A deal to have a private operator invest up to $100 million to run the Illinois International Port District, also known as the Port of Chicago, appears to be dead.

Four cops fired over an alleged cover-up. A life sentence for a former U. of I. student. A war of words between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Five casino locations are unveiled. And the Cubs are red hot.

“Cats” and “Les Miserables” have both returned to Chicago this summer, and “West Side Story” is in the throes of a renaissance. Here are some brief impressions about all three musicals as experienced in their recent incarnations.

The 151-year-old zoo will continue to offer free admission for the next 30-plus years after agreeing to an extended contract with the city.

Attorneys for the former “Empire” actor continue to proclaim their client’s innocence, and say a judge’s recent decision to allow a special prosecutor to review criminal charges against the actor is a “travesty of justice.”

Pools are a popular way to beat the heat during the summer months, but a new federal report warns of the dangers they pose to children. 

Public housing officials in Chicago were planning well-being checks on residents as the heat and humidity are expected to mount to dangerous levels.

The Chicago Police Board on Thursday fired four police officers for allegedly covering up a white officer’s 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald.

It is possible to keep your garden alive when the weather shifts from extreme rain to extreme heat? The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Eliza Fournier has some tips for combatting common problems.

This weekend is the 14th annual Pitchfork Music Festival – a homegrown stage for adventurous music from around the world, including Chicago. We visit a pair of young local artists as they prepare for their Pitchfork debut.

Earlier this month, we took you on a tour of a distillery that produces Malort, the Chicago-born liquor that inspires devotion – and disgust. This week, we pour out a hefty helping of the stuff and stick it in the fryer.

A medical sterilization plant in west suburban Willowbrook that’s been shuttered since February would reopen under a proposed court order, but not if residents who leave near the facility have their way.

A new documentary from Chicago’s Kartemquin Films revisits an extreme weather event that killed more than 700 people – most of them poor and black. We discuss “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code” with producer Fenell Doremus.

The CTA, Metra and Pace might be running a little more efficiently going forward. After a 10-year drought, Chicago’s public transit system is set to receive billions in state capital funding.

You’re not crazy. A local expert says people are seeing “substantially more flashing activity in the evening.” He tells us why there are so many of our favorite summertime bug – and why they light up.