Adrian Zmed (March 4, 1954-present) - Zmed is best known for his role on T.J. Hooker opposite William Shatner. He has appeared in numerous movies, television shows, and on Broadway and off-Broadway.

An Emmy Award winner, Anna received the 205 Ethics Award in Journalism from the Chicago Headline Club. In 2008, she launched a news of the week review show on WTTW called "Rewind." For many years, Anna was the co-anchor of Chicago's NBC 5 newscast. In 2010, Anna joined Fox 32 in Chicago as a Contributing Anchor and Reporter.

Anne Kavanagh - A 20 year veteran of Fox News, Kavanagh's awards include Emmy's and the Peter Lisagor award. In addition to contributing frequently to national publications, Kavanagh currently reports for the morning and noon newscasts and special reports for the nine o' clock news.

Barton Moy – Appointed by Mayor Daley to serve as the Director of the Advisory Council on Asian Affairs for the Chicago Commission on Human Relations in 1989, Moy later joined the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) program where he currently serves as an Area Coordinator. Prior to serving the city, Moy worked at the Vietnamese Association of Illinois as the Coordinator for Economic Development and as an owner/operator of a Baskin Robbins franchise. Additionally, Moy has served or chaired on several boards including the Asian American Institute, James Jordan Foundation and the Board of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association. Moy’s honors include the Community Impact Award from the Chinese Mutual Aid Association and being named a Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40”. In 2000 Moy represented Illinois as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Chicago Tribune Sports Writer and CLTV Commentator.

Founding member of the 1960 Rock band, 'The Buckinghams' , known as Chicago's response to the British Invasion of the 1960s. One of theirs hits, 'King of a Drag' reached #1 in 1966. Many of their other hit songs were a part of the soundtrack of our lives in the late 1960s. 'Susan', 'Don't You Care', 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy', 'Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song' and many others.

Carlos Sadovi - Sadovi is currently a Chicago Tribune reporter who also previously worked for the Chicago Sun-Times. Before returning to Chicago he worked at newspapers on the East Coast including the Christian Science Monitor for about 10 years. He attended Peterson Elementary School in the Hollywood Park Neighborhood before attending Lane Tech High School his freshman year. He attended and graduated from Von Steuben Metropolitan High School in 1981. He attended and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned a Master's in Journalism from New York University. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Maura Sadovi, also a journalist, and their three children.

In the USA, the name Dave Spector is generally unknown, but if you were to ask a citizen of Japan, they are very likely to identify him immediately as their favorite 'gaijin tarento' (foreign celebrity). He is well known on Japanese television, but also has had appearances on American television, including 'The Tonight Show' and 'Iron Chef'.

Edgar Bergen (February 16, 1903-1978) - Edgar Bergen was a ventriloquist and one of the most popular entertainers of his day, as evidenced by his successful radio program. His honors include an Academy Award, a Peabody award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is the father of actress Candice Bergen.

Ellis Cose (February 20, 1951-present) -Cose began his professional career at the age 19 as "...the youngest editorial page columnist ever employed by a major Chicago daily." [from Cose's Newsweek bio] and is currently a contributing editor for Newsweek Magazine. He was the managing editor of the New York Daily News and has authored several books on race in America. In 2004 Cose was named the first recipient of the newly inaugurated annual Vision Award from the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. In 2006 he won a Unity award for commentary and also shared in a first place award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Frankie Laine (March 30, 1913-2007) - Born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio, Laine's musical career spanned 70 years and included 70 charted records, 21 of which went Gold. He sold over 250 million albums and topped the U.S. Billboard charts several times.

Fritz Pollard (January 27, 1894-1986) - Pollard was one of the first two African-Americans to play in the NFL and the first African-American to coach in the NFL. As a player he led his team to the championship (before it was called the Superbowl) and after a long coaching career, he was inducted into both the College Football and the Pro Football Halls of Fame.

John Podesta (January 15, 1949-present) - Podesta served as President Clinton's Chief of Staff from 1998-2001. Currently, he is President of the Center for American Progress.

Johnny Weissmuller (June 2, 1904-1984) - As a swimmer in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, Weismuller won 5 gold medals and 1 bronze medal. He is most famous, however, for his portrayal of Tarzan and credited for creating the famous Tarzan call.

Justina Machado (September 6, 1972-present) - Machado is probably best known for her work on HBO's Six Feet Under. Her career, however, has been a mix of film and television roles. Other television credits include spots on NYPD Blue, Grey's Anatomy, and Ugly Betty.

Ken Nordine (1920-Present) - One of the most distinguished voice artists in the world, Nordine's career includes numerous recordings, commericials and radio programs. Perhpas best known for his Word Jazz recordings and radio show, Nordine is a poet and frequent collaborator with artists of other mediums. His best known collaborations include work with The Grateful Dead, Fred Astaire and Chico Hamilton. His newest work can be found at www.wordjazz.com.

Louis Carr (May 3, 1956-present) - In addition to running his own real estate company and serving as Chairman of the Louis Carr Internship Foundation, which provides paid internships to student of color, Carr is also President of Media Sales for BET. He serves on the board of the Advertising Council, The American Advertising Federation and the Cable Advertising Bureau.

Widely regarded as the “Father” of the financial services for the Deaf in America, Louis J. Schwarz, *QFP, CFP®, RFC®, ChFEBC, paved the way for deaf professionals providing financial services in the private sector by establishing his tax preparation firm in 1971. Prior in obtaining the Certified Financial Planner® license in 1986, he established the first deaf-owned registered investment advisory (RIA) firm in America in 1983. Mr. Schwarz, featured as the first deaf financial professional in Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, holds several designations that qualify him as an outstanding professional in the financial services field. His professional qualifications extend beyond the industry by virtue of his community activism as he has continuously served in the Deaf community, for over 40 years, through many organizations including several organizations that he established, namely, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Entrepreneurs Council, National Deaf Business Institute (NDBI), Montgomery County (MD) Association of Deaf (MDAD). His tireless fundraising and pro bono services for these organizations, including Dee Cee Eyes, American Society for Parents of Deaf Children, Deaf Abused Women’s Network (DAWN) and National Association of the Deaf (NAD), demonstrate his commitment to the Deaf community. Focusing on inaccessibility issues for the Deaf, he currently devotes much of his available time to act as a board member for the following boards: National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Technical and E-911 Committees, National Emergency Numbers Association (NENA)’s Accessibility Committee, the Governor’s Advisory Board on Telecommunication Relay, State of Maryland and Tri-County Association of the Deaf (Florida). *Qualified Financial Planner (QFP), Registered Financial Consultant ® (RFC), Chartered Federal Employee Benefits Consultant™ (ChFEBC) and NASD Series 7/63 Registered Representative

Born in 1901 in Galicia, Austria. Graduated from Carpenter school in 1911. Graduated Lane Technical High in 1915. B.S. from the University of Illinois in 1922. MD from the University of Illinois MD 1924. Numerous contributions to medical literature. Internship at Barnes Hospitam in St. Louis. Practiced medical specialty of Otolaryngology at 30 N. Michigan. Professor of Otolaryngology at Loyola University School of Medicine. Passed away in 1997. First medical talking picture. Numerous scientific medical literature contributions regarding surgery of the head and neck. Professor of Otolaryngology at Loyola University School of Medicine.

Mercedes Soler, a five time Emmy Award winning journalist, is one of the most repsected and recognizable Latina journalists in the world. Among U.S. Hispanics, Soler is more recognizable than Oprah, in part because of her dozens of interviews with Latin American Presidents and investigative reporting that caused national incidents in Chile and Argentina. Soler has 15 Emmy nominations to her credit and as well as an Associated Press award and the Hispanic Media’s Most Influential Journalist’s award. Soler, as part of the Miami Bombshells, is author of Dish and Tell, Life, Love and Secrets.

Neal Gabler (Lane Tech, 1967) - Gabler is a political commentator and the author of three books, the most recent being Walt Disney: The Triumph of American Imagination. He was a regular on Fox News Watch and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and the L.A. Times.

Nicholas R. Shuman (1921-2009) – Shuman began is award winning career in journalism as a copy boy for the Chicago Journal while attending Lane Tech. He went on to serve as a reporter, financial editor, national and foreign editor of the Daily News. When that paper folded, Shuman moved to the Sun-Times. Mr. Shuman finished his career teaching  journalism at Columbia College.

Phil Cavaretta (July 19, 1916-Present) - Cavaretta won the 1945 National League MVP as a member of the Chicago Cubs team that made it to the Championships before losing to Detroit in seven games.

Ralph D Erickson (June 25, 1922-2006) graduated from Lane in 1940 and went on to found PADI, an international association of scuba diving instructors which has trained the most scuba divers in the United States. Ralph attended USC on a swimming scholarship after being a member of state championship swimming teams at Lane. He enlisted in the Army Rangers during WWII and was a parachute instructor. He fought in the Battle of Remagen and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his services. Ralph graduated from Northwestern University after the war and coached swimming and water polo at Loyola University of Chicago for 20 years. Erickson was inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame in 2007.

Richard W. Mies (May 30, 1944-Present) - Admiral Mies completed a distinguished 35-year career in the US Navy.  He commanded US Strategic Command for four years prior to retirement.  As Commander in Chief, he was directly responsible for the command and control of the Nation’s strategic nuclear forces supporting the national security objective of strategic deterrence.

Admiral Mies has a unique breadth and depth of operational and policy experience in undersea and strategic warfare.  He has held both US and Allied commands at senior military levels.  After completing training for submarine duty, he served on two nuclear attack submarines and a ballistic missile submarine before commanding the nuclear attack submarine, USS SEA DEVIL.  He subsequently served in a wide range of distinctive command positions including Commander Submarine Development Squadron TWELVE, Commander, Submarine Group EIGHT and Commander, Allied Submarines, Mediterranean, and Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and Commander, Submarine Allied Command, Atlantic.

His staff positions included duty on the staff of Commander in Chief, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, Executive Assistant to the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations (Undersea Warfare), Chief of Staff to Commander Submarine Force, U. S. Pacific Fleet, and Director Strategic Target Plans and Deputy Director Plans and Policy on the staff of Commander in Chief, U. S. Strategic Command.

Admiral Mies is one of a few flag officers to complete qualification as both a submariner and naval aviation observer.  In addition to unit and service awards, his decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards), Legion of Merit (four awards), National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy Achievement Medal, and Secretary of Energy Gold Medal.

Admiral Mies is a native of Chicago, Illinois.  A distinguished scholar and athlete, he graduated first in his class with highest honors from the U. S. Naval Academy. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in mechanical engineering and mathematics.  An intercollegiate wrestling champion and a lightweight football player, he was awarded the Thompson Trophy for contributing the most to the promotion of athletics at the Naval Academy.  He has completed post-graduate education at Oxford University, England, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Harvard University.  He holds a Masters degree in government administration and international relations; he also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Nebraska.  His professional education includes the Flag Officers’ Capstone course, the program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University, and the Joint Flag Officer Warfighting course.

Following retirement from the Navy, Admiral Mies served as a Senior Vice President and Deputy Group President of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hicks and Associates, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC. He presently serves as the CEO and President of The Mies Group, LTD.  Admiral Mies serves as the Chairman of the Department of Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee, the Chairman of the Board of the Navy Mutual Aid Association and the Naval Submarine League, a member of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control of the National Academy of Sciences, a member of the Board of Governors of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and a member of the Board of Directors of Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, McDermott International, and Exelon Corporation.  He also serves on numerous advisory boards.  

Ron Gora (March 10, 1933 - Present) One of the best swimmers in Illinois history, Gora won six state titles for Lane. He attended the University of Michigan and competed in the 1958 Olympics where he placed 8th in the 100 meter freestyle.

Tracy Baim - Baim is the publisher and managing editor of Chicago’s largest chain of gay and lesbian publications, Windy City Media Group. The WCMG’s properties include the Windy City Times, Nightspots, OUT!, the radio program Windy City Queercast, and QueerTVNetwork.com. Baim is the author of Half Life, Where the World Meets: Gay Games VII, and edited the first history book of Chicago’s gay community, Out and Proud in Chicago. She recently launched www.ChicagoGayHistory.org and served as executive producer of the film, Hannah Free, due out in Summer 2009. Baim is founding co-chair of the Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, vice co-chair of Gay Games VII. Her honors include Crain’s Chicago Business 40-Under-40 leaders, 2005 Studs Terkel Award, and being an inductee into Chicago’s Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.