Rick Kogan

Mayor Jane Byrne chats with participants in the Festival of Hope for Soviet Jewry at the Bernard Horwich Community Center in 1982. During the rally Byrne issued a proclamation declaring solidarity with Soviet dissident Anatoly Sharansky, who was petitioning to leave the Soviet Union.

‘Chicago Stories’ returns to WTTW with Jane Byrne, a Loop flood and other stories from our past

April 12, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

On the Feb. 27 morning of the Democratic mayoral primary in 1979, I was standing next to my newspaper colleague Jay McMullen in a bathroom on the fourth floor of...

Martha Minow, the new chair of the MacArthur Foundation, in Chicago on March 18, 2022.

Martha Minow is the new chair of the MacArthur Foundation — some of her first work in Chicago was as a copy clerk alongside Royko

April 7, 2022 at 9:00 a.m.

On the March morning she officially became the chair of the board of directors of the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation, Martha Minow sat on a couch in the handsomely appointed apartment...

Wayne Kusy, a self-described "toothpick folk artist" and musician, at his apartment on April 1, 2022, in Chicago. He said he has been making toothpick sculptures "all his life." His first one being a toothpick teepee and largest, to-date, is a 25-foot replica of the Queen Mary which used 814,000 toothpicks.

Millions of toothpicks later, Chicago artist Wayne Kusy continues to build marvelous creations in wood

April 5, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

A toothpick is a humble thing, ubiquitous but so commonplace as to be ignored. Not so for Wayne Kusy. For most of his 61 years, toothpicks — thousands of them,...

Jam Productions founders Jerry Mickelson (left) and Arny Granat at work in 1974.

Jam Productions turns 50: Former partners Arny Granat and Jerry Mickelson recall the gigs, twists and turns in Chicago’s rock ‘n’ roll success story

March 31, 2022 at 5:15 a.m.

Once upon a time, there were two young men named Arny and Jerry who shared a dream and a passion for rock 'n' roll, so they went about the risky...

Outside the front door of Tribune Tower.

The Acorn Theater of Michigan, one of the finest theaters in the Midwest and beloved by Chicagoans, is changing a bit but staying alive

March 8, 2022 at 5:15 a.m.

There are many great things about Three Oaks, the Michigan town of 2,000 or so folks tucked five miles inland from Lake Michigan and about 75 miles from downtown Chicago....

All Stories

‘Chicago Stories’ returns to WTTW with Jane Byrne, a Loop flood and other stories from our past

Martha Minow is the new chair of the MacArthur Foundation — some of her first work in Chicago was as a copy clerk alongside Royko

Millions of toothpicks later, Chicago artist Wayne Kusy continues to build marvelous creations in wood

Jam Productions turns 50: Former partners Arny Granat and Jerry Mickelson recall the gigs, twists and turns in Chicago’s rock ‘n’ roll success story

Another Chicago book? Yes indeed, ‘A History Lover’s Guide’ spans the city’s birth to our cemeteries.

Ken Price, the man who made history come alive at the Palmer House, has died at 82

The nights of capturing murder and mayhem are over for newsman and videographer Ken Herzlich

‘Chili Dog MVP’ takes us back to the time Dick Allen electrified Chicago and the White Sox stayed in town

Next stop, Bessie Coleman? One woman’s efforts to rename ‘L’ stops after Chicago women

The Acorn Theater of Michigan, one of the finest theaters in the Midwest and beloved by Chicagoans, is changing a bit but staying alive