Chicago magazine's March Issue: The Power 100

CHICAGO, Feb. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The cards in the city's power deck have been given a thorough shuffle in the 12 months since our inaugural list of the 100 most powerful Chicagoans. One thing that hasn't changed on The Power 100 this year is the No. 1 name: Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has held power despite leading the city through a year marked by high crime and a bitter teachers' strike. He's joined in the top five by No. 2 Michael Madigan, speaker, Illinois House; No. 3 J.B. Pritzker, managing partner, Pritzker Group; No. 4 Miles White, chairman and CEO, Abbott Laboratories; and No. 5 Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman, Chicago Bulls and White Sox, and co-owner, United Center.

The full list is dominated by chief executives, including such new names as No. 16 Don Thompson, CEO, McDonald's (the most powerful African American executive in the country) and No. 83 Anne Pramaggiore, CEO, ComEd (their first female chief). The list also gauges clout held by leaders outside the traditional power structures of business and politics, ranking dining trendsetters (No. 26 Grant Achatz, chef), theatre standouts (No. 50 Tracy Letts, actor and playwright), and influential intellectuals (No. 92 Richard Posner, judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit). Some of the heavy hitters from our 2012 list have been knocked down (No. 99 Anita Alvarez, Cook County state's attorney, followed by No. 100 Andrew Mason, Groupon founder), while others are out completely (injured Bulls star Derrick Rose, No. 7 in 2012, and former U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, previously No. 2).

The issue, on newsstands Thursday, also features When Autistic Children Are Children No More. Across the country, an estimated 300,000 kids with autism will hit adulthood in the next decade. It's a social crisis in the making, with few resources currently available to help autistic adults become self-sufficient after they age out of government-funded services. Only about 6 percent of adults with autism work full-time and many lack the skills to live alone, so the burden falls on parents and grandparents to find adequate support services for their loved ones. We look at three pioneering Chicago-area families who are rolling up their sleeves to create a better future for developmentally disabled adults.

Also in the March issue of Chicago magazine:

• Can't This Man Get Any Respect? – After two consecutive jailed governors, you'd think Illinoisans would love smart, honest, and well-meaning Pat Quinn. But after four years in office, he's hugely unpopular (not to mention that he only ranks as No. 70 on our Power 100 List). What's he doing wrong?
• Spring Fashion 2013 – We chose four Chicagoans—ranging in age from 27 to 64—to show how to adapt some of the best trends from the spring runways into sophisticated weekend looks that any woman of any age can wear. From stripes to patchwork, we pick 22 pieces to freshen up your closet this season.
• Chicago River 2.0 – Mayor Rahm Emanuel's latest pet project is a grand river walk on the downtown riverfront. But before the project gets underway, he'd do well to learn from what worked—and what didn't—in three other cities that have undertaken similar waterfront projects.

Chicago magazine's editor-in-chief Elizabeth Fenner and other members of the magazine staff are available for on-air interviews about stories in the March issue. Contact Allison Roche at 312-832-6774 to schedule an interview.

About Chicago magazine

Chicago magazine is the largest monthly city magazine in the country, with a circulation of more than 150,000.

SOURCE Chicago magazine