We got a chance to catch up with Paul Konrad about his 27-year career at WGN, Tom Skilling retiring and about his charity event coming up this week at the MAC.

The charity event supports, ‘Achieving My Best Life;’ non-profit that provides gainful access not only to independent living, but for charitable and benevolent purposes. Opportunities to access Gainful Living, Gainful Employment as well as Gainful Community Access for those individuals with Intellectual, Cognitive and/or Developmental Disabilities.

“The last four or five years I have gotten involved in this process of trying to find independent living for adults who have autims or some kind of cognitive disorder or disablement. My brother and I and a couple of other guys have opened up this facility out in Aurora and it’s an independent living center for adults with autism or high functioning people with intellectual disabilities. Its been a joy to see this thing open up and for the good things playing out there,” said Konrad.

Event Details:

• Date: January 9th
• Time: 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
• Hosted: WGN TV Paul Konrad and MC Dean Richards
• Venue: The MAC The Morgan Arts Complex 3622 South Morgan Street, Chicago
• Parking; Available for over 200 cars

About Achieving My Best Life: ”Achieving My Best Life” is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting families and friends of individuals with Autism or Intellectual, Cognitive, and/or Developmental Disabilities. Our mission is to provide gainful access not only to independent living but also for charitable and benevolent purposes. We strive to support Gainful Living, Gainful Employment, and Gainful Community Access for individuals facing cognitive challenges.

Event Highlights:

Food Stations by Mychael Bonner: Former Lettuce Entertain You partner Mychael Bonner will be preparing fabulous food stations and passed Hors d’ oeuvres 

• From his recently launched CMB Catering company
• Dolce Trattoria and Bakery: Indulge in wonderful pastries from Dolce Trattoria and Bakery.
• Live Performance by Backdated: Enjoy music form the 60’s and 70’s from World Famous Jay Goeppner and his band Backdated throughout the night.

Event Fee:

• A special $40 fee to make it affordable for most to attend and support “Achieving My Best Possible Life”
• $15 for kids under 16 
• Free for any family member with Autism 

Watch the video for his thoughts on Tom Skilling retiring and what’s next for him and the WGN Morning News.

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