The citywide lockdown has forced people to be resourceful in jobs that require interacting with crowds. By Doug Rapp, May 5, 2020 The citywide lockdown has forced people to be resourceful in jobs that require interacting with crowds. With a lack of a live audience, comedians are becoming cre…
By Daniel Patton, May 3, 2020 A commitment to professional responsibility and a desire to interact with people enabled Haley Peterson to earn a position with the door staff of the Lofs At River East. “Last year, I was making deliveries for DoorDash and I met a doorman at Pres-idential Towers…
Bernard Green goes above and beyond his professional duties to make life better for residents of The Lancaster. Working the overnight shift as a member of the building’s door staff, he has helped fuel inspirations that have reverberated throughout the city. “Knowing your clients and helping …
By Daniel Patton, April 27, 2020 At 8 p.m. on April 24, New Eastside residents helped Chicago score a victory against coronavirus by joining a celebration to honor the workers fighting against it. They clapped and hooted from their balconies while lights and music filled Lakeshore East Park …
By Daniel Patton, April 21, 2020 Angela Moss begins every day of the week by strategizing with nearly a hundred front-line workers about how to protect Chicago’s homeless population from COVID-19. As the Assistant Dean of Faculty Practice at Rush Hospital, she brings a compassionate personal…
By Mat Cohen, April 1, 2020 Nicholas Watts is a firm believer in human decency. He displays it everyday at Marina City, and that’s one of the reasons he’s the New Eastside Doorperson of the Month. Despite being new to Marina City, he’s been in the security industry for nearly 25 years and …
By Mat Cohen This night owl has been building strong relationships and having some fun along the way. Roosevelt Shivers, who has won the Streeterville News Doorperson of the Month, has been stationed on the late shift at the Streeter, 345 E. Ohio St., for 10 years. “I love helping the resi…
New Eastside resident Karin Long has added a unique voice to the ongoing dialogue about the current national health crisis: she’s offering to help. Whether it is fetching groceries, waiting in line at the pharmacy, or completing some other small task, the Loyola law student recently posted h…
Hours before President Trump declared a national health emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, March 13, Chicago appeared to be about half full. Although the streets and the sidewalks did not carry their normal load of rush-hour cars and pedestrians, there was still ple…
Local writer Richard Rose thought his screenplay would never get off the ground.
by Mat Cohen Despite his Texas roots, Zack Gardner has been able to work through the shock of the Chicago winter to become New Eastside News Doorperson of the Month. Gardner has been working at Park Millennium for nearly six years, but he still misses the Texas heat. “I still haven’t gotten …
by Mat Cohen Sheri Campbell is an integral part of the community she loves. She’s been a doorperson at Elm Street Plaza, 1130 N. Dearborn St., for four years and has won Streeterville News Doorperson of the Month. “It’s all just a lot of customer service and interacting with people,” she sai…
by Doug Rapp The odds are 1 in 1,461 that you’ll be born on Leap Day, Feb. 29. 2020 is a leap year, with an extra day tacked on the calendar every four years to keep the seasons lined up with the 365-and-a-quarter days it takes for the earth to orbit the sun. Whether they’re called Leapling…
by Mat Cohen No one knows love more than the people who have been pierced by Cupid’s arrow and withstood the test of time. Two couples in the Streeterville neighborhood offered their stories and advice for others. Bill and D Clancy, married 60 years, went on the most epic first date you can …
by Mat Cohen Arte Brinson is accepting the Doorperson of the Month Award on behalf of the whole team at 540 N. Lake Shore Drive. “They could’ve made this phone call to the paper for any one of us,” he said. “I’m not the only one that deserves the recognition.” But February is Brinson’s month…
by Mat Cohen For Alonzo, there’s nothing better than a great football game, jazz music and his family, which includes the people at 400 E. Randolph. “Everyone is special at 400 E. Randolph,” he said. “I make sure they feel special. I try to make the family at 400 feel as I would want to feel…
by Mat Cohen The 1920s was a decade unfamiliar to most. But Wanda Bridgeforth remembers it well. Bridgeforth saw the Great Depression, World War II and lived in Chicago when the tallest building was eight stories high. As the year 2020 begins, she’s ready to welcome the changes that a second…
by Jacqueline Covey For 17 years, January Doorperson of the Month Justine Kotlarz has worked at 247 E. Chestnut St. greeting residents, tending to their needs and handing out cookies—to those with two and four feet. About two months ago, Kotlarz lost her brother Nick Bolhak. “My brother got …
by Mat Cohen It’s been a long journey for Doorperson Marek Sit to get to 400 E. Randolph. Actually, about 4,500 miles. Sit was born in Poland. In 1981, at 24 years old, he followed his mother to New York City, and then to Chicago. “First I wanted to go to Canada, but I decided to go to Chi…
by Jacqueline Covey The best young voices in Chicago perform with the Chicago Children’s Choir in storied locations like the grand glass-roofed third floor of the Chicago Cultural Center. Members of the Voice of Chicago choir, the Chicago Children’s Choir’s premier mixed-voice ensemble, have…
by Mat Cohen There’s a tremendous amount of pride and loyalty that comes with being a Chicago sports fan. Fans of the Bulls, who haven’t reached the conference semifinals since 2011, need loyalty now more than ever. Chris Britton is strongly loyal and has thick Chicago pride, so the rolle…
by Mat Cohen The most genuine, enthusiastic fist bump in New Eastside has been found. At The Shoreham at Lakeshore East is Fred Crocker, behind the desk with a smile, dishing out fist bumps to kids setting off for school. “Once you get to know people, it’s al- most like a family,” he said.…
By Doug Rapp Kanye West’s “Homecoming” boomed through the dark room. As the lights came up, host Blake Burkhart took the stage riling up the audience of 90 gathered in a back room at Timothy O’Toole’s Pub in Streeterville. Taking off a beanie to reveal his newly shaved head, Burkhart said he…
By Doug Rapp Kobe Stanton has a long commute, but for her, it’s worth it. “I love what I do,” Stanton said of her job as a security resource officer at GEMS World Academy on East South Water St. “I can say I wake up and look forward to seeing these kids.” Stanton heads into New Eastside from…
by Mat Cohen Johnson, who has worked at 200 E. Delaware Place for 37 years, is the Streeterville Doorperson of the Month. If there are similarities between tending to 60 aquariums of freshwater tropical fish and being a doorman in a high-rise apartment building, Ralph Johnson would know. For…
By Jesse Wright Jose Rivera knows how to keep his eye on the ball and stay in the game. Whether it’s playing centerfield in the softball field at Horner Park, or in the lobby of 530 N. Lake Shore Drive, where he is the doorperson, Rivera likes staying on his toes. Rivera has worked at the St…
By Elisa Shoenberger Chicago has been known as a cow town, a town of bootlegging gangsters, and even a town with long-winded politicians but few people know that Chicago was also a place for all things magic. At the turn of the 20th century, famous magicians, such as Harry Houdini and Howar…
By Jesse Wright Jesus Rosario, doorperson at the Chandler Condominiums, is newer to the building than some of the other door staff. “I’ve been at this building for a year and a half,” he said. But, Rosario said he loves the building and the neighborhood. Before the Chandler, he was a bike de…
(Published Aug. 31, 2019) By Jesse Wright Harry Harris has spent most of his life serving the federal government. First, he served in the Marine Corps. He spent nine years in the service, and he enjoyed his time. “I loved serving the country,” Harris said. “It was a different experience and …
(Published Aug. 31, 2019) By Jesse Wright New Eastsider Randy Martens wasn’t always interested in street photography. Growing up in the country, down in Mendota, Illinois, Martens said he got his start taking sports photographs for the local paper and then photos of barns and cows for fun. H…
(Published Aug. 31, 2019) By Jesse Wright For the last 21 years Jerome Bell has worked at the Park Shore as doorman and he said he has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon. “It’s a great building,” Bell said. “The residents are great, it’s a classy building, it’s luxury and it’s an all-aroun…
(Published July 31, 2019) By Jesse Wright Kahari Jones has been working at the North Water Apartments for nearly two years and he’s already made an impression. He was nominated by two separate residents. This isn’t his first building as a door person though. Years ago, he started at 510 W. E…
(Published July 31, 2019) By Jesse Wright Wade King is approaching his 10th year as doorperson at the Aqua. It’s his first job as a doorperson and he said he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. “They treat me right and they pay me good,” he said with a laugh. King said a friend referred him t…
(Published July 30, 2019) By Jesse Wright The Chicago Air and Water show may be famous for its display of high powered state-of-the art aircraft, but one airplane featured this year is not like the others. Chicago-based pilot Susan Dacy’s biplane is a throwback to pre-war piloting, to a tim…
(Published June 30, 2019) By Jesse Wright Melvin Hunt, has a long history as a Streeterville doorperson. He’s spent the last 26 years at 201 E. Chestnut St., and before that, 11 years at a building across the street. In that time, he’s made quite an impression with residents and management.…
(Published June 30, 2019) Nick Damus, a doorperson at 340 On the Park, has lived several lifetimes. Born in Haiti, he emigrated with his parents to New York City as a boy. When he grew up, he joined the Air Force, studied electronics and lived overseas in Italy. He learned to speak Italian, …
(Published June 30, 2019) By Jesse Wright Anna Dominguez is the queen of tape. It’s a self-proclaimed monicker but it’s also something she can back up. Not video tape nor audio tape. Sticky tape. The sort of stuff people use to seal packages and paint walls. She is a tape artist; at once th…
(Published on May 30, 2019) By Jesse Wright Lavelle Barnett has been the doorperson since 1996 and at 850 N. Lake Shore Drive since 2013. He said he particularly likes 850 Lake Shore Drive because of its storied past. Once known as the Lake Shore Athletic Club, it was built in 1927 though by…
(Published May 30, 2019) By Jesse Wright Johnny Anderson has been the doorperson at The Bunckingham since July 10, 1999. The Buckingham, 360 E. Randolph St., is one of the original residential towers in New Eastside and it remains popular, with 305 units and, Anderson estimates, about 650 re…
(Published May 21, 2019) By Jesse Wright, Managing Editor Ryan Evans has pie-in-the-sky dreams. Well, pizza pie-in-the-sky dreams. Evans is the executive chef at Streeterville Pizzeria and Tap and in May he unveiled the neighborhood eatery’s new menu complete with some ambitious new flavors …
(Published May 6, 2019) By Jesse Wright, Staff Writer The Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, will honor Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the musical “Notorious RBG in Song.” The musical will be performed once, May 19 at 2 p.m. Ginsburg has served on the high …
(Published April 30, 2019 By Jesse Wright, staff writer Doorperson Brandon Brown, at the Coast since 2017, works to make the humans feel at home as well as the dogs. Not only does he know the names of residents, he knows what sort of treats the dogs like and he hands them out accordingly. “W…
(Published April 29, 2019) By Jesse Wright, staff writer Streeterville photographer and author Larry Broutman knows a thing or two about cemeteries. His newest book about the city’s cemeteries, “Chicago Eternal,” in April was awarded a silver award in the regional book category by the Indepe…
(Published April 29, 2019) By Jesse Wright, staff writer Bob Jackson is a doorperson unlike most in Streeterville because he works at The Clare, a senior independent living community. Jackson’s been at the job for 10-and-a-half years, since the building opened. This isn’t his first building,…
(Published April 1,2019) By Jesse Wright For the past 34 years, residents at 111 E. Chestnut St. have had a familiar face greet them every day: Alfred Veal. Veal has watched families start and children grow into adults. And he loves it. “I love people,” he said. “And you know loving people a…
(Published March 31, 2019) By Jesse Wright, Staff Writer The Tides isn’t Sircraig Lykes’ first building he has worked at as a doorman but he says it is the best. In his six years at the Tides, Lykes has seen the building develop and change. “The tides has basically transitioned to a family-s…
By Elizabeth Czapski, March 18, 2019 Olalekan Odusanya, doorman at Presidential Towers at 555 W. Madison St, started at the building in April of 2017. He came to the United States from Nigeria in 2016, and in his home country, he practiced law. Now, as he’s in the process of becoming a lawye…
By Jesse Wright, Staff Writer Bob Lempa wanted to do something big for Peggy Baker, his longtime girlfriend. They’d been dating for years and he knew she was special and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It was just a matter of finding the right time and place to ask her to m…
By Jesse Wright, Staff Writer Joshua Harris has worked at the Aqua at Lakeshore East for 10 years, starting his job just a year after the building opened. Harris said he got in because a friend, one of the building’s first employees, thought Harris would be a good fit at the 225 N. Columbus …
By Elizabeth Czapski, Staff Writer Being a doorman comes naturally to Oladayo Taiwo. “I no longer see it as a job. I just see it like part of me already,” he said. “I think that’s why I put in my best doing what I do.” Taiwo, originally from Nigeria, has worked at 600 N. Lake Shore Drive for…
By Elizabeth Czapski | Staff Writer When Park Millennium doorperson Reginald Turner was a boy, he was in foster care. “I was a foster kid for a long time,” he said. “Coming from foster homes, it was a struggle.” He grew up and out of the foster care system and, as an adult, found himself wor…
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