Rick Kogan – Page 35 –

Author Frank Sennett sits at the bar at one of his hangouts, Club Lago, in Chicago, on Feb. 9, 2023.

What it took for Frank Sennett to write his new novel, the political thriller ‘Shadow State’

February 22, 2023 at 5:15 a.m.

Taking a luncheon break from what has been a life of considerable movement and accomplishments, Frank Sennett plunked himself into a booth at Club Lago, that pleasantly old-fashioned bar and...

Harry Caray, right, with Jack Brickhouse. Brickhouse was the TV voice of the Cubs from 1948 through the strike-shortened 1981 season, 34 seasons of mostly subpar baseball, though Brickhouse rarely despaired and never lost faith. Caray was famous for following Brickhouse's lead and broadcasted for the Chicago Cubs from 1982-1997.

There’s one election where the candidate is a sure thing and his name is Harry Caray, our beloved mayor of Rush Street

February 15, 2023 at 1:45 p.m.

On a late April night in 1987, I signed my name to a 7-foot-by-5-foot wonder that was hanging in Ultimate Sports Bar & Grill, a noisy joint at the corner...

Guitarist Andy Brown plays alongside vocalist Petra Van Nuis (not pictured) as the jazz couple performs at Hemmingway's Bistro in Oak Park on Feb. 1, 2023.

Andy Brown and Petra van Nuis have been making music together for a long, loving time

February 14, 2023 at 5:15 a.m.

Love is tough, no matter what Valentine's Day dinner deals, overpriced gifts and flowers have been telling you over recent days. As that legendary philosopher Mike Royko once put it,...

"Soapy" Smith's Roulette Table and Wheel, George Mason & Co., circa 1890. Full-size roulette layout, table and wheel owned and used by notorious con man "Soapy" Smith. From Potter & Potter Auctions' Ricky Jay collection sale.

With some of his collection on auction, remembering the amazing Ricky Jay and the magic he made

February 9, 2023 at 5:15 a.m.

Even in death, Ricky Jay continues to amaze. The actor, author, scholar and fabled magician who died in 2018 was a popular visitor on local stages and an energetic collector...

Photographer Suzanne Seed takes pictures from a window of her 75th floor apartment on Jan. 31, 2023.

Feeling trapped in her high-rise after her husband’s death, she returned to photography by looking out the window

February 2, 2023 at 5:15 a.m.

Suzanne Seed is moving, downsizing it is called, as she transfers from one large apartment to a smaller one on the same floor of the downtown high rise in which...

Publisher Haki Madhubuti, left, and the author Patrick T. Reardon at Third World Press Foundation in Chicago on Jan. 26, 2023. Reardon has written a new book titled "Puddin': The Autobiography of a Baby — A Memoir in Prose Poems," published by Madhubuti and his Third World Press.

A former Tribune writer’s new book ‘Puddin” is told by a baby, but was inspired by a brother’s suicide

February 1, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

During the more than 30 years that Patrick Reardon worked at the Tribune, he wrote thousands of stories about politics, crime, transportation, neighborhoods, people, and all the other joys and...

What is the Great American Novel? Here’s a local writer’s pitch for ‘Gatsby’

January 25, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Read any good books lately? Any great books? Any books that you might consider for the title Great American Novel? It's a frequent game in the book world, this Great...

Lou Manfredini and Lin Brehmer at the Chicago Auto Show's First Look For Charity at McCormick Place on Feb. 9, 2018.

Chicago radio’s Lin Brehmer, a longtime WXRT DJ, has died at 68

January 23, 2023 at 7:04 a.m.

Sunday morning came with snow, and with sorrow, in the form of the news of the death of Lin Brehmer, the hugely popular, buoyant and beloved host on Chicago radio's...

An image from the Allan Lee Koss book "Fares: Chicago Taxicab Portraits."

Have camera, will travel: A Chicago taxi driver took pictures of his passengers for years. His new book is titled ‘Fares’

January 18, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

The Checker taxi garage was a massive place, just to the north of North Avenue and stretching from Wells Street west to North Park Avenue. It was a wild and...

Muyra Su and Sarah Fornace in Manual Cinema's production of "Frankenstein." Part of the 2023 edition of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.

Puppets are back in town for the largest puppet fest in the country, in all their creative and colorful glory

January 17, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Lying next to a giant Frankenstein monster's head one night in 1996, under the stage at Steppenwolf Theatre, I was told by a man named Blair Thomas, "We are aware...

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