Gala draws a well-read crowd
WITH ELIZABETH HAMEL October 24, 2011 6:30PM
Carl Sandburg Literary Awards Dinner co-chair Dia Weil (left), Carl Sandburg Literary Award recipient Roger Ebert and wife Chaz Ebert. | Photos by Johnny Knight
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Updated: January 23, 2012 3:19AM
The Chicago Public Library Foundation hosted its annual Carl Sandburg Literary Awards Dinner Thursday evening at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt, as the city’s literati gathered to honor 66 of Chicago’s greatest authors — including the Sun-Times’ own Roger Ebert, who was presented with the big award of the night.
The bevy of writers were welcomed one by one to the stage for a historic photo op. Though guests were asked to hold their applause, no one could tell the group not to clap for an American hero when Capt. James A. Lovell, commander of the Apollo 13 mission, walked onstage. Other authors included former Obama political adviser David Axelrod, longtime 14th ward Ald. Ed Burke, Sandra Cisneros (House on Mango Street), former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung, playwright Regina Taylor, and the CPL Foundation’s 21st Century Award winner Rebecca Skloot.
Joining the authors at the soiree were many of Chicago’s power elite, including philanthropists and corporate head honchos such as Hyatt Corp.’s Tom Pritzker, who helped co-chair the event with his wife Margot; Sun-Times publisher John Barron and editor-in-chief Don Hayner; CPL Foundation Chairman Robert A. Wislow; former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson with his wife, CPL Board President Jayne Carr Thompson, and Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey.
Following a dinner of smoked trout salad and braised beef, co-chairs Donna LaPietra and Dia Weil presented Ebert with the Carl Sandburg Literary Award before he sat down with Bill Kurtis for a conversation onstage. The room erupted in cheers — some guests even held up foam “thumbs” — as he walked onstage assisted by his wife, Chaz. Ebert, who lost his ability to speak during complications from surgeries in 2006, controlled “Alex,” the nickname given to his computerized voice system, through clicks on a shiny MacBook that he held on his lap.
They spoke about his life, career and views on the state of the film industry — he hates the trend of 3D — during the 30-minute discussion. Ebert recounted some of the difficulties he had writing his critically acclaimed memoir, Life Itself, which was published in September, especially the chapters involving his battle with alcoholism, stating, “I wasn’t reviewing a movie; I was reviewing myself.”
The dinner broke fund-raising records, raking in $1.25 million for the Chicago Public Library Foundation.
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