Lori Rackl – Page 12 –

Hotel key cards at the new Wheelhouse Hotel are in keeping with the property's baseball theme.

First look at Wrigleyville’s new baseball-inspired boutique hotel, The Wheelhouse

August 23, 2019 at 4:38 p.m.

A new player on the city’s lodging scene debuts Saturday, when The Wheelhouse Hotel opens in rapidly changing Wrigleyville. The 21-room boutique property at 3475 N. Clark St. is a...

Cronin House owner Jeff Hamilton stands on the roof of his historic home, where Lewis and Uncle Jonathan live in "The House With a Clock in Its Walls." The book suggests that could be the Hanchett house down below.

Time to visit the Michigan town that’s home to a ‘House With a Clock in Its Walls’

August 23, 2019 at 4:37 p.m.

Long before Harry Potter cast a collective spell with his wizardly ways, a chubby Midwest kid who dabbled in magic was fending off evil in the fictional town of New...

The old State House in Vandalia, Illinois' second capital city after Kaskaskia and before Springfield, is one of the participating sites in Doors Open Illinois, celebrating the state's bicentennial.

Illinois celebrates bicentennial with free cake, new passport program and August events

August 23, 2019 at 4:33 p.m.

Free cheesecake, a passport program with prizes and special programming in August are some of the ways the state is ramping up Illinois’ bicentennial celebration. Weekends in August, various museums,...

The first bike sharing program in Kankakee County launched earlier this summer. One of the locations, pictured here, is in downtown Kankakee. Bikes are also available for rent near training camp in Bourbonnais.

Headed to Bears training camp? Where to eat, drink and play in and around Bourbonnais

August 23, 2019 at 4:32 p.m.

The “Welcome Bears Fans” banners have come out of hibernation in this Kankakee County village, where football players and thousands of their followers will turn out for training camp over...

Bicentennial bucket list: 20 essential Illinois drinks

June 29, 2018 at 2:23 p.m.

Illinois turns 200 this year, and we've got some thoughts on how to toast two centuries of statehood in the Land of Drinkin'. The latest installment of our bicentennial bucket...

9-year-old Teagan Greise and her mother, Ashley Jacobsen, approach the bottom of the Double Whirlwind tube ride during the June 21, 2018 grand opening celebration at Great Wolf Lodge Illinois in Gurnee.

Chance the Rapper leads camp kids in test run at Great Wolf Lodge, Gurnee’s newly renovated water park

May 24, 2019 at 12:24 a.m.

The two girls hesitated at the top of the bright green slide. Aubrey and Isla Knapstein, both 3½ years old, had just climbed off faux jet skis with water cannons,...

The grand lobby at the new Great Wolf Lodge on June 19, 2018, in Gurnee.

First look: Great Wolf Lodge Illinois ready to welcome guests, Chance the Rapper

June 20, 2019 at 5:34 a.m.

Goodbye, tropical Caribbean. Hello, Northwoods cabin. A sneak peek of Great Wolf Resorts' newest property shows the water park in north suburban Gurnee is a sea change from the property's...

Where to score free ice cream Thursday, the official start of summer

August 23, 2019 at 4:27 p.m.

Thursday kicks off the official start of summer, and Michigan’s tourism team is marking the occasion by handing out free ice cream on the Mag Mile. Cups of the free...

The Carbide and Carbon building, right, is an art deco skyscraper that once housed the Hard Rock Hotel and will now be home to St. Jane, another Michigan Avenue lodging.

Soon-to-open St. Jane Chicago now taking hotel reservations

August 23, 2019 at 4:23 p.m.

Michigan Avenue’s newest hotel, the soon-to-open St. Jane Chicago, is now taking reservations for stays starting July 1. Rooms are listed in the online reservation system for as low as...

Bicentennial bucket list

May 21, 2018 at 11:49 a.m.

For a good chunk of the year, being outside in Illinois is about as pleasant as running a barefoot 10K on Lego bricks. But when the weather behaves, parts of...

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