CHICAGO, Jan. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The February issue of Chicago magazine, on newsstands Thursday, features the city's best new drinking establishments to check out. Chicago's 12-reporter team imbibed its way through all 65 new drinking spots from the past year - sizing up drink quality, service and ambiance - to compile this ranking of the 20 best.

Also in this issue, Chicago talks with speed skater Shani Davis, as he prepares for his fourth appearance in the Winter Olympic Games this month in Sochi, Russia. The 31-year-old Chicago native has already made Olympic history, being named the first black athlete, from any country, to win individual gold in any sport in the Winter Olympic Games. Now, Davis is on a mission to prove he is the fastest speed skater in the world and bring home his third gold medal. Continuing on the Olympic front, The 312: Medal Watch profiles the additional four Chicago athletes competing in the Winter Games and outlines who is most likely to bring home a victory.

Chicago's executive editor Cassie Walker Burke sat down with United Neighborhood Organization's CEO Juan Rangel just five weeks before he abruptly resigned, in what turned out to be his last interview as head of the nation's largest Hispanic charter school operator. What emerged was The Rise and Fall of a Patron - an exclusive story about how Rangel and the UNO organization grew so fast and fell so hard, and what their fate means for the future of charter schools.

Other stories from the February issue of Chicago magazine include:


    --  Best Cars for Chicagoans - Few cities pose a greater challenge to
        drivers than Chicago. From blistering hot to freezing cold, Chicago's
        weather is all over the map. After researching 2014 vehicle models,
        Chicago features the top nine picks for all your driving needs. Plus -
        four things you should know about this year's Chicago Auto Show, running
        February 8-17 at McCormick Place.
    --  Politics: Ballot Stunners - Primary elections always draw a motley crew
        of candidates, but five from this year's crop appear particularly
        puzzling. Awarded "most headache-inducing" is a Democratic candidate
        from the 1(st) District of Cook County Board of Commissioners who
        pleaded guilty to bribery and tax fraud, having emerged from 11 months
        in federal prison just two years ago.
    --  Film: Sole Survivor - Ky Dickens' recent documentary, Sole Survivor,
        features four survivors of commercial airline crashes that left all
        passengers on board dead except for one. This heart-wrenching film
        interviews the survivors, chronicling how they have managed to move on
        after such tragic accidents.

Chicago magazine's editor-in-chief Elizabeth Fenner and other members of the magazine staff are available for on-air interviews about stories in the February issue. Contact Carmen Rivera at 312-832-6763 to schedule an interview. For more information on Chicago magazine, visit chicagomag.com

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About Chicago magazine
Chicago magazine, the nation's largest city monthly, launched in 1970 and has been owned by Tribune Company since 2002. Together with its website, chicagomag.com, Chicago spurs intelligent conversation about the city's influencers, zeitgeist-defining trends, and civic controversies through award-winning, in-depth journalism. Just as important, it helps readers live better by producing the area's most authoritative coverage of the best in food, art, and urban life. Always insightful, at times provocative, Chicago magazine is as dynamic as the city that inspires it.

About Chicago Tribune Media Group
 Chicago Tribune Media Group publishes the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune as well as related print and interactive media serving Chicagoland such as RedEye, Hoy, Triblocal, TheMash, Naperville magazine, chicagotribune.com, triblocal.com and metromix.com.

SOURCE Chicago magazine