Rachel Cromidas fell for Chicago when she moved to the city for college and soon after began skipping classes to cover the news. Rachel comes to Chicagoist from the Chicago Tribune's RedEye, where she wrote about crime, transportation, and LGBTQ issues, and was caught on tape tackling a police officer (legally) for a story. Before her days with the Tribune, she covered education and urban issues for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and ChalkbeatNY. In her free time, she rides her bike all over the city, geeks out about urban planning news, and takes full advantage of living in one of the city's fastest-growing neighborhoods (it's the Loop!).

Mae Rice has lived in Chicago for the past eight years, first in Hyde Park, where she studied at University of Chicago, and now in Logan Square. She loves to write, and before writing for Chicagoist, her work—a lot of which is about death, though she promises that is an accident!—has appeared in the Awl, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and the Morning News. She loves Chicago, especially the Starbucks locations and the hilarious seals at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

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 (RIP) 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.

Anthony Todd has been writing about food and drink in Chicago for almost 10 years, after falling in love with the city during grad school and never leaving. He's previously served as the Chicago Editor of Tasting Table, the Chicago Editor of Citysearch and as a contributor to Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out Chicago, Epicurious.com, Serious Eats, Plate Magazine, Food Fanatics Magazine, NewCity, Edible Chicago and more. He's obsessed with making the perfect vieux carre, growing heirloom cherry tomatoes, canning said tomatoes, slurping oysters (East Coast, please) and dirty gin martinis. If you drink dirty vodka martinis, he'll give you a dirty look. Anthony also serves on the board of Chicago Market, a growing food co-op on the northwest side of the city. In the few hours a day when he's not eating, writing or sleeping, he moonlights as an attorney.

Justin has been fascinated with Chicago ever since he played the slightly obscure Super Nintendo video game “Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City” in elementary school. That game was so vital to Justin’s early understanding of Chicago, he was legitimately upset when he discovered that the Field Museum was not a Super Mario-esque platformer where you have to defeat hordes of evil skeleton warriors with an infinite supply of magic basketballs. Justin may have cried about this. Justin’s fascination of the city grew in middle school when he accidentally discovered college radio on the far left of the dial that played local underground rap and when his uncle gave him a cassette tape full of bootleg recordings of classic house music. Throughout high school, Justin daydreamed about escaping this dead end town and was obsessed with sites like Purevolume and AbsolutePunk.net as well as local bands like Mest and Fall Out Boy. He found himself romanticizing a career at a record label as the music industry pretty much imploded all around him. Undaunted, he decided to leave Waukegan for a life more adventurous in the city and never looked back.

Michelle escaped from small-town-Missouri to big-city-Chicago because she wanted to live in a city where she didn't need a car and could look all metropolitan taking the subway to work. Little did she know what a nightmare the CTA would be. After residing in several northside neighborhoods, she's finally settled into a Bucktown coach house with her boyfriend and their family of step-pets. She can usually be found at a concert, on the beach or under the bar.

Carrie called Ohio and Michigan home before moving to Chicago in 2009 to earn her Masters in New Arts Journalism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to writing about art, she is a poet who has authored a full-length collection titled, Small Murders (New Issues, 2006), as well as several limited-edition, handmade poetry chapbooks with themes ranging from giving voices to women in a mental ward in 1970s Oregon, to the circus, to her family genealogy in poems with accompanying photocollages. She is at work on several new poetry projects, including her second full-length collection, The Luck of Anhedonia. To unwind and find focus, she avidly plays pinball, seeks out exciting new art and art spaces, and listens to Stevie Nicks. She lives in Logan Square with her cats, Seamus and Sophie.

Casey Moffitt moved to Logan Square in 2000 from the Connecticut River Valley town of Ware, Mass. as a young man seeking adventure. Now he's an old man who still isn't sure he's found it. He spends a lot of his time sitting in his basement listening to old rock records from the 70s because they're cheap and easy to find. He actually earned a journalism degree from Syracuse University and spent 10 years working as a newspaper reporter. Yes, a newspaper reporter. Now he's enjoying himself writing about music for this very site. Consider it a warning with peace and love.

Mariel is a bit of an outdoor nut, but will take skyscrapers when mountains are not available. Born in Colorado but raised in Illinois, she’s exactly half country, half city mouse. Scurrying from the burbs to the city nibbling on cheese, she is also a clarinetist with the North Suburban Wind Ensemble. Mariel lives with one intensely spoiled tabby cat named Ana and a giant aloe plant which on further consideration she should not have named Audrey II. She’s overly attached to her camera, prone to and fond of terrible puns, and loves to travel. Idols include Alton Brown, Salvador Dali, Steven Tyler and Kermit the Frog. Mariel also hates yams and monkeys, and is fundamentally opposed to hats.

Like so many post-college midwesterners, Melody made the inevitable migration to Chicago looking to put her journalism degree to better use and to see plays that weren’t primarily put on by Bible Belt middle schools. An Andersonville resident, she pays the bills as a copywriter but lives for Chicago’s vibrant theater scene. When she’s not making others cringe with her infinite knowledge of Broadway showtunes, she’s most likely sitting in a theater somewhere, beaming during curtain call.

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. Aside from Chicagoist, he has also written for the likes of the , American Libraries, and Booklist. He sees lots and lots of movies, chronicling them with his 3 Things project, and is the author of Queue Tips: Discovering Your Next Great Movie. He's a regular contributor to CINE-FILE as well as a member of the Queer Film Society. He lives in Lakeview with his partner Andy, loved the enchiladas norteñas at Las Piñatas (RIP), and has a passion for mixing retro cocktails (the Mai Tai being his specialty, obviously).

Joel has written or ranted about movies for more years than he cares to mention. As a young stringer for The Daily Southtown, he was thrilled to merely be in the same screening room with Roger Ebert, Jonathan Rosenbaum and other giants of criticism. His nomadic resume includes stops as writer/researcher for Facets Multimedia, freelance work for The Journal Times of Racine and Centerstage Chicago, and a brief stint as a one-man band for his now-defunct horror film site, Shadows & Screams. He counts Robert Duvall and John Woo among his favorite interview subjects and will drop more names in a desperate attempt to impress you. He has also presented some eclectic film events and classes over the years. A graduate of Columbia College, Joel worships at the Church of Val Lewton.

Born in Boston, raised in Chicagoland, Erika Kubick is crazy for the world of food and beverage. After graduating from Loyola University Chicago with a Bachelor's in English and Film Production, Erika is spending most of her free time cutting the cheese at her day job at Pastoral, editing videos for Plate Magazine, and working on her novice foodie blog, The Buckwheater. She also spends her days traveling, visiting cemeteries, learning French and spooning her cat, Chandler M Bing. She has made a documentary about German drag queens, believes that Britney Spears is a saint and will take a picture of every single thing that she eats.

Laura makes her home in Chicago's Lincoln Park where even the dogs go to day care. 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 phone. Laura obsesses over technology, her dog, identifying her friends' celebrity doppelgängers, and great food. She's tromped all over Dubai and Hong Kong, 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.

Jessica traded the frigid winters of Cleveland—which she insists really does rock—for Chicago winters where she could best serve as a Malort spiritual ambassador. She’s been on a mission to devour all possible cultural and culinary experiences ever since. Jessica spends her days marketing and her free time writing, carrying around a few weighty tomes and thinking about brunch. Right now she is probably at a concert or in line for burritos at Picante.

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, 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.

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.

After getting over an unhealthy obsession with the Blues Brothers, Rob started following Chicago sports close to 20 years ago. He currently resides in his adopted home of Logan Square and covers the entire sports landscape, specializing in the Bears, Blackhawks and Cubs. When he’s not writing, Rob can be found playing music and roaming the outfield for several rec-league baseball and softball teams.

Josh and Abraham Lincoln share more than just the same downstate hometown. Both suffered the trauma of failed honky tonk bands and were just plain tall and goofy looking. While Mr. Lincoln harnessed the energy of those experiences to rise to historic heights, Mr. Mogerman is content to save the world in his day job as a non-treehugging environmentalist, while writing snarky weekend commentary from his 120 year-old South Side home where he resides with a wife and wee-bitty son (born on February 12th, just like...guess who).

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