WHEREAS, Ann Gerber of Inside Publications has stepped down after sixty-five years hosting the nation's longest-running society column that has been enjoyed by generations of readers; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of her decision to retire by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, At age sixteen, Ann Gerber launched her career in journalism as a reporter with the Lerner Homes Newspaper chain, covering community news and events on the North Side while attending classes at Senn High School in Edgewater; and
WHEREAS, A year after embarking on her writing career with Lerner, Ann Gerber was promoted to editor, reporting on the inner workings of Chicago's social scene and the comings and goings of local, national and international celebrities; and
WHEREAS, Ten years later, Ann Gerber debuted her society column in Skyline, the Lerner Publications' weekly for Chicago's Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, the Loop and Near North Side neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, Remaining true to her personal credo that "Gossip is a form of news, and news is what happens to people." Ann Gerber perfected her craft over many years and attended on average five gala events a week plus an annual two-month visit to Palm Beach and numerous trips abroad; and
WHEREAS, With the exception of her tenure at the Chicago Sun-Times from 1987-1989 when her column spread across three pages of the Sunday edition, Ann Gerber devoted most of her career to the readership of the Skyline Newspapers; and
WHEREAS, Ann Gerber created "Spotlight Chicago," an independent newspaper published from the fall of 1989 through 1992; and
WHEREAS, Ann Gerber is also the author of two locally published cookbooks entitled Chicago's Classiest Cuisines and Chicago's Sweet Tooth; and
WHEREAS, On September 27, 2013, the Chicago Journalist's Association awarded Ann Gerber the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award; and now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council assembl...
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