Episode 146: Exploring Hyde Park Through the 57th Street Art Fair In this episode of The Chicagoland Guide, Aaron Masliansky sits down with Cate Sleighton, longtime volunteer and leader of the 57th Street Art Fair, for a conversation about Hyde Park, neighborhood identity, public space, art, history, and one of…
Aaron Masliansky sits down with Mayor Nancy Rotering of Highland Park at City Hall for a wide-ranging conversation about leadership, housing, placemaking, and the future of one of Chicagoland’s most distinctive communities. Mayor Rotering, now serving her fourth term, shares the story of how a neighborhood stop sign issue first…
Aaron Masliansky sits down with Johanna Nyden, Community Development Director for the Village of Skokie, to explore how local government navigates housing, infrastructure, and development in a built-out suburban community. This conversation goes beyond headlines and breaks down the real-world constraints that shape housing supply, affordability, and the built environment.…
In Episode 143 of The Chicagoland Guide, Aaron Masliansky visits Youth Conservation Corps in Waukegan to explore a critical but often overlooked part of the housing conversation: workforce development. As Lake County and the broader Chicagoland region face a persistent housing shortage, rising construction costs, and a shrinking skilled trades…
In this episode of The Chicagoland Guide, Aaron Masliansky sits down with Adrian Brizulea of CoStar to unpack the Chicago real estate outlook for 2026. They discuss multifamily rent trends, housing supply, downtown office recovery, industrial and logistics markets, data centers, suburban redevelopment, and the major development projects shaping Chicagoland’s…
In one of the most forward-looking episodes of The Chicagoland Guide to date, host Aaron Masliansky sits down with Kyle Schulz, Deputy of Strategic Advancement at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). This conversation breaks down where Chicagoland is heading over the next decade, and what it will take…
What does the next decade look like for Chicago and the Chicagoland region? How do quantum technology, data centers, transportation infrastructure, immigration, and major development decisions shape our future? In one of the smartest and most forward-looking episodes of The Chicagoland Guide, host Aaron Masliansky sits down with Kyle T.…
Licensed clinical professional counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist Erica Hornthal (“The Therapist Who Moves You”) joins Aaron to explain how changing the way we move changes the way we feel. Recorded on November 3, 2025, the conversation grounds movement therapy in the realities of Chicagoland life: financial pressure, screen-driven immobility,…
Licensed clinical professional counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist Erica Hornthal (“The Therapist Who Moves You”) joins Aaron to explain how changing the way we move changes the way we feel. Recorded on November 3, 2025, the conversation grounds movement therapy in the realities of Chicagoland life: financial pressure, screen-driven immobility,…
How can celebrating cultural traditions strengthen a community? In this episode, host Aaron Masliansky is joined by Diana Gran — Founder of Diana Gran Portraits and Director of Día de los Muertos (DDM) Week in Highland Park — to explore how honoring heritage can create unity, healing, and connection across…
What does it take to keep cultural traditions alive in a modern American suburb? In this inspiring episode, host Aaron Masliansky sits down with Diana Gran — Founder of Diana Gran Portraits and Director of Día de los Muertos (DDM) Week in Highland Park — to explore how celebrating heritage…
Episode Overview In this episode of The Chicagoland Guide, host Aaron Masliansky sits down with Jeff Haydon, President & CEO of the iconic Ravinia Festival in Highland Park — America’s oldest outdoor music festival. Jeff shares how Ravinia began as a railroad amusement park over a century ago and evolved…
🎧 Ravinia’s Legacy & Future | Conversation with Jeff Haydon, CEO of Ravinia Festival Ravinia is more than a concert venue — it’s a Chicagoland institution. In this episode of The Chicagoland Guide, host Aaron Masliansky sits down with Jeff Haydon, President & CEO of the world-famous Ravinia Festival in…
This week on Inside the Skev, are rejoined by Fritz Kaegi, the Cook County Assessor. Since assuming office in 2018, Fritz has striven to bring fairness, ethics and transparency to the Cook County Assessor’s Office with a vision focused on operational changes, technological upgrades, and the elimination of favoritism. We…
This week on Inside the Skev, are joined by Chanel Jeon, co-Founder of TeaRex Bubble Tea Café. Chanel opened the store with her husband Clay, in 2017. Subsequently they have opened a second location in Nles. In this episode we talk about why she shifted her career from being a…
This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Dr. Daniel Aschheim. He currently serves as Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. He was appointed to this Chicago-based post in September of 2020 where he assumed the role as Consul for Public Diplomacy…
In this episode, we sit down with Diana Hamann, the Wine Goddess. After graduating from the University of California Berkeley with a Literature degree, she fell into the wine business. After starting as a wine buyer for the Whole Foods in Palo Alto, she worked on the buying team for…
This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by John Hewko, the General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. Rotary, which is based in Evanston, has over 1.4 million members in over 46,000 clubs around the world. Rotary is an organization of people…
This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by Rachel Moore. Rachel is a Collaborative Divorce Institute Fellow and has a private practice devoted exclusively to collaborative law, facilitative mediation, and representing parties utilizing mediation. A collaborative process divorce provides an alternative process to litigation. Rachel is based in…
This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by Mark George, the CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago, which is located in Evanston. The Music Institute of Chicago is a nonprofit community music school that leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music by providing widely accessible resources…
This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by Roger Knuth, President and CEO of Lapin Systems. Lapin is Chicagolands Premier Macintosh and PC Service, Repair, and Support Provider. Roger launched Lapin out of his home in the mid-1990s after noticing a lack of proper Mac support in the…
This week on Inside the Skev, we are Jennifer Engel, Market Manager for the Skokie Farmer’s Market. The 2022 Skokie Farmers’ Market began on Sunday, June 5, and will be open every Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through November 6. The 2022 market features many longstanding vendors as…
This week on Inside the Skev, we meet Jon R. Marquardt, the Skokie Park District's Superintendent of Facilities. Marquardt administers the district's revenue facilities and their staffs. He also is charged with developing innovative partnerships and outreach within the Skokie community. Marquardt also serves as the diversity committee head, which…
This week on Inside the Skev we meet David Lloyd, the founder of David Lloyd & Associates, the world’s most elite private travel concierge. With over 30 years of experience, David Lloyd brings his creative and contemporary experience to every project. Globally and philanthropically minded, his bespoke experiences are both…