Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, historian: Raising kids on the South Side, I need to keep them busy. The Chicago Park District has so much free stuff going on, between the camps and all the movies. My other Chicago parent hack is the ability to ignore. If you can live next to the L and ignore it, you can ignore ’em when they whine for nothing.
Bela Gandhi, dating coach: From the time my kids were little, we would take them on walks around Oz Park. We called them ‘adventure walks,’ where we would try to notice things that we never had before. This has now turned into our sacred time: Walking side by side with teens gets them to talk about things they normally wouldn’t.
Dan O’Conor, the Great Lake Jumper: Magic Inc. on Lawrence Avenue will open kids’ eyes. My boys learned card tricks that they still use to this day.
Alexi Giannoulias, secretary of state: Slant of Light Books in Old Town is our favorite. Our girls are voracious readers, and it’s a super cozy, warm neighborhood bookshop.
Nikola Vučević, Bulls center: We like to do stuff together so the kids get the full experience of a big city. We want them to learn how to manage the good and the bad. Downtown, there may be a lot of people, so they learn to stay close to us.
Tanja Babich, ABC-7 anchor: You can make a field trip or adventure out of anything in the city. My 6-year-old was overjoyed when we took a CTA bus to her dentist’s appointment the other day. My teens used to love free days at the Shedd, but they were equally enchanted by visits to Old Town Aquarium.
Caley Chelios, Blackhawks broadcast analyst: Since the kids are early risers anyway, we go to the Original Pancake House across from the Thompson hotel in the Gold Coast right when it opens at 7 a.m. and beat the line.
Dan “Big Cat” Katz, Barstool Sports personality: Find a way to work in an office that has a full basketball court, golf simulator, and ice cream machine so they can run around every weekend free of charge.
Anna Valencia, city clerk: “I love that the vibrant 77 neighborhoods of Chicago are my daughter’s backyard. We love to visit local shops like the Pink Flores Coffee Shop in Pilsen, Dulcelandia on 26th Street in Little Village, and Muse Coffee Studio on the West Side.”
Ryan Poles, Bears general manager: “We like to make the most of our time sitting in traffic. With my son starting to get more involved in sports, we’d spend that time talking about the importance of him setting long-term goals and the work it will take to achieve them.”
Photography: (Thomas and O’Conor) Chicago Tribune; (Gandhi) Courtesy of Bela Gandhi; (Giannoulias) Nathan Mandell; (Vučević) Tim Nwachukwu/Getty; (Babich) Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty; (Chelios) ZUMA Press/Alamy; (Katz) Mike Coppola/Getty; (Valencia) Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune; (Poles) Jaclyn Rivas
