We've all been there — we need a vacation but don't have time to take an extended fall trip before the holidays.

May we suggest a getaway to one of Chicago's beautiful suburbs?

It's Chicago Confidential: Suburban edition.

North Shore

Standard choice: Glencoe. This affluent town is surrounded by scenic drives, elegant juice bars and is close to the famous Walker Bros. Original Pancake House.

Insider's pick: Lake Bluff. At the tippy top of Sheridan Road, Lake Bluff is like a small, charming town on the East Coast. Stop by the beach, of course, and bring your pup to Left Bank for a hot dog and then some ice cream at The Peanut Gallery (these are both Lake Forest, but close enough).

• For dinner, grab a bite at The Otherdoor, pizza at The Silo or Elawa Farm for a fresh farm-to-table meal.

Western 'burbs

Standard choice: Naperville, regularly on those "Best Places to Live" lists. It's worth it just to visit the downtown Riverwalk.

Insider's pick: Elmhurst. Hop on the UP West Metra and in a few stops you'll be at this quaint town with a great art museum that has an actual Mies van der Rohe house attached to it. Head across the street to the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, which has got to be one of very few museums in the U.S. dedicated to gemstones!

• Get a coffee and scone at Brewpoint Coffee.

Southland

Standard: Frankfort. It's hard to argue with this lovely little town. You'll have a fantastic time enjoying local shops, the bike and walking paths and, if timed right, a kick-ass Bluegrass festival.

Insider's pick: Make it a whole day exploring Chicago's Southland. Start out with breakfast at White Sheep in Orland Park. Then, hike the stairs at Swallow Cliff Woods in Palos Park or tour the historic golf course in Olympia Fields.

• You can also visit the first post-war planned community in Park Forest, explore the Illinois Locksmith Museum in Steger, and end the day with a meal at Aurelio's Pizza in Homewood.

More suburban destinations

👋 Hi, it's Justin!

It's that spooky time of year when you dress up like your favorite pop culture celebrity or like me, get some fangs and a cape from Walgreens and go as a vampire who still wears regular clothes.

This week: Let's test you on how well you know haunted Chicago. 

Last week, our indie film quiz had only one winner. Congrats Michael C.!

• If you get a perfect score, remember to screenshot the results and reply to this email. I'll throw you a shoutout in next week's newsletter. 

Ready, set, boo! Just kidding, take the quiz here!

👋 Hi, it's Monica.

I was heartbroken last week to learn that Ken Dunn, Chicago's godfather of sustainability, had died at the age of 82.

Backstory: Dunn came to Hyde Park in the '70s to study philosophy at UChicago, but shifted to environmental education in 1975 by launching his Resource Center. It offered the city's first multi-stream recycling and composting services.

• Later, at his City Farm locations, he grew some of Chicago's finest produce in almost pure compost and sold it to high-end restaurants to create local living-wage jobs and revitalize vacant land.

I reported on Dunn's achievements for more than a decade but spoke to him for the last time in April after the closing of his recycling center in North Park Village, which, he alleged, was damaged by city crews.

• Every time I called him for a quick chat, I knew I was in for a long one about his hopes and dreams for Chicago.

What he's saying: "We need to figure out ways to get away from the economy that's profit-based, regardless of its impact on local citizens, communities or city and our climate," he told me during a WBEZ interview in 2019.

• "We're seeing the collapse of the climate and we have to start rebuilding community in every way we can … working together with food systems, producing food, harvesting, preparing food, eating food and sending the food scraps back to the land."

The bottom line: Chicago has lost a dreamer and a doer — and a man who changed our city forever.

• RIP Ken.