A virtual “who’s who” in Chicago real estate along with numerous high-level city officials and community leaders are expected at the Second Annual Jane Addams Legacy Award Gala honoring Elzie Higginbottom and East Lake Management & Development Corp. on May 14 at the Museum of Science & Industry.

Distinguished Chicago alums of Meharry Medical College (Nashville), who each can boast of “50 years of service,” will be saluted Sunday at the Annual Scholarship Dinner hosted by Meharry’s Chicago Area Alumni Association, led by Dr. Earl D. Brownlee, president. The honorees, who’ll be cited in the Empire Room of the Palmer House, are Dr. Herbert C. Harris, Bettye Mason Odom, B.S.N., R.N.; Dr. Rudolph Moragne, Dr. Sidney E. Welch, Dorothy Sneed Peoples, B.S.N., R.N.; and Dr. Edward Page-El (in memoriam).

Ambassador Nomvume P. Magaqa, South African Consul General, will be the “distinguished guest” when the Ill. Judicial Council, chaired by Judge David B. Atkins, hosts a symposium on Monday commemorating “15 Years of Democracy in South Africa” at Chicago- Kent College of Law/Illinois Institute of Technology, 565 W. Adams, beginning with a 5 p.m. reception.

Legendary Grammy-winning Mavis Staples, a true American treasure and icon whose signature voice of the Civil Rights Movement belts out message songs in a style all her own, performs at the Harris Theatre in Millennium Park on April 17 for a silver celebration of our town’s cultural, artistic and political life honoring Chicago Tonight’s 25th anniversary, WTTW and WFMT.

Lester N. Coney, Mesirow Financial’s bon vivant executive vice president, is adding “playwright” to his already impressive resume. He’s one of a trio of respected high-profile Chicagoans tapped to pen an original play to be performed for one-night-only at Victory Gardens Theater’s “Chicago Stories” benefit on May 1 at the Four Seasons Hotel.

In observance of Women’s History Month, the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues presented its 12th Annual Unsung Heroines Awards at a breakfast ceremony in the Chicago Cultural Center. Each year Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and the Commission honor one woman in each of the 17 county districts for her vital contributions to her community.

Five media sistahs join Sharon McGhee March 22 at DuSable Museum for a special Women’s History Month performance of Mc- Ghee’s critically acclaimed stage production, The Pocketbook Monologues, taken from her book of the same name.

Retirement Revelry – A fave media brutha and NBC5 broadcast vet, gets his “come-uppance” May 16 when the Museum of Broadcast Communications hosts “A Salute to Warner Saunders,” celebrating his retirement after a four-decade-plus tenure.

The Foundation of Northeastern Ilinois University presents a benefit concert for the Donn F. Bailey Legacy Hall renovation on Thursday, 7:30 p.m., in NEIU’s Auditorium, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave. The event stars The Emotions in Emotional Memory, a new musical featuring their 1977 pop classic, “Best of My Love” and other hits. NBC 5’s Warner Saunders, an NEIU alum, will emcee.

Star Night – Blanche Manning, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois who presides over cases in one of the country’s busiest courts, is among a quintet who will receive distinguished African American History Makers Awards from DuSable Museum at its annual black-tie gala, “Night of 100 Stars,” on Saturday.