Press Release

ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL PRESENTS EAT, THINK, AND BE MERRY ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Benefit luncheon on Wednesday, October 28 at the W Chicago City Center to feature conversations with local luminaries.

CHICAGO – The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) will celebrate the culmination of its 35th anniversary year with a benefit luncheon on Wednesday, October 28, at 12:00 p.m. at the W Chicago City Center Hotel (172 W. Adams Street). Registration begins at 11:30 a.m.

This luncheon will celebrate the Illinois Humanities Council’s 35 years of creating public dialogue. Since 1973, the IHC has been using the humanities to create initiatives that explore subjects and issues that affect our lives as individuals, community members, and citizens of the world. At the luncheon, each table will have its own discussion on a timely issue, facilitated by well-known local personalities and experts in their field. Confirmed conversation hosts and their topics include:

  • Rick Kogan, senior writer for the Chicago Tribune – “Who Needs Newspapers?”
  • Geoffrey Baer, producer and program host for WTTW Channel 11 – “Where Do You Draw the Line on Lakefront Development?”
  • Welz Kauffman, president and CEO of the Ravinia Festival – “What Has Lincoln Meant to the Arts?”
  • Dawn Clark Netsch, professor at Northwestern University Law School and former gubernatorial candidate – “What Do We Have to Do in Illinois to Restore Ethics in Government?”
  • Adam P. Green, Associate Professor of History at the University of Chicago – “Might Political Partisanship in Fact Be Part of the Solution for the Challenges Facing the United States Today?”
  • Gordon Quinn, artistic director and co-founder of Kartemquin Films – “It Is a Wonderful Life: What Do Movies Have to Tell Us About the Financial Crisis?”

A complete list of hosts and topics is available at www.prairie.org/luncheon.

The Honorable Richard M. Daley, Mayor, City of Chicago, serves as the Honorary Chair for this event. Deborah Epstein, Founding Director of the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, and Arthur M. Sussman, Vice President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, are the event co-chairs

Tickets cost $150 each, with additional sponsorship levels. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, including the purchase of tables, please call Maureen McCarthy at (312) 422.5580 x235 or visit www.prairie.org/luncheon. All proceeds from this event will support the Illinois Humanities Council.

The Illinois Humanities Council broadens intellectual horizons by creating educational opportunities in the humanities for all Illinoisans. Whether deepening our understanding of the history right under our feet or encouraging dialogue within neighborhoods and across communities, IHC programs bring together Illinoisans from all walks of life to reflect, think critically, and actively exchange ideas about what is important to all of us. Through film, performance, exhibitions, lectures, seminars, and public forums, the IHC is a catalyst for imaginative ventures of the mind and heart. Organized in 1973 as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Illinois Humanities Council is an independent, nonprofit educational organization, (501 [c] 3) supported by state, federal, and private funds.

For more information on this event, call 312.422.5580 or visit www.prairie.org/luncheon.

D A R E T O K N O W

# # #