The Chicago Journal

The Chicago Journal
The Chicago Journal

Your Habits Are Either Building Your Future or Quietly Undermining It

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 15, 2026

By: William Jones

There is a simple idea that is easy to overlook. Habits are either working for someone or against them. There is no neutral ground.

Every day, through small repeated actions, a person reinforces the identity they are becoming. The future is not shaped by grand gestures or dramatic decisions. It is shaped by what someone consistently does when no one is watching and nothing feels particularly significant.

This is the foundation of Stephen Childs’ approach to high performance. As an executive coach, leadership strategist, and author whose work sits at the intersection of neuroscience and sustainable success, Childs has spent two decades helping executives, entrepreneurs, and high-performing professionals build the internal systems that support meaningful, sustained growth. And the insight that runs through everything he teaches is deceptively simple.

“The challenge for most high-performing individuals is not a lack of ambition,” says Childs, whose coaching practice at Neuro Executive Coaching works with leaders at every level of an organization. “It is a lack of structure. There is a tendency to rely on motivation, even though motivation is inherently inconsistent. It comes and goes, often influenced by factors outside of a person’s control. Consistency is built differently. It is built through systems and repeatable actions that do not depend on how someone feels in the moment.”

This is why goals, on their own, rarely produce lasting change. James Clear captured it precisely: you do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. What matters most is not what someone plans to achieve but what they consistently do. And what they consistently do is almost always determined by the habits quietly running in the background of their daily life.

The Pattern That Changed Everything

During his time in an executive coaching program at Columbia University, Childs began to notice a pattern that would reshape how he approaches leadership development entirely.

The individuals who made meaningful progress were not necessarily the most experienced or the most ambitious in the room. They were the ones who could identify a simple habit and sustain it over time. The ones who could not, regardless of their intelligence or drive, consistently struggled to translate intention into lasting change.

One client stands out in particular. She was an accomplished leader with a strong track record, yet she felt stuck. Her team was disengaged, her schedule felt overwhelming, and despite her considerable expertise, the results were not aligning with her expectations.

Rather than introducing a complex development strategy, Childs focused on one habit. Pause before responding. Each time she received an email, a request, or a challenge, she gave herself sixty seconds. A brief moment to breathe, to think, and to choose her response with intention rather than react automatically.

Within weeks, the shift became noticeable. Her communication changed. Her presence became more grounded. Her team began to respond differently to her. What appeared to be a small and almost trivial adjustment created a meaningful ripple effect across her entire leadership style.

“That is what one intentional habit can do,” Childs says. “It does not just change the behavior. It begins to change the identity.”

When the Lesson Becomes Personal

Around that same period, Childs encountered a version of this lesson in his own life that he has since shared with many of the leaders he coaches.

One evening, his daughter told him something that stayed with him. She explained that while she appreciated his effort to help, she did not always feel heard. It was a moment that required honest reflection. Childs realized he had developed a strong habit of moving quickly into problem-solving mode. In a professional setting, that instinct is valuable. In a personal relationship, it creates distance.

So he made a deliberate change. He committed to listening without interrupting, without offering immediate solutions, without rushing to fix. Just being present, asking thoughtful questions, and allowing space for the conversation to unfold.

Over time, the impact was significant. Conversations became more meaningful. Trust deepened. And he was reminded of something he now shares consistently in his coaching work and in his book Just Be Undeniable: leadership, at work and at home, is often less about providing answers and more about creating the conditions for others to find their own.

Why One Habit Is Enough to Start

A single habit can feel too small to matter. It can seem insignificant compared to larger goals and long-term ambitions. But Childs argues that this perception is precisely what causes most people to overcomplicate change and ultimately abandon it.

“The real value is not just in the habit itself,” he explains. “It is in what the habit reinforces. When someone consistently follows through on one intentional behavior, they begin to build trust in themselves. They demonstrate through action, not just intention, that change is possible. And that belief has a way of extending beyond one area and influencing everything else.”

Over time, a person relies less on external motivation and more on internal discipline. They begin to create momentum rather than wait for it. Small actions accumulate, often in ways that are not immediately visible, but deeply impactful over months and years.

For anyone wondering where to begin, Childs offers a simple starting point. Reflect honestly on whether daily habits are aligned with the person you want to become. If there is a gap, the solution is not to set more ambitious goals. It is to design a system that supports consistent action. Choose one habit, keep it simple enough to sustain but meaningful enough to matter, and commit to it not only when it is convenient but especially when it requires effort.

Lasting change rarely comes from a single defining moment. It is built through small, consistent actions that, over time, shape both behavior and identity.

More about Stephen Childs’ work in executive coaching and leadership development, including his coaching programs and the Undeniable community, is available through his LinkedIn profile and the Neuro Executive Coaching website.

Public Coffee Culture and Civic Identity – Mauro Illiano’s Role in the 2024 ‘Nu bbèllu ccafè’ Event in Naples

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 11, 2026

For many cultures worldwide, coffee is not simply a drink. It is a symbol of community, heritage, and ritual. For the people of Naples, Italy, coffee has a very special role. It’s embedded in everyday life, supercharged with meaning, and seen as an icon of Neapolitan social identity. The city’s relationship with coffee is personal and shared, based on tradition but attuned to contemporary cultural trends. From the comforting roar of espresso shops to traditional practices such as the “caffè sospeso,” the sharing of coffee is a culturally and emotionally charged activity.

Within this context, the nexus of civic engagement and public events is of utmost importance to conserve and regenerate cultural practices. Italian municipalities and cultural institutions have come to rely more and more on curated events as a means of safeguarding intangible heritage, reinforcing community identity, and mobilizing citizens towards cultural awareness. These events are celebration and education at the same time, bringing artisans, historians, residents, and institutional allies together. The 2024 event called Nu bbèllu ccafè, held in association with the Municipality of Naples is an example of this larger strategy.

Held at the old city center, Nu bbèllu ccafè was not conceived as a festival but a civic event. The festival aimed to start dialogue concerning the role of coffee in Neapolitan society, allowing artists and cultural operators to present the rituals, practices, and stories that have developed local coffee culture. The programming included tasting sessions, educational booths, public talks, and cultural performances. These were curated with attention to sensory learning, community storytelling, and the material culture of coffee, from its preparation tools to its influence on literature and cinema.

Mauro Illiano played a central part in the realization of this project. Working closely with municipal authorities, Illiano curated the event’s content, structured its educational framework, and liaised between civic institutions and local coffee professionals. While he is often recognized for his broader contributions to sensory culture and coffee advocacy, this role focused on civic dialogue and neighborhood-based engagement. According to official statements released by the Municipality of Naples, he aimed to create an “open classroom in the streets,” where coffee would be discussed as a product and a cultural artifact.

The timing of Nu bbèllu ccafè reflected a broader institutional interest in intangible cultural heritage. Italy has taken multiple steps toward safeguarding regional practices, particularly those that contribute to national identity and international image. The country holds more than a dozen traditions on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage lists, one of the largest collections in Europe. Within this framework, public events such as the Naples coffee celebration serve a double purpose: they reinforce local cultural pride and provide material for future institutional nominations.

Illiano’s role aligned with these efforts by emphasizing experiential learning and community participation. His approach to event curation drew on methodologies standard to food education and sensory analysis, in which he has long been active. Throughout Nu bbèllu ccafè, educational content was delivered not through lectures but through guided interactions. Visitors learned about different brewing methods, coffee varietals, and sensory descriptors while speaking with roasters, baristas, and cultural historians. The result was a participatory event structure grounded in the idea that knowledge of tradition can be democratized.

One notable event feature was its collaboration with civic associations and small business networks. Rather than outsourcing programming to external consultants, the organizing committee engaged local coffee shops, cooperative initiatives, and cultural associations. This partnership-based model ensured that Nu bbèllu ccafè retained a distinctly local character while offering visitors, including international guests, a structured introduction to Neapolitan coffee culture.

In public comments made during the event, Illiano described his work as part of a broader attempt to “connect the everyday with the historical.” He stated that sensory experiences like tasting coffee can serve as entry points into deeper cultural conversations. Though his background includes academic research and journalism, Illiano positioned himself during the event as a facilitator, helping citizens and institutions co-create a shared language around their traditions.

The event also prompted discussions about integrating local food and beverage traditions into educational curricula. Several schools sent student groups to the event, using it as a field trip opportunity to introduce youth to local history. Some educators involved in the initiative later shared feedback with municipal organizers, suggesting that structured modules on food culture could become a permanent part of school programming in Naples.

While measuring the long-term impact of a single cultural event is difficult, Nu bbèllu ccafè represented a deliberate and coordinated effort to link sensory education with civic identity. Its format (part festival, part classroom) allowed it to function across multiple registers. Through careful curation, collaborative planning, and a commitment to inclusive learning, the 2024 event served as a celebration of Neapolitan coffee and a model for community-centered cultural work.

Mauro Illiano’s contribution to this initiative highlights an aspect of his professional portfolio often less discussed than his writing or sensory analysis work. In bridging institutional frameworks with public participation, he positioned himself as a cultural mediator working at the local level. His involvement with Nu bbèllu ccafè may offer insights into how future heritage projects in Italy can balance academic rigor with grassroots engagement.

23 Years, 12 Novels and Countless Mysteries in Wendy Roberts’ Evolving Imagination

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 11, 2026

Where Every Story Begins: Mornings in Silence, Unwritten Pages

Wendy Roberts is already at her desk before the whole world has woken up. The sunlight in Vancouver is diffuse at first, welcoming rather than dictatorial. It has coffee to be had, a blank page on the screen, and the inaudible murmur of a tale to be created.

This is where she starts to work without an elaborate scheme, but with a sensation. Twenty-three years and 12 novels later, Roberts continues to write one sentence at a time by instinct. It is a habit and has helped her survive an industry where consistency is hardly a virtue. But she has not only survived but also developed.

One of her most-read stories is a mystery, thriller, and supernatural fiction. The most important thing is that their emotions are intimate, tense, and grounded in human behavior.

No Blueprint, No Safety Net

Roberts does not preplot her novels. She starts with a premise, which is at times a fragment, and allows the story to expand. The characters are developed through time. Curses come when the time is right.

It is a method that runs counter to popular wisdom. Form is perceived to be safe. In the case of Roberts, excessive structure takes the life out of the story. Having become acquainted with all the turns, she has nothing to learn anymore.

The discovery is transferred into the reading experience. Her books are written with a sense of urgency, almost as if they are happening. It can be felt by readers in the pacing, in the pull from one chapter to the next.

This style of writing presupposes confidence, confidence in process and in the story. As the years have passed, Roberts has learned to trust her and go even where there is no obvious path.

When the Stories Grew Darker

Her initial output was towards lighter mysteries, and within the tension, a feeling of warmth. As time went by, her stories shifted toward the darker side, exploring fear, loss, and intricate motives.

The shift was gradual. As the interests increased, so did her writing. What is interesting is the fact that readers remained with her. Instead of contravening the change, they obeyed.

The consistency in the core gives that loyalty. Roberts has never been interested in setting, in the little things that make people real. The tone shifted, but that foundation remained.

The Business Behind the Books

Roberts has collaborated with well-known publishers like Penguin Random House, Harlequin, Red Dress Ink, and Carina Press. These alliances have provided both penetration and consistency.

The publishing world has taken a radical turn, both in digital media and in the shifting reading patterns. Roberts has remained attentive to the work itself throughout. She did not follow the trends, but instead created a consistent body of writing.

It is a softer approach, yet one that has kept her career alive. Her fortitude is not in one of these breakthroughs, but in the fact that she has continued to come up with stories that readers read again and again.

Local Authority to Global Reach

What started out as a local career has grown to an international readership. Roberts’s novels are currently available in various formats and have penetrated the readership well beyond Canada.

It is hard to be seen in a saturated market. The fact that Roberts was present further indicates that there is more to the picture than timing. Her stories are made in such a way that the readers get the urge to share them and revisit.

The Enduring Pull of Mystery

Mystery fiction still retains its niche because it provides a framework: a problem, a search, and a solution. This is intuitively known to Roberts.

Her novels create a buildup but also a release. The pieces fall into place in the last pages. Questions are answered. The world in the story becomes calm.

That structure may be grounded in the readers. It is reassuring in a period of doubt. Roberts delves deeper to understand the reasons people make hard decisions and the price they pay.

The Work Behind the Imagination

Inspiration cannot be achieved without routine in writing. Roberts takes writing as an art and discipline. Notes, fragments, and ideas in development fill her workplace.

She has several stories in progress at a given time. There are those that are nearly complete, and there are those that are only just starting. This constant movement keeps her active and interested.

Wonder That Makes the Tales Linger

Roberts works because of curiosity. She observes minor things, a silence in a conversation, a show of surprise, and works on them.

To her, writing is an exploration of behavior and posing questions that have no easy answers. That interest has enabled her work to increase without repeating itself.

Still Writing, Still Searching

Wendy Roberts is not losing pace after 23 years and 12 novels. New undertakings never stand still; new conceivements are being formed.

She doesn’t focus on endings. She is preoccupied with the future. That is one of the attractions to the readers. Both books are not only a mystery, but an extension of a voice they believe in.

In a fast-evolving world, there is a comfort in that, a writer going back to the page, to continue along after the story wherever it takes him/her.

The Chicago Dental Studio Opens Its Newest Dental Office in Wicker Park

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 10, 2026

The opening of The Chicago Dental Studio in Wicker Park marks a practical shift for many patients who have already been part of the practice for years. Until now, residents in the area often traveled to River North, Lincoln Park, or one of their other offices for appointments. The new location changes that dynamic, placing comprehensive dental care within walking distance for many families and professionals in the neighborhood. It also reduces commute times across the windy city and makes it easier for those nearby to maintain consistent, routine visits.

For Dr. Nathan Hoffman, the addition carries personal relevance as he spent nearly a decade living in Wicker Park earlier in his career. That familiarity with the neighborhood influenced not only his decision to open a spot there but also the design and staffing of the office.

What Access Really Means

Access in dentistry goes beyond geography. At the Wicker Park studio, it also refers to clarity in treatment planning, transparent pricing, and streamlined scheduling. The practice employs in-house insurance specialists who work directly with patients to help maximize benefits and outline anticipated costs before treatment begins. Flexible payment options are available for those who need them.

Complimentary consultations for Invisalign treatment are also offered, along with cosmetic consultations by referral when appropriate. During the grand opening period, new patients can receive complimentary whitening and $200 credit toward future care. Their initiatives are intended to lower barriers for patients considering either routine or elective treatments.

The Chicago Dental Studio Opens Its Newest Dental Office in Wicker Park

Photo Courtesy: The Chicago Dental Studio

Care for Individuals and Families

The Wicker Park office delivers a broad range of general dentistry services, including preventive cleanings, comprehensive exams, digital X-rays, fillings, crowns, and gum health therapy. Periodontics services are available in-house every Tuesday, allowing patients to address specialized gum concerns without visiting a separate provider, which helps ensure continuity of care and more efficient treatment timelines.

Treatment plans are individualized from the outset. Each patient undergoes a thorough evaluation supported by digital imaging technology. Doctors review oral health status, discuss lifestyle factors, and map out both immediate and long-term goals. The emphasis remains on preventive care and early intervention.

For orthodontic patients, digital scanning systems create precise Invisalign treatment plans. These scans allow patients to see projected tooth movement before committing to treatment. The practice’s experience with thousands of Invisalign cases informs planning decisions, helping balance aesthetics with functional alignment.

Details That Shape the Experience

The Chicago Dental Studio’s Wicker Park location was designed to feel organized as it is calm. Appointments are structured to run on time, with scheduling systems optimized to minimize delays. Clinical areas are equipped with advanced diagnostic and imaging tools that improve accuracy and reduce unnecessary repeat visits, while also enhancing patient understanding through clearer visuals and more precise diagnostics.

A comfort menu is available to patients during their appointments, offering weighted blankets, neck pillows, noise-canceling headphones, warming eye masks, and moisturizing hand treatments. These amenities are simple but intentional, particularly for patients who experience anxiety in clinical settings.

Hygiene and sterilization protocols follow strict standards across every treatment room. From instrument processing to surface disinfection, systems are designed to support a safe and clean environment.

The Chicago Dental Studio Opens Its Newest Dental Office in Wicker Park

Photo Courtesy: The Chicago Dental Studio

A Long-Term Neighborhood Presence

Beyond patient care, The Chicago Dental Studio plans to collaborate with nearby businesses and participate in community events to build relationships that extend beyond the office walls and foster meaningful local partnerships. Health education and preventive awareness are part of that vision, with an emphasis on helping residents maintain long-term oral wellness.

Positive patient reviews across its now seven Chicago area locations reflect a consistent standard of care over the years. With its Wicker Park opening, The Chicago Dental Studio adds another chapter centered on proximity, individualized care, and steady involvement in a neighborhood that continues to evolve.

 

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or dental advice. Consult a qualified dental professional for guidance specific to your oral health needs.

Zachary Bernard on Five Mistakes That Ruin Podcast Guest Appearances, and How to Avoid Them

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 10, 2026

By: Alyssa Miller

Getting booked on a podcast is only half the battle. What happens during and after the interview determines whether the appearance drives real results or becomes a missed opportunity. Zachary Bernard, Founder of We Feature You PR, has managed relationships with over 700 podcast hosts, and he’s identified the five mistakes that consistently prevent business leaders from getting the return they expect.

The first mistake, Zachary says, is the most common: turning the interview into a sales pitch. “The moment you start promoting your product or service, the audience tunes out,” he explains. “Hosts feel it too. They invited you to share insights, not to give a commercial. The guests who get invited back and recommended to other shows are the ones who focus entirely on being useful.”

The second mistake is skipping preparation. Zachary finds that many leaders assume their expertise alone is enough to carry an interview. It’s not. Knowing the host’s style, understanding the audience, and arriving with a few well-developed stories makes the difference between a forgettable conversation and one that resonates.

“Listen to at least one episode before you record,” Zachary advises. “Know the host’s name. Know what kind of conversations they have. When you reference something specific from their show, it builds immediate rapport and tells the host you respect what they’ve built.”

The third mistake is poor audio quality. In a medium built entirely on sound, muffled or distorted audio is a deal-breaker. Zachary recommends investing in a basic external microphone, finding a quiet room, and testing everything before the recording starts.

“You don’t need expensive equipment,” he says. “A $60 USB microphone and a quiet closet will sound better than a $2,000 setup in a noisy room. Audio quality is a reflection of your professionalism. Don’t let a technical issue undermine an otherwise great interview.”

The fourth mistake is neglecting post-interview follow-up. Zachary sees this as the most costly error because it’s where easy value gets left behind. Sending the host properly formatted links and bio information, promoting the episode across your own channels, and engaging with the host’s content afterward, these simple actions dramatically increase the return from every appearance.

“Most guests disappear after recording,” Zachary notes. “They never check if their links made it into the show notes. They never share the episode. They never thank the host publicly. And then they wonder why podcast guesting isn’t working for them. The follow-through is where the magic happens.”

The fifth mistake is inconsistency. A single podcast appearance rarely transforms a business. The leaders who see compounding returns are the ones who commit to appearing on two to three shows per month over an extended period, building a growing library of episodes that establish them as a recognizable voice in their industry.

“Podcast guesting is not a campaign with a start and end date,” Zachary says. “It’s a channel, like any other marketing channel, that rewards consistency. The entrepreneurs who treat it as an ongoing practice rather than a one-time experiment are the ones telling me their pipeline has never been stronger.”

For leaders looking to avoid these pitfalls, Zachary’s advice is refreshingly simple: show up prepared, be genuinely helpful, sound professional, follow up thoughtfully, and keep showing up.

“Get those five things right and podcast guesting becomes one of the highest-ROI activities in your entire business. Get them wrong, and you’re just having conversations that go nowhere.”

James Rondeau Marks 10 Years Leading the Art Institute of Chicago

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 9, 2026

By: Zach Miller

When James Rondeau took the helm of the Art Institute of Chicago in January 2016, he had spent nearly two decades learning the museum from the inside out: first as an associate curator of contemporary art, then as chair of the modern and contemporary art department, a post he held for more than a decade.

He knew the collection intimately, understood the rhythms of the curatorial staff, and had spent years pursuing acquisitions that would stretch the museum’s idea of what it was. The promotion was, in that sense, a natural progression. What he didn’t entirely anticipate was how different the job would feel. “This job is very, very different,” he told WBEZ recently, “from the narrowest construct to the broadest.”

A decade in, the breadth of Rondeau’s leadership is visible in galleries that have been reconfigured, in storerooms holding thousands of new acquisitions, and in building plans that he hopes will reshape the institution for the next generation of visitors.

The Curator-to-Director Transition

James Rondeau grew up in South Hadley, Massachusetts, within reach of five art museums, and made his first trip to the Art Institute as a student at Middlebury College. He earned a master’s degree in art history from Williams College and began his professional life as an associate curator at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, before joining the Art Institute in 1998.

Over 18 years as a curator, he organized more than 30 solo exhibitions with artists including Shirin Neshat, Thomas Hirschhorn, Olafur Eliasson, Marlene Dumas, and Charles Ray. He co-organized “Jasper Johns: Gray” in 2007, which was named best monographic museum show nationally by the American section of the International Art Critics Association. He led the Institute’s Roy Lichtenstein retrospective in 2012 and the Christopher Wool survey in 2014. In 2009, he oversaw the installation of the modern and contemporary collection in the newly opened Modern Wing, designed by Renzo Piano at a cost of $294 million, the largest single addition to the campus until this decade’s projects broke ground.

The year before he became director, he helped broker what remains the largest gift of art in the museum’s history. Collectors Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson pledged 44 works, including paintings and sculptures by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Cy Twombly, Jasper Johns, Gerhard Richter, and Cindy Sherman, valued at approximately $500 million. The donation came with an unusual condition: the works would remain on public view for 50 years.

Rondeau addressed the stipulation directly in a statement to The Art Newspaper: “For the Art Institute of Chicago, the commitment… to display the [Edlis-Neeson] collection for 50 years is by no means a burden. We made our selections precisely because they are works we will want, and we believe future stewards of the collection will want, always on view.”

Despite the achievements, when he sat down with WBEZ and the Chicago Sun Times for a wide-ranging discussion of his first decade in January 2026, Rondeau offered a measured assessment.

“It’s a forever learning curve, and acknowledging that with clarity, confidence and some humility on the occasion of looking back on 10 years has been really productive,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of reflecting on what leadership means and what I expect of myself and what I expect I can offer the institution.”

One Collection, 11 Departments

One of the defining challenges Rondeau described when he took over was moving from a curatorial world defined by a single department to the directorial responsibility of overseeing 11. The Art Institute holds approximately 300,000 works spanning 5,000 years and every major continent. That breadth carries its own demands, and its own possibilities.

There was an easy assumption when he was appointed, given his background, that the museum might tilt heavily toward contemporary work. It hasn’t.

“I’m being given the privilege to sit in this office in order to support the ancient Mediterranean, to support Indian textiles and Japanese screen painting in the 17th century,” he said. “That’s the job. It’s not discretionary on my part to say, ‘I’m going to ignore the finances and just love contemporary art.’ That would be a recipe for failure.”

Acquisitions across departments number roughly 1,000 per year, according to Rondeau. The most recent headline-making addition came in early 2025, when collectors Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz donated nearly 2,000 drawings, 200 paintings, and 50 sculptures of French art spanning the 16th through 19th centuries. Works by Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher, and Théodore Géricault arrived in a single transfer.

Rondeau later called the gift “generational, transformative,” and it was hailed as one of the largest financial gifts in the museum’s history by the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists.

Rondeau also pointed to more under-the-radar acquisitions as significant, including “Still Life Reviving” (1963) by Remedios Varo, a 2024 purchase. It came a year after the museum presented its first-ever solo exhibition devoted to a female surrealist painter and the first show dedicated to a woman artist from Mexico. Photography holdings have also expanded. In 2025, the museum acquired 30 works by Francesca Woodman from the Woodman Family Foundation. The Stenn family’s gifts, a promised 97 post-1960 works on paper in 2022 followed by 100 additional drawings and prints in 2023 and a $3 million endowment, strengthened holdings in Minimalist and Conceptual art, with work by Josef Albers, Eva Hesse, Lee Bontecou, Judy Chicago, Donald Judd, and Sol LeWitt. The Bucksbaum family’s $25 million gift in 2024, the largest ever directed at the photography department, laid the groundwork for a dedicated Bucksbaum Photography Center.

The museum has also made deliberate efforts to acquire work by artists historically underrepresented in its galleries, including Kerry James Marshall, Theaster Gates, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Norman Lewis, Betye Saar, Bisa Butler, Tschabalala Self, and Amanda Williams, among others.

The Financial Picture

The museum’s endowment stood at $1.12 billion at the time of Rondeau’s January 2026 WBEZ interview, a 70% increase over the course of his tenure. The endowment now funds more than 40% of the institution’s annual $122 million operating budget, roughly 15 percentage points above the industry average of 25 percent for American art museums, as reported by the Association of Art Museum Directors.

The Institute’s free-admission program drew 300,000 visitors in 2025. Although standard adult admission runs $32 (Chicago residents pay $20), the free-access program has expanded reach into neighborhoods the museum had historically underserved, a trend Rondeau pointed to as one of the more meaningful gains of the decade.

Building for the Next Decade

The recent donations and endowments are set to help fund the museum’s physical development for a generation.

In 2017, Rondeau engaged the Spanish firm Barozzi Veiga to develop an architectural master plan. The first completed project under that partnership was a redesign of the Michigan Avenue lobby, which Rondeau described as now “much more open, much more welcoming and much brighter.” More recently, the firm redesigned the museum’s 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century European design galleries with a minimalist sensibility intended as a model for other spaces in the building.

In November 2025, the museum announced the Grainger Center for Conservation and Science, a $50 million project that will occupy the former Regenstein Hall, which had served as the museum’s principal temporary-exhibition gallery since the Rice Building opened in 1988. The 25,000-square-foot facility will bring the museum’s 40-person conservation team together for the first time. He called it the largest single modification to the campus since the 2009 Modern Wing. “We’re making something that has been quintessentially behind the scenes and putting it in a facility that’s visible and central,” he told the Chicago Tribune.

The Grainger Center will include floor-to-ceiling windows designed to maximize natural light for conservation work, updated digital imaging equipment, and an anteroom gallery where visitors can watch conservators at work. Its 20-foot ceilings will allow staff to treat large paintings without the workarounds currently required: when El Greco’s “The Assumption of the Virgin” (1577-79) needed treatment in 2018, the painting had to be worked on its side.

The center is expected to open in fall 2027 and is fully funded.

The Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed Building, made possible by a $75 million gift announced in September 2024, will add gallery space for art from the late 19th century to the present. Only about 15% of the museum’s modern and contemporary collection is currently on view, Rondeau told the Sun Times.

The new building is intended to change that ratio. Aaron Fleischman described his reasoning when the gift was announced: “Touring the collections on view and in storage I came to believe that more of the museum’s extraordinary collection needed to be available to visitors and presented in world-class architecture.” He added that he was eager “for the museum to tell a more complete story of modern and contemporary art.”

A Museum Reshaped

The Art Institute Rondeau leads today is bigger, better funded, and more broadly collected than the one he inherited. Its endowment has grown by 70 percent. Its galleries have been physically remade. Its conservation department, long scattered across three floors in improvised quarters, is about to get a purpose-built home. Holdings in French Old Masters, Korean art, Conceptual drawings, surrealism, photography, and works by artists of color have all deepened substantially.

Whether as curator or director, Rondeau has now been at the Art Institute for nearly 30 years. The projects he has set in motion will take him well into the 2030s.

“When you visit this museum, you’re at one of the great museums of the world,” he said. “And if we spent a decade letting our peers refine their facilities and visitor experience and improve access to their collections and we didn’t do that, we would fall behind.”

Impala and Highrise AI Address the Real AI Bottleneck in Industrial-Scale Execution

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 9, 2026

By: Jake Smiths

For all the progress in artificial intelligence over the past few years, enterprises are discovering a hard truth: the hardest part of AI is no longer building models; it is running them reliably, continuously, and at scale.

That shift is now shaping how infrastructure providers position themselves, and it is the backdrop for a new strategic partnership between Impala and Highrise AI. The collaboration brings together Impala’s high-throughput inference stack with Highrise AI’s GPU-native infrastructure platform, further strengthened by access to gigawatt-scale energy capacity through Hut 8’s infrastructure ecosystem.

Rather than competing at the level of model intelligence, the partnership focuses on something more operational and, increasingly, more critical: execution in production environments.

When AI Leaves the Lab, the Constraints Change

The early narrative of AI advancement was dominated by breakthroughs in model capability. Bigger models, better training methods, and improved reasoning benchmarks defined success.

But once enterprises began deploying AI into production workflows, the constraints shifted. Latency, cost per request, infrastructure bottlenecks, and operational stability became the dominant concerns.

This is where many AI systems begin to fail to scale, not because the models are insufficient, but because the infrastructure cannot support continuous, high-volume execution.

“Enterprises are no longer limited by model capability; they’re limited by execution,” said Noam Salinger, CEO of Impala. “By pairing our inference stack with Highrise AI’s infrastructure, we’re enabling organizations to run AI at the scale and efficiency that real-world applications demand.”

That framing captures the essence of the partnership: solving the post-model problem of AI.

Two Systems Built for Different Layers of the Same Challenge

The partnership is structured around a clear technical division of responsibility, addressing both compute efficiency and infrastructure scalability.

Impala operates at the inference layer. Its system is designed to maximize GPU efficiency and throughput, focusing on increasing tokens per second while minimizing wasted compute cycles. This allows enterprises to extract more value from existing hardware while lowering the cost of each inference request.

Highrise AI operates at the infrastructure layer, delivering scalable GPU compute through dedicated clusters, managed environments, and confidential compute deployments. Its architecture is designed for sustained performance, not just peak bursts, making it suitable for production-grade workloads that run continuously.

Together, the two systems form an integrated execution pipeline that spans from infrastructure provisioning to inference optimization.

The Role of Energy in AI Scaling

One of the most overlooked constraints in AI scaling is energy. Large-scale GPU clusters are not only compute-intensive but also energy-intensive, requiring stable and scalable power infrastructure to operate effectively.

Highrise AI’s integration with Hut 8’s infrastructure ecosystem provides access to gigawatt-scale energy capacity, enabling the deployment of dense GPU clusters at an industrial scale.

This energy-backed foundation is critical for sustaining long-running AI workloads without the constraints that typically limit traditional cloud environments.

When paired with Impala’s efficiency gains at the inference level, the result is a system designed to scale both compute availability and compute efficiency in parallel.

Unit Economics as the Deciding Factor in AI Adoption

As enterprises move AI into core business processes, cost becomes a defining constraint. What may appear inexpensive in small-scale pilots can become prohibitively expensive at production volume.

This is why cost per inference has emerged as one of the most important metrics in enterprise AI strategy.

Impala addresses this by improving GPU utilization and maximizing output per compute cycle. Highrise AI complements this by offering infrastructure optimized for long-duration workloads and lower marginal compute costs.

The combined effect is a structural reduction in the economics of AI deployment, enabling enterprises to expand usage without proportional increases in costs.

Built-In Security for Regulated Environments

Security remains a critical requirement for enterprise AI adoption, particularly in regulated sectors such as healthcare and financial services.

The partnership incorporates security at both layers of the stack. Impala runs in single-tenant environments within customer-controlled infrastructure, ensuring strict data isolation. Highrise AI adds confidential compute capabilities that protect data during processing, even at the infrastructure level.

This approach is designed to ensure that performance and security are not competing priorities but integrated requirements.

Where the Impact Becomes Tangible

The combined platform is positioned for high-volume, high-sensitivity workloads where both performance and reliability are essential.

In healthcare environments, this includes large-scale processing of clinical documentation, medical summarization, and multimodal data analysis combining text and imaging. These workloads require both high throughput and strict compliance with privacy requirements.

In financial services, the system can support compliance automation, transaction monitoring, and document intelligence pipelines that operate at scale while maintaining predictable cost structures and auditability.

Across both industries, the demand is consistent: AI systems that do not degrade under pressure.

Infrastructure as the New Battleground

The Impala-Highrise AI partnership reflects a broader transformation in the AI landscape. As model capabilities increasingly converge, competitive differentiation is shifting toward infrastructure efficiency and execution reliability.

In this new phase, the winners are unlikely to be defined solely by who builds the most advanced models, but by who can run them most effectively in production environments.

By combining inference optimization, scalable GPU infrastructure, and energy-backed compute capacity, Impala and Highrise AI are positioning themselves at the center of that shift.

“AI is entering a new phase that is defined by scale, reliability, and operational impact,” Salinger added. “Together with Highrise AI, we’re building the infrastructure foundation that makes that future possible.”

A Dangerous Friendship by Robin Merle Explores Power and Desire

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 9, 2026

By Julian Mercer

Friendships often begin with excitement. New energy. New possibilities. A feeling that life has suddenly become bigger.

But sometimes the same relationship that sparks reinvention slowly turns into something darker.

That tension drives A Dangerous Friendship, a psychological novel that blends dark humor, nightlife chaos, and emotional suspense. Author Robin Merle places readers inside a friendship that feels thrilling at first and deeply unsettling by the end.

What makes the story compelling is not simply the drama between the characters. It is how Robin uses the wild energy of nightlife, power, and desire to reveal who these women really are.

Nightlife as a Window Into Character

Stories set in bars and late-night parties can easily slip into spectacle.

Robin takes a different route. The drinking, drugs, and sexual tension in the novel are never meant to shock readers. Instead, they open doors into the characters’ inner lives.

The bars introduce the local crowd that the two friends, Tina and Spike, begin to orbit. These people are not just background noise or party stereotypes. They become part of the women’s inner world.

Alcohol and drugs lower defenses. Conversations become confessions. Humor surfaces in strange places. Characters reveal pieces of themselves they might otherwise keep hidden.

Sex also plays a meaningful role in the story. For both women, sexuality is deeply tied to how they see themselves and how they handle their relationships with men. Attraction becomes another arena where power, vulnerability, and ambition collide.

For Robin, power is the real engine of the story. It flows through every relationship in the novel. Between the two women. Between men and women. Between wealth and aspiration. Even between city life and rural escape.

Character development and power struggles are inseparable.

The First Warning Signs

One of the most intriguing questions in the novel is when readers should begin to question Spike, a magnetic, charismatic woman.

Robin plants those seeds early.

The first moment appears when Tina discovers Spike sitting on her porch at a writers’ colony with no clear reason for being there. The encounter carries a subtle chill. Tina instinctively steps back in fear before she even understands why.

That small reaction plants the first doubt.

Soon after, Tina delivers a line that feels almost like a quiet warning to the reader. She admits she cannot decide whether Spike is good or evil, or whether she simply imagines too much about her.

From that moment forward, the friendship carries a layer of uncertainty.

Readers are invited to watch carefully.

When the Energy Shifts

The turning point in the story arrives during one of Spike’s late-night adventures.

After openly mocking a man she met at a bar, Spike disappears with him for the night. The next day she brings him back to their summer cabin and encourages Tina to spend time with him.

The situation feels strange but manageable at first.

Then the mood shifts.

Spike begins punishing Tina for following her suggestion. The emotional whiplash leaves Tina confused and unsettled. What once seemed like playful manipulation begins to look like something far more calculated.

Later, another man enters the story.

His name is Cody.

Spike has already nailed his photograph to the wall of the cabin, presenting him as a future conquest. The gesture feels theatrical, almost absurd, but it also hints at a deeper obsession with control.

The nights of reckless fun are starting to reveal their darker edge.

Desire and Danger

Among the novel’s many themes, one stands out as particularly powerful.

The connection between desire and danger.

Both Tina and Spike enter the story carrying emotional wounds. Tina’s marriage has collapsed. Spike is grappling with the death of her father. Each woman feels the urge to escape the life she knows.

They want reinvention.

Leaving the city where they both live offers that possibility. New identities. New social circles. New attention.

Desire becomes the driving force behind their choices.

Yet desire also opens the door to risk. The more intensely someone wants change, the easier it becomes to overlook warning signs.

Robin is less interested in how people fall into dangerous relationships than in how they find their way out.

The novel asks a difficult question.

When the illusion finally cracks, what do we learn about ourselves?

A City That Breathes Chaos

The story’s setting shapes the emotional atmosphere throughout the novel.

The novel unfolds in New York City during the 1980s, a decade that carried its own unique mixture of glamour and grit.

Robin lived in the city during that era, and those memories inform the texture of the book.

The streets were often dirty. Subways felt overheated and chaotic. Downtown neighborhoods were bursting with experimental art and raw creativity.

During the summer months, many residents fled the heat, leaving the city oddly empty.

At the same time, the decade carried serious cultural tensions. The AIDS crisis cast a long shadow. Crime and fear shaped daily life. Wall Street culture exploded with aggressive ambition.

Robin also revisited books that captured the character of the era, including Liar’s Poker, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and Bright Lights, Big City.

Together, these influences helped recreate a version of New York that felt electric and unpredictable.

In that environment, Tina and Spike’s friendship feels both inevitable and combustible. Escaping the city to live near the river and mountains in a rural setting to gain meaning and new identities is a core part of their search.

The Moment of Self-Recognition

Without revealing the novel’s ending, Robin hints that Tina eventually faces a painful truth about her relationship with Spike.

That realization forces her to confront an uncomfortable lesson.

Sometimes the most dangerous influence in our lives arrives disguised as a friend.

Yet the story is not simply about betrayal.

Robin hopes readers reflect on the relationships that shaped them, including the difficult ones. Some friendships reveal strengths we did not know we had. Others expose vulnerabilities we would rather ignore.

Either way, those experiences leave marks.

Choosing Yourself

A Dangerous Friendship ultimately explores the fragile line between influence and identity.

How much of ourselves do we surrender when we admire someone powerful, confident, or mysterious?

And what happens when we finally see that person clearly?

For Tina, the journey becomes one of reclaiming her sense of self.

Robin’s message is simple but quietly resonant.

No matter how persuasive someone else may seem, the person ultimately responsible for protecting your future is you.

A Dangerous Friendship by Robin Merle is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

New Legislation Helps Prospective IL Renters Secure Housing Faster and Eliminates Application Fees

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 8, 2026

By: Kattie Muniz

As Illinois residents embark on peak moving season, renters across the state’s largest metro areas are having to figure out one of the most competitive housing markets in the country. Recently ranked as the second-most competitive rental market nationwide, Chicago reflects a growing trend: prospective tenants often apply to multiple properties before securing a lease while paying application fees each time. 

A new Illinois law is designed to ease that burden. 

Signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 9, 2024, House Bill 4926 (Public Act 103-0840) went into effect on January 1, 2025. The legislation allows tenants to submit reusable screening reports to landlords for up to 30 days, eliminating the need to pay repeated application fees, provided the report meets specific requirements. 

“For renters, the change represents a meaningful shift in both cost and access,” states Derek Exley, founder and president of Reusable Tenant Screening Reports powered by TransUnion™ data. “We designed our platform to specifically help renters leverage the benefits of this legislation.”

A More Cost-Efficient Application Process

Applying for an apartment in Chicago has traditionally come with a price. Between credit checks, background screenings, and administrative costs, renters can spend several hundred dollars in just a few weeks, and that’s before even signing a lease or securing the keys to the property. 

The new legislation directly addresses this issue. If a tenant submits a state-compliant reusable tenant screening report, also known as an RTSR, landlords are no longer permitted to charge additional screening fees. 

Representative Anna Moeller, who introduced the bill, and Senator Sara Feigenholtz, who guided it through the Senate, positioned the measure as a response to the financial strain many renters face in competitive markets. 

The Reality of Renting in Chicago

When trying to find a rental unit, it’s customary to submit multiple applications because of the low-inventory market. High demand and tight timelines mean that renters rarely secure the first unit they apply for. In fact, recent data shows that renters apply to nine places on average before securing a rental. Renters may even apply for houses or apartment units sight-unseen because they’re desperate to find a home in an area they want to live in. 

That process, until now, came at a cost. 

“Most renters are applying to several properties before they get approved,” says Exley. “Those fees add up quickly, especially in a market like Chicago.”

Before 2025, renters had to pay ‌application fees each time they applied, money they often didn’t see back, whether they got the unit or not. With the new law in place and a platform to generate RTSRs, renters can now pay once and reuse their tenant screening report across multiple applications for 30 days, which not only helps them financially but also saves them a great deal of time.

From Policy to Practical Impact

While legislation establishes the framework, its real impact depends on how it is implemented. Reusable tenant screening reports must meet specific criteria, including compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), ensuring accuracy and transparency. 

Exley himself went through the rental process in 2025, seeing firsthand the need for a reusable tenant screening report but not finding a platform that offered one. He sought to solve this issue and developed a platform that aligned with the specific criteria and compliance requirements necessary to create a valid, reusable tenant screening report. 

Today, Exley offers tenants a streamlined way to generate and share compliant reports easily.

“This law gives renters leverage and choices,” he explains. “Instead of starting from scratch every time, they can come prepared with a verified and valid report that landlords can trust and apply to more places because the screening fees will be waived.”

For landlords and property managers, this also introduces efficiencies, thereby reducing redundant screenings while maintaining consistent standards. A landlord or property manager can evaluate and assess a prospective tenant before even showing the rental, saving themselves time in securing a tenant for their property.

Financial Relief When It Matters Most

The timing of the law is especially important. As Chicago’s rental market heats up (along with the weather), the ability to apply broadly without incurring repeated fees offers immediate financial relief. 

A single reusable report can effectively eliminate application screening costs for 30 days. For renters navigating multiple listings, that can translate into significant savings and more choices. Renters are no longer having to balance budget concerns with application screening fees. 

“It’s not just about convenience; it’s about having more options that don’t cost more money,” Exley adds. “Renters shouldn’t have to pay over and over just to prove they qualify, and instead are now able to put their hard-earned money towards other moving costs such as a moving truck, boxes, or a security deposit.”

Early Impact and What the Data Shows

While Illinois’ reusable tenant screening report law is just entering its second year, broader data on reusable screening models already point to clear economic benefits. The traditional rental process has often forced applicants to pay for multiple background checks, creating what industry experts describe as a “financial burden” that can add up to hundreds of dollars before a lease is even signed.

Reusable Tenant Screening Reports powered by TransUnion™ data directly addresses that inefficiency. By allowing renters to complete one verified state-compliant background check and share it across multiple applications, the process becomes both more cost-effective and significantly faster. The reusable tenant screening report law now removes the financial burden of applying to multiple places, giving renters more options in their housing search.

In practice, this reduces “screening fatigue” and prevents applicants from abandoning their search due to repeated fees and settling for the first place they are accepted, an issue that has historically slowed leasing activity in high-demand markets like Chicago and limited renter options. 

A Shift Toward Tenant-Centered Policy

Illinois’ adoption of reusable tenant screening reports reflects a broader movement toward reducing friction in the rental process. By eliminating unnecessary costs and encouraging transparency, the law aims to create a more balanced system for both tenants and landlords. 

In a city where competition remains high, even small policy changes can have a meaningful impact. For Chicago renters, this one could make the difference between stretching their budget and settling versus finally securing a place they really want to call home while saving time and money in the process.

Dr. Goya Raikar: Leading the Future of Robotic Mitral Valve Repair at Froedtert South

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 8, 2026

By: Z-tech

Dr. Goya Raikar’s surgery work begins long before the first incision. First he stops to think about the patient. Then he pauses at the scrub sink and runs the case through his mind. Every step has a purpose, especially his preparation.

“For me, there is a moment at the scrub sink that I calm my mind and visualize what the steps are going to be,” he explained during a recent interview about his career.

That habit says a great deal about the kind of surgeon Dr. Raikar has become. As Chief Cardiac Surgeon at Froedtert South, he is known not only for technical precision, but also for the kind of disciplined leadership required to build a high-level robotic cardiac surgery program inside a regional health system. Over more than two decades in practice, he has helped move minimally invasive heart surgery from an emerging concept to a life-changing reality for patients who want strong outcomes without the prolonged recovery that once came with traditional open-heart procedures.

Raikar leads the development of the robotic mitral valve repair program at Community Memorial Hospital, part of Froedtert South. In doing so, he has helped establish a service line that reflects both surgical innovation and institutional commitment. His background gave him the credentials to do it. His vision helped make it stick.

A cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Goya Raikar is board certified in both general and thoracic surgery. He trained at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Wisconsin Hospital, held leadership and academic appointments at major institutions, and performed the first robotic-assisted mitral valve repair in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. He has also served as principal investigator on multiple clinical trials related to valve replacement, heart failure and arrhythmia, with research featured in peer-reviewed journals and surgical textbooks.

Still, for all the accolades, Raikar traces the beginning of this path back to a much earlier moment, when he was still in training and listening closely.

“It started at the Mayo Clinic when the expert in mitral valve repair gave a lecture,” he explained, referring to Dr. Alain Carpentier. “That’s what drew me to it.”

That early spark grew into a career focused on one of cardiac surgery’s most delicate and demanding challenges, repairing the mitral valve with as much precision and as little disruption to the patient as possible. At Froedtert South, that work is no longer theoretical. It is happening in real time, with patients and families feeling the difference.

Dr. Goya Raikar: ‘Without Teamwork You Cannot Do Complex Robotic Cardiac Surgery’ 

To understand why Dr. Raikar’s program matters, it helps to understand what robotic surgery actually gives a cardiac surgeon that conventional technique does not.

The da Vinci surgical system, which anchors the program at Community Memorial Hospital, does not operate independently. Dr. Raikar controls every movement. What the system provides in return is access and visibility that open surgery cannot reliably replicate.

“The robot lets you engage the valve in 3D with 10x magnification,” he said. “This allows me to visualize structures that you cannot visualize in the standard methods.”

That visibility has direct clinical consequences. The mitral valve sits between the heart’s left atrium and left ventricle. When it fails to close properly, a condition called mitral regurgitation develops, and blood begins moving in the wrong direction.

Left unaddressed, the heart compensates until it cannot, and the damage becomes permanent. Because the robotic approach requires only small ports in the chest wall rather than a fully opened sternum, patients recover faster, spend fewer days in the hospital, and return to normal activity on a timeline that would have been difficult to promise a generation ago.

Dr. Raikar is very direct about who qualifies.

“Anyone who has severe mitral regurgitation is a strong candidate for a robotic repair,” he said. The limiting factor is rarely the patient. More often it is access to a program with the depth and consistency to deliver the procedure well. That is the gap his work at Froedtert South is built to close.

He is equally clear about what makes these programs work inside the operating room. The technology is one part of the equation. The team is the other.

“Without teamwork you cannot do complex robotic cardiac surgery,” he said. “I rely on the people in the operating room day in and day out. If one of the team is missing, we cannot operate.”

The Blueprint for Building a Program That Lasts

Hospitals across the country are investing in robotic surgical capability. Not all of those investments are producing the results the institutions expected, and Raikar has a clear view on why.

The technology is not the foundation. The surgeon is, he shares.

“Start with the surgeon and build a team around the surgeon, which includes anesthesiologists, cardiologists, and administration,” he said. “All need to have a shared vision on the program.”

Without that alignment, the program may launch with momentum but rarely sustains it. A cardiologist who is skeptical of the approach will not refer appropriate patients. An administrator who treats the program as a revenue line rather than a clinical commitment will underinvest in the infrastructure that keeps it functioning. The whole structure quietly deteriorates.

Raikar also draws a firm line between innovation and experimentation, and the distinction is not semantic. “We don’t experiment with patients,” he said. “Innovations have been developed over the course of five to ten years and then are applied to patients clinically.”

Every technique he brings into his operating room is backed by peer-reviewed evidence, clinical trial data, and refinement across thousands of cases at institutions worldwide. When a difficult case demands something beyond routine, he leans on that evidence base and on colleagues who helped build it.

Patient preparation, he argues, is just as important to outcomes as anything that happens in the operating room. “The more knowledge a patient has with the upcoming surgery and hospital stay, the more successful the procedure is,” Dr. Raikar shared. “The goal is to have no surprises for the patient and family on the process and procedure prior to it occurring.” That philosophy extends from the first consultation through every step of preoperative care. It is not a courtesy. Raikar treats it as a clinical variable with real consequences.

The approach reflects something he learned early and has never set aside. At the Mayo Clinic, the institution that shaped him as a surgeon, the patient is the center of everything. “I approach patients the same way,” he said.

Where Cardiac Surgery Is Headed Next

The robotic mitral valve repair program Dr. Raikar has built at Froedtert South is not the endpoint of what he is working toward. It is the foundation.

The next major frontier in robotic cardiac surgery is coronary artery bypass grafting, the procedure used to reroute blood around blocked coronary arteries and one of the most performed cardiac operations in the world. New robotic instrumentation designed specifically for bypass procedures is currently in development, and Raikar expects clinical application within the next few years. The implications are significant.

“This could result in the procedure becoming an outpatient procedure,” he said. Bypass surgery as a same-day operation would represent one of the most consequential shifts in cardiac care in a generation, and it would compress a recovery burden that patients have long been told was simply unavoidable.

The broader trajectory of the field is moving in the same direction.

“In terms of heart surgery, we are about to see an explosion in the usage of robotic techniques in the next three to five years,” Raikar added. Thoracic surgery has already made that turn. Robotic lung resection and esophageal surgery are now the preferred approach at leading centers. Cardiac surgery is following the same arc, and the pace is accelerating faster than many health systems have planned for.

Dr. Goya Raikar will be contributing to that acceleration, not observing it. He is currently part of what he describes as the largest series of robotic aortic valve surgeries in the world, to be presented at the Society of Thoracic Surgery’s national conference. He is also involved in new equipment development for the da Vinci platform.

He remembers a patient from about a decade ago, the spouse of a physician, who came to his office already in tears. She had been told what traditional mitral valve surgery involved, and she understood enough to dread it. When Dr. Raikar explained that her repair could be done robotically, smaller incisions, faster recovery, far less disruption, the relief she felt was visible. She did well. She had sought him out because she had heard what was possible and would not accept less. That story has stayed with him.

“When I see patients come for a second opinion and we are able to help them with the robotic approach,” he said, “that validates continuing to push ahead with these techniques.”