Chicago is the best. Just when the kids are heading back to school (in-person for many, yay!) and pumpkin spice hits the supermarket shelves and you foolishly start to think fall is on the way… BAM! Heat wave. I’m typing this column in my skivvies with a cool glass of something only for adults because it’s just too hot right now to do anything else. What better way to prepare for new construction than to get in a good sweat sesh? Another way is to read all the latest goss, so here we go!
I’m sure you’ve already seen our fantastic, legendary Who’s Who issue for 2021, but if you haven’t, go get it NOW. This was the biggest Who’s Who issue yet with more than 500 participants! We’ve been getting shout out after shout out on the social meeds, and as usual I cannot confirm nor deny if I was in this year’s issue. But let’s just say with 500-plus peeps, there is a very good chance my mug is somewhere in those pages. Take a gander Where’s Waldo style and see if you can find me.
Candice Payne of Compass gave us her own version of the #cratechallenge on Instagram. For those of you who don’t know what that is let me tell you because I had to look it up and then spent 45 minutes falling down a Tik Tok rabbit hole and I want to save you from doing the same thing. Basically, people are supposed to stack milk crates and climb over them and it’s dangerous so you’re not supposed to do it. Candice turned the challenge on its head and used it as a clever way to market her Respark program. And it got her a lengthy shoutout in my column, so kudos to Candice!
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Alderman Brendan Reilly were on hand to unveil the completed renovations of the National Association of Realtors® headquarters on Michigan Ave. The beautiful space included a fancy new elevator system, a redesigned Plaza of the Americas and a spot known as the Sky Level with some major Chicago views. Throw on your mask and swing by to check out the new digs.
It was too hot to party for a good portion of this month, so let’s just scoot on over to the birthdays, shall we? Tariq “TK” Khwaja celebrates on Sept. 8 while Larry Steinway, Bob Floss, and Dustin Schaff can celebrate together on Sept. 9. So many ways to have fun with each of those names that I just went the straight and narrow route instead, though I’d love for Bob to use his Floss to clean out the Dust-in Larry’s Steinway (couldn’t help myself). Sara Hulsebus, Reno Manuele, and Cory Robertson all share a bday with the legend that is Dan Gjeldum on Sept. 12. Paulette Rodriguez celebrates on the 13th but thankfully not Friday the 13th because that was in August, though it is a Monday and we all know how Garfield feels about that. Michael Cozzi will get wiser on Sept. 15 while Mo Dadkhah and Lori Wyatt will do the same on Sept. 16. September 19 is a big day for Teresa Ryan, Evelyn Fred, Julie Harron, and the beautiful, wise, and incomparable Anne Hartnett who also happens to cosign my paychecks. Jessica Kern and Bill Knapp share a Sept. 20 bday, and Ian Schwartz celebrates his birthday on Sept. 23. Then somehow we’re already in October! Natalie Carpenter kicks off the month with her Oct. 1 bday, while Elizabeth Goodchild and Simon Stein will celebrate on Oct. 3. Last, but not least because there are two of them and I don’t know how that would work, German Llanos and Michael Walsh will raise a glass to toast themselves on Oct. 4.