Tania León is an Afro-Cuban Latina composer who has made her mark by following the rhythm of her own beat. León’s pieces carry both her Caribbean influences and the sounds of her travels.

Brighton Park community members rallied Thursday against Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to build a “winterized base camp” for migrants on a vacant, privately owned lot in the area.

The recent shift toward e-cigarettes that can’t be refilled has created a new environmental dilemma. The devices, which contain nicotine, lithium and other metals, cannot be reused or recycled. Under federal environmental law, they also aren’t supposed to go in the trash.

The prolonged stalemate risks keeping the House intractably shut down for the foreseeable future after the unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy as speaker. 

The Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) announced the cutoff date on Thursday, making good on a spring promise to limit membership in order to keep costs in check. Activists who want the program expanded rather than curtailed said that the move was expected but nonetheless disappointing.

“Any violent act against an elected official in our city is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.

City officials have issued 150% more municipal ID cards so far in 2023 than in all of 2021 and 17% more than in all of 2022, according to city data.

Demand for donor breast milk has been growing as the country continues to recover from last year’s infant formula shortage that left many store shelves empty following a host of supply chain issues and product recalls.

The analysis by Fitch said the rating upgrade “is driven by a decline in the city’s long-term liability burden stemming from steady growth in the economic resource base and improved debt management practices.”

Attorneys for Rylan Wilder announced Thursday their client had settled with the city of Des Plaines, just as they were about to go to trial over claims that the officer’s actions were excessive and represented willful and wanton conduct.

Shedd Aquarium’s newest rockhopper penguin, hatched in June, just took its first swim with the entire colony and the results were mixed. 

Despite mechanical woes, the vehicles have developed a cult following. And this one, a 1981 model that has spent the majority of its life in a barn, only had 977 miles on the odometer — a rarity.

Louis Armstrong, with his instantly identifiable raspy tenor voice, was a formative force in the world of jazz for nearly half a century. Now, the musical “A Wonderful World” has arrived in Chicago in a show that is bound to end up on Broadway.

A musical showcase, aura portraits and a clothing swap usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

Black Theatre United is an organization aimed at creating more diversity and inclusion in theater. With the help of that group, actress Vanessa Williams is making her producorial debut for the new musical “A Wonderful World.”