denver (mostly), and when he moved to Chicago in 1993 to attend film school it triggered approximately six months of severe culture shock. Now he loves Chicago so much that he actually looks forward to wintertime. Yes, he's that crazy. Other things he loves about this town: Barry Gifford, Nelson Algren, Chess Records, Meis van der Rohe, John Landis, and The Violet Hour. He sees lots and lots of movies, has also written for the likes of the Chicago Reader and American Libraries, and posts random thoughts on his blog Rob's Cosmic Mai Tai Noir. Also, he wrote a book called 100 Spinning Plates. He lives in Lakeview with his partner Andy, loves the enchiladas norteñas at Las Piñatas, and has a passion for mixing retro cocktails (the Mai Tai being his specialty, obviously).

Carrie has always been a member of the 'clean plate club' and as a small child would steal the salt off her parents' margarita glasses. So, we guess its a natural that she join our Food and Drink team. Born and raised in the 'burbs, she decided to break out and go to college in Indiana (?!) where she made fast friends with local bartenders and the hot dog vendor.  When she's not writing about food and wine, she is using her husband as a guinea pig for new recipes and tweeting away her favorite eats. Do you have some tasty wine? or a great instructional cooking class? send all inquiries her way.

Laura makes her home in Chicago's West Loop where dogs are the new children and get pushed around in Bugaboo strollers. After studying biology, she disappointed her Korean mother by attending law school instead of medical school and now practices law in the Loop. Like any good attorney, she is sarcastic, slightly offensive, loves practical jokes and is attached to her Blackberry. Laura obsesses over cell phones, her dog, identifying her friends' celebrity doppelgängers, and good food.  She's gone paragliding in the Alps, jumped off a bridge into a river in the Costa Rican jungle, and explored the New Jackson Hotel in Chicago.  Clearly, she'll try almost anything. She loves to take pictures in Chicago restaurant kitchens.

Megan relocated to sunny Chicago from her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. She currently resides in West Town. In junior high Megan was granted the prestigious "Too Cool" award by her music teacher for her impressive eye-rolling skills. She's been over-achieving ever since.  As a registered dietitian, Megan spends her days in a pediatric hospital helping tiny humans grow. When she's not fielding frantic nutrition inquiries, she can often be found trying new Chicago restaurants, shopping at Green Grocer, uploading videos of her rat terrier, Ned, to Youtube, and writing her blog, Tempted.  

Anthony’s a native Iowan, but fled the state’s limited cuisine of corn syrup and pork products at the age of 18. After moving to Chicago in 2004, he became one of the city’s most avid boosters, especially when it comes to restaurants. A grad student in history at the University of Chicago, he will enthusiastically talk about Chicago’s sordid past until long after you’ve given him a strange look and sidled away quietly. As an avid nerd-of-all-trades, Anthony is probably the only person in the metropolitan area (and possibly in the entire world) to have eaten illegal Foie Gras while playing Dungeons and Dragons. When he isn’t locked in the Regenstein Library, Anthony lives in the South Loop.

Prescott has lived in the Chicago area his entire life, meaning he's either fiercely loyal or hopelessly boring, and now he's trying to instill his same love of the city into his offspring. When not mindlessly flamebaiting on Chicagoist, he's doing his part to further clog Michigan Avenue with tourists and strollers by writing about Chicago travel at About.com.

Joe originally hails from the nation's cheese-filled capitol of comfort food, Wisconsin and attended (strikethrough)finishing(strikethrough) journalism school at UW-Madison. He is one of two Chicagoisters workin' it on the LGBT beat. In addition to his work here, he writes for a number of other publications and blog-things. Want to get on his good side? He responds favorably to things like eccentric female singer-songwriters, remixes of such performers' songs, Chicago Diner's black-bean burgers and liberal use of the hyphen. He lives in Andersonville and can generally be found surrounded by empty mugs and crumpled-up press folders, stealing WiFi in your neighborhood non-Starbucks coffee shop.

Karl started writing online as an additional resource to the suburban morning radio show he was then hosting.  The radio gig is long gone, but for some reason the writing habit stuck.  Now Karl writes and podcasts for Chicagoist, contributes to various local publications, and is currently plotting his next media takeover. You can, and should, direct anything podcastable to Karl.  He'll talk to damn near anyone. 

Lured by the siren call of the Boystown bar strip, Tony said a weary goodbye to his hometown (Cincinnati) and moved to Chicago. He’s been in Chicago for over a decade, a little older, a little wiser (the bars have since lost a bit of their luster), and happily entrenched in cozy apartment in Uptown with his boyfriend of 5 years and their two cats, Jake and Boscoe. On Tony’s Hot List: People who pay attention; Music that makes me levitate out of my chair; Hot people with obvious flaws; Good friends that finish my sentences before I can; Old ladies with their own sense of style. Guys who look great in glasses. Confidence without cockiness; Things that glow in the dark; Things that go bump in the night.  Tony contributes to Time Out Chicago, Chicago Social magazine, CS Brides, The Men’s Book, Publisher’s Weekly, and The Windy City Times.

Aaron grew up in Chicago’s south suburbs and moved to the South Side in 2003. His interest in the tapestry of politics and media began as a teen when he stumbled into a table of zines at a punk show at The Fireside Bowl. Since then, Aaron has written on politics and conspiracies for numerous publications, zines and websites including his own project, Diatribe Media. When not writing or shaking his fist at “The Man,” Aaron enjoys watching B-grade sci-fi, playing real time strategy games and sings for the band Burning Luck.

Kevin was raised in the politics of Chicago's 10th Ward. Growing up in a family of steelworkers, he learned the value of hard work and standing up for your principals early on. He is a former union and community organizer and has played small roles in the periodic skirmishes for political power that define this city. After brief stints in Ohio, West Virginia, Chiapas and Mexico City, he returned to Chicago in 2003, and he resides anonymously in a gentrifying neighborhood. He finds skepticism and cheap whiskey to be good antidotes for political disillusionment.

Originally hailing from the North Shore, Benjy Lipsman spent his college years (plus a couple more) in Atlanta before returning home to Chicago in 2001. He currently resides in Lincoln Park.  But don't let geography fool you -- he is a lifelong White Sox fan.  When not reminding Cubs fans that he has actually witnessed his team win a World Series in his lifetime, he's busy following the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks.  In addition to Chicago's great sports, he also loves the city's vibrant restaurant scene and world-class architecture. In order to pay his bills, Benjy works as a web designer and web marketing manager.

Timothy State grew up in the Pacific Northwest, attended college in the Midwest at Lake Forest College and completed a ten-year tour in the capital of the South, Atlanta. He no longer knows how to pronounce anything. In 2004, he was recognized as one of Georgia’s “Newest and Most Promising Writers” by the O, Georgia! Writers Foundation. His blog, BalancingBoyfriends.com has been highlighted as a “Best Gay Blog.” His essays have been published on Swellzine.com. Most recently two of his stories were included in the Lambda Literary Award winning anthology Love, Bourbon Street, and his story, “Weenie Scaloppini” will be included in the upcoming anthology Nine Hundred & Sixty-Nine: Stories of West Hollywood.

When he’s not writing, he’s on his bike, swimming in the lake, or futzing around Chicago with his camera.He and his main boyfriend, Tony, live in the West Loop.

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