By Terry Poulos, Special to the Hellenic News of America
THE GREEKHAWKS: Hellenic American Chicago Blackhawks fans – a rabid bunch – have been spoiled for the past 25 years. First, we had hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios donning the Indian head jersey where he led the team to numerous playoff appearances and ultimately to the Stanley Cup finals. Chelios had his own restaurant just steps from the United Center where the team plays, called Cheli’s Chilli. Today, his daughter, Northwestern University grad Caley Chelios, serves as a ‘Hawks analyst for NBC Sports Chicago. Yet another angle: Fr. Chris Kerhulas, then of St. Basil’s G.O. Church on the West Side near the stadium, had a close relationship with Chelios, who used to provide memorabilia to auction off for church charities. Fr. K was such a huge fan that in the film “Do You Wanna Dance,” he was depicted wearing a Blackhawks jersey under his priest robe so he could save time getting to the game after Sunday Divine Liturgy. Today, the team features center Andreas Athanasiou. And as of September, the Hawks’ new studio host on WGN radio 720-AM will be Charlie Roumeliotis, who will deliver pre- and post-game live reports recapping the games beginning this season. Roumeliotis comes over from NBC Sports Chicago, where he exclusively covered the ‘Hawks. A native Chicago-area resident, he graduated Joliet Catholic Academy and Elmhurst University.
AWARDS: Speaking of Chris Chelios, the Hellenic Bar Association Foundation of Illinois is set to honor the NHL Hall of Famer and U.S. Olympian with its 2024 Professional Achievement Award at the HBA’s annual gala slated for November 16. Also being honored, Cook County assistant public defender Catherine Hareas with the St. Dionysios Areopagites Service Award recognizing her “extraordinary legal service to the Hellenic Orthodox community and expanded access to justice to the under-served”…Loyola University of Chicago graduate Anthe Mitrakos, editor and co-publisher of Portes Magazine and a rising broadcast talent in Greece, is set to be honored with the Emerging Leader Award by the Alpha-Omega Council of Boston at their annual gala on November 2.
BY GEORGES! Attorney Mara Georges, former chief Corporation Counsel to former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, now has her own private practice Georges & Synowiecki which was recently ranked in Chambers Spotlight as a preeminent governmental relations firm in Illinois.
WORLD RANKING: 13 years old wunderkind Samantha Tieg Livaditis is currently ranked 32nd in the world in Women’s Vert Skateboarding, slated to be a first-time Olympic event at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. At her rapid rate of development, young Sam has a shot to qualify as a US Olympian.
STREET SIGN-ING: The City of Chicago honored Demetrios “Jimmy” Pirpiris, with an honorary street sign at the intersection of Montrose and Damen. A business owner and philanthropist to the Greek community and Ravenswood neighborhood, for 30 years he owned and operated an Exxon Mobile gas station and then a laundromat until he retired at age 93 in 2022. He emigrated from Greece to the U.S. at age 19.
CHICAGO SCHOOLS GURUS: Greek American Jim Vail is gaining traction for his blog Second City Teachers on Substack.com. A veteran Chicago Public Schools teacher and seasoned journalist, Vail expertly navigates and chronicles the inside story on the CPS, the teachers’ union, pension funds and Chicago politics in general. With the myriad problems plaguing the schools and the mayor seemingly in one standoff after another over major budget and debt issues, former schools CEO Paul Vallas must be having an “I told you so moment.” Vallas barely came up short in the last mayoral election, a run-off vote. Insiders are starting to speculate whether or not he’s got another run in him.
CHICAGO GREEK FILM EXPO: Running October 18-20 in Park Ridge, IL, the event is organized by the Consulate General of Greece in Chicago in cooperation with the Hellenic Film Society USA and Pickwick Theater.
LAMPROS PASSES: The Chicago and Cincinnati Greek American communities are mourning the recent passing of Dean Lampros, a successful real estate developer. Lampros was also a college basketball star at the University of Cincinnati. His widow, Maria Lampros, is an advisory board member at the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago.
NAME-HOPPING: NBC5 Chicago reporter Lexi Sutter was honeymooning in late September and expected back on the air in October…So far, so great for NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons, who threw for more than 500 yards in an early October game and is experiencing solid health after having an orthopedic issue treated with stem cell therapy by North Shore physician Dr. Chadwick Prodromos, who now has clinics in Naples (FL), Glenview (IL), Antigua, Chicago, the Cayman Islands, and Greece…Boston-to-Chicago transplant Katerina Mallios, a Salesforce associate by day, started a series of Chicago’s books and toys at TheFollowApolloSeries.com that teach kids about Hellenism. She’s also a board member of the National Hellenic Invitational Basketball Tournament in Chicago (NHIBT.com)…Greece native and now Chicago resident Dina Psihou was recently profiled in the Chicago Sun-Times about her tattoo artist business which “focuses on ancient Greek artifacts inspired by her youth.” Psihou imprints permanent jewelry art on her clients.
Terry Poulos is a writer, entrepreneur (TheSportsIndex.com), and geometer-artist (Scientiquity.com) who has also covered Greek America for decades for various outlets. He’s co-founder of Chicago’s Greek Media Club and a member of the AHEPA Athletics Hall of Fame selection committee
