Mike Royko

Mike Royko wrote a column for the Chicago Daily News, the Sun-Times and, finally, the Trib. I can't classify this column. It was just, well, it was Royko. CNN came close in its obituary of Royko, when it said he was "known for his sarcastic wit and colorful stories of life in Chicago." And the New York Times' obit called him, accurately, the "Voice of the Working Class." Won the Pulitzer Prize, too. Oh, and he was a lifelong diehard Cub fan.

Here are some sample columns. The tribute to Jackie Robinson is widely considered a classic. And the column on the Picasso statue in Daley Plaza, the square next to City Hall, the Thompson state office building and the federal courthouse in the Loop, is pure Chicago. Another sampling of columns has observations on kissing the Blarney Stone and Mayor Daley's ass (the father of the current Mayor Daley) and a meditation on what does and doesn't belong on a Chicago hot dog. Finally, Royko's obituary piece on Mayor Daley captured both the man and the city.