Things To Do

Obama Foundation workers move to unionize

Months after former President Barack Obama's museum's opening this summer, employees at the museum foundation announced Wednesday they are unionizing.

• National Book Award finalists span continents and tackle identity, justice and war

• Three Sisters Antique Mall celebrates 30 years in Blue Island

• Review: More than hype and mirrors? Yayoi Kusama and other artists at Wrightwood 659.

• Frank Lloyd Wright draws volunteers from ‘all walks of life’ to Oak Park to help interpret his architectural legacy

Educator with ties to Moraine Valley, Dominican University, deemed state’s Academic Librarian of the Year

Troy Swanson, who works at Moraine Valley Community College and Dominican University, has been named the state's Librarian of the Year.

• Chicago’s book translators ‘inhabit’ languages in their work, which is more art than science

• Column: Back home in Chicago, singer John Prine gets the celebration we’ve been waiting for

• Orland Park, Tinley Park libraries decry book banning, want people to ‘read what they want’

• Biblioracle: Emily St. John Mandel proves herself a master of invention, yet again

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‘Flying off the shelf’: Sports apparel stores scramble to keep up with demand for White Sox merchandise

With the team headed to the AL Division Series this weekend, stores across Chicago are experiencing an unprecedented demand for Sox swag.

• Orland Park teen uses pageant win to promote fitness as a tool for mental health

• Taylor Swift becomes most-awarded artist in MTV VMAs history, dedicates top prize to Dolly Parton

• Answer Angel: No-melt lipstick?

• Presley Gerber, son of Cindy Crawford and model, dies at 27

Plant bulbs now for spring bloom

There’s no more satisfying way to spend a crisp fall day than planting bulbs for spring bloom.

• Rabbits nibbling your garden? Here’s what to do.

• Blue Island group harvests hope year-round for those facing food insecurity

• Stay alert for the first freeze

• Modify your lawn to discourage moss growth

Review: Palme d’Or winner ‘Fjord’ is a thorny and complicated drama

"Fjord" is inspired by a real case in Norway, with a Romanian family at its center, caught in a custody battle predicated on child abuse allegations brought by a powerful child protection agency.

• Review: ‘The Social Reckoning’ lacks nuance but delivers a meaningful message

• Eva Marie Saint, star of ‘North by Northwest’ and ‘On the Waterfront,’ dies at 102

• Paramount completes its takeover of Warner Bros to become one Hollywood giant known as Skydance

• 2026 Chicago International Film Fest makes the connection between moviegoing and owning the DVD

A quartet of new music festivals take root in Chicago this month

Summer is over, but music festival season very much isn’t. Cue the Red Line Jazz Fest, an AACM festival and others.

• Grammy-nominated R&B singer Freddie Jackson, known for ’80s hits like ‘You Are My Lady,’ dies at 70

• City Voices to put poetry of Walt Whitman and Sara Teasdale to song in Oak Park

• Former ‘American Idol’ singer Caleb Flynn is sentenced to life in prison for wife’s murder

• Singer Lalah Hathaway combines melancholy and nostalgia in ‘Made in Chicago’

Review: ‘Dead Girl’s Quinceañera’ at Goodman Theatre turns an apparent abduction into a teenage caper

Phanésia Pharel's new play has a lively cast of adults playing teenagers, and is not a play that lacks guts.

• Chicago Theater Report: John C. Reilly is back in Chicago, Baby heads to Broadway and how to get into the Uptown Theatre

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• Review: M.A.D.D. Rhythms hoofers from past and present shine, despite technical challenges

• Review: ‘What the Constitution Means to Me,’ staged in an American Legion post, is a play that always feels timely

• Review: ‘Operation Mincemeat’ at CIBC Theatre spins a true wartime story into a nutty musical

What Paramount’s Warner Bros. takeover means for streaming, movies and news

What the Skydance deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will mean for streaming, movies, news and more.

• Emmy Awards to move to Prime Video in 2027 in 6-year deal between Amazon and the Television Academy

• Robert Kelker-Kelly, star of ‘Days of Our Lives’ and ‘General Hospital,’ dies at 62

• Karoline Leavitt set to join Fox News as on-air contributor

• CBS Sports announces Tony Romo’s permanent exit and describes it as a mutual parting

Just a few days left to enter the 40th annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest

Time is running out — be sure to submit your recipes by Friday.

• Food icon: Rose Barraco-George of Vito and Nick’s pizzeria, aka Nick and Vito’s, in Chicago

• 10 pop-up events to eat and drink at in Chicago this October, from Apple Fest to a chili cook-off

• McDonald’s sued over AI tool that recommends prices to US franchisees

• Apple Fest was too crowded for attendees. Business owners say that was the point.

Easy homemade lasagna

This is my spin on a traditional Italian lasagna (lasagna Bolognese, if you will).

• This pumpkin sheet cake feeds a crowd with little fuss

• Crispy potatoes, the perfect breakfast side dish

• Give cauliflower soup a glow-up

• When the temps dip it’s time for a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup

The quiet allure of private rail

Private rail cars traveled 429,000 miles on Amtrak in fiscal year 2025, according to the American Association of Private Rail Car Owners, accounting for $2.5 million of Amtrak’s $3.9 billion in revenue last year — hardly a significant line in...

• Chicago-based Hotel Chocolat going nationwide with airport concessions, grocery stores and new retail markets

• Chicago hotel workers vote to strike

• O’Hare, Midway again ranked below average in customer satisfaction survey

• Today in History: Lascaux cave paintings discovered

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Marathon conditions becoming less ideal as climate change warms race days, including Sunday

An analysis by nonprofit Climate Central last year found that 190 of 221 global races will see a decline in odds for optimal weather conditions by 2045.

• NHL’s hockey romance-themed audiobooks disappear online after opening week of the season

• Open House 2026: Our 12 don’t-miss spots this year

• Column: Hitting the pavement and grabbing some memories with these Chicago Marathon men

• Oprah Winfrey taps a ‘riveting’ debut novel for her book club

Column: Meet the writer who wrote the book on (and with) Maria Pappas

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recently released her memoir, "Maria the Pappas," co-written with the Chicago writer and poet Mark Eleveld.

• ‘Our lofty perch’: Balloonist shares decades in spellbinding hobby

• On cusp of merger, ‘Digger’ bombs for Warner Bros., ‘Verity’ takes No. 1 at box office

• Orland Hills entertainer offers insight into history of everyday sayings

• Today in History: Janis Joplin dies