Lollapalooza kicked off Thursday as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend upon Grant Park for the annual four-day music festival.

From homelessness to house parties to the major leagues. From Berwyn to Hollywood. DJ Livia has a life full of experiences and had worked with an impressive list of celebrities despite being only 15 years old.

Developed by the Committee for Children, a nonprofit dedicated to the well-being of children, the podcast uses stories, music and activities to help children and adults talk about their feelings and solve problems together. And it doesn’t shy away from topics like racism, prejudice and equity.

The $739 billion package package would address health care and climate, raising taxes on high earners and large corporations and reducing federal debt. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned his colleagues in the 50-50 Senate that final passage will be hard.

The deal to make the Thompson Center Google’s new home. A rift in the Illinois Democratic party threatens the pitch to host the DNC. Will the Russians pull out of the International Space Station?  

Debate over who should chair the Democratic Party of Illinois continues as Gov. J.B. Pritzker recruits state Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez (D-Cicero) to run against current chair U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly.

The board voted 6-0 to reject the recommendation from Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez that teachers Lauren Bianchi and Charles “Chuck” Stark be terminated for violating safety rules involving protests and a trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Instead, they each got a warning and were directed to undergo training.

An art show near Ukrainian Village is a cry of protest against the ongoing war in Ukraine. Artists from Chicago and Ukraine are raising their voices in opposition to the Russian invasion. 

NASA said in February it intends to keep operating the International Space Station until the end of 2030, after which the ISS would be deorbited and crashed into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. Commercially operated space platforms would replace the ISS as a venue for collaboration and scientific research, NASA said.

Google’s announcement that it would take the Helmut Jahn-designed structure off the state of Illinois’ hands caps a years-long effort to figure out what to do with 1.2-million-square-foot building at Randolph and LaSalle streets with its distinctive red-and-blue accented steel frame.

Complaints from animal rights advocates regarding the coyote, dubbed “Rocky,” prompted the forest preserve to review its ambassador animal program. A report was released Tuesday, outlining changes to the program, including a bigger enclosure for the coyote.

A massive music festival, cultural celebrations, vintage goods and a book fair usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.

Former board member DwayneTruss called for the inspector general of the Chicago Public Schools to probe the deal that would allow the high school to be built at 24th and State streets, once home to the demolished CHA Harold L. Ickes homes. 

This Wednesday, the Lookingglass Theatre Company will honor Eugene Williams at 31st Street Beach with an artistic ritual. On July 27, 1919, 17-year old Eugene Williams was stoned to death after unintentionally swimming over to the “Whites only” section of Lake Michigan. 

The man charged with killing seven people at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade has been charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each of the seven people killed in the shooting.