Arthur Weber (1926-2008) - Weber started one of the most popular and respected consumer magazines, Consumer Digest, from his home in 1959. By the mid 1990's, Consumers Digest circulation reached 1.5 million.

Chaz Hammelsmith Ebert - A former trial lawyer, Ebert is currently the Vice President of Ebert Productions and serves on the boards of After School Matters - a Chicago organization that provides out of school opportunities for students, Family Focus, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. More accostomed to working behind the scenes, Ebert has been more visible as late, hosting events like Ebertfest for her husband, film critic Roger Ebert and blogging from the Cannes Film Festival in a series of popular reports featured in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Before her appointment and subsequent election to represent the 6th District, Golar worked as a civilian employee of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy and was board secretary of the Neighborhood Housing Services for nine years. Golar received a Back of the Yards Neighborhood Leadership Award and is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ.

George S. Halas (February 2, 1895-1983) - Halas is the legendary football player and coach of the Chicago Bears who in addition to helping form the NFL, lead the Chicago Bears to eight NFL Championships (now called the Superbowl) as an owner/coach. He was a charter member of the NFL Hall of Fame and the NFC Championship trophy is name in his honor.

Jerome Holtzman (July 12, 1926 - 2008) - One of the most influential and beloved sports writers of all time, Holtzman's name was synonymous with baseball. His most impressive stats include, election to the writer’s wing of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, nearly 60 years combined reporting for the Chicago Daily News, Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, serving as Major League Baseball’s first official historian, a byline in more than 1,000 consecutive issues of The Sporting News, authoring the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on baseball, creating the save statistic for pitchers, and writing nine books on baseball, including No Cheering in the Press Box, ‘one the best 100 sports books ever written’ by Sports Illustrated. Additional honors include: serving as national president of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA), and being named Chicago Press Veteran of the Year.

Leo Lerner (1907-1965) - Lerner was an American newspaper editor and publisher. His first jobs out of college included editorial positions on the Morton Grove News, the Lincoln Belmont Booster and the North Side Sunday Citizen. He was the only neighborhood newspaperman accredited by the State Department to cover the United Nations Conference at San Francisco in 1945. By 1958 Lerner was President, Editor, and Publisher, controlling the Myers Publishing Co., the Lincoln Belmont Publishing Co., the Times Home Newspapers (J. L. Johnson Publishing Co.) and the Neighbor Press of Chicago. Additionally, Lerner served on many boards, often as chair, including: the Chicago Public Library, Chicago Better Business Bureau, Citizens Advisory Board of the Community Relations Service, and Illinois Parole and Pardon Board. He helped found Roosevelt University, and served as president of its Board of Trustees. Awards and honors include; the Decalogue Society of Lawyers' Annual Award of Merit. the Chicago Medal of Merit, the first Editorial Award presented by the Illinois Press Association, and the Publisher of the Year Award in 1953. Lerner authored four books in addition to being a frequent speaker and commentator.

Martin Cooper (December 26, 1926-present) - In 1973, inspired by Star Trek, Cooper invented the world's first mobile phone as part of Motorola's R&D department. Today, Cooper is CEO and founder of ArrayComm, a leading wireless technology company. Cooper earned both his undergrad and graduate degrees from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Meyer Levin (October 7, 1905 - 1981) - Levin  began is career in journalism working for the Chicago Daily News as reporter and quickly graduated up to columnist. He wrote 15 books during his career, most notably The Old Bunch and Compulsion. Levin covered WWII as a foreign correspondent for several outlets, where he witnessed the liberation of several concentration camps. Immediately following the war, Levin directed the influential documentary The Illegals. Levin's book Compulsion, about the Leopold and Lobe case, is credited with starting the genre known as the nonfiction novel. The book was later turned into a popular play and movie. Levin was one of the first to read and champion the Diary of Anne Frank, and the first to turn it into a play. A series of events led to his play being spurrned and another version winning the Pulitzer. Levin was devastated by these events and never found peace on the issue. The last years of Levin's life were spent in Isreal where he wrote several more books, including The Architect.

Verdine White (July 25, 1951- present) - As one of the original members of Earth Wind & Fire , Verdine won six Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and earned 50 gold and platinum albums and sold over 90 million albums. Among his many honors, Verdine was presented with Bass Player magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award by Nathan East link.

Walter Ris (January 4, 1923 – present) won two gold medals for swimming at the 1948 Olympics. While a student at Crane he joined the football team and the swimming team. Although recruited to play football at the University of Illinois, he joined the Navy and after WWII ended he attended the University of Iowa.