Theater performances, an African American art exhibition and an international dance congress usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

According to a statement from the Evanston Police Department, three of the four people struck were hospitalized with “serious injuries,” while a fourth was treated at the scene. Northwestern confirmed all four people are university employees.

The president’s 2 p.m. White House remarks come after he directed National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an “interagency team” to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the China balloon, as well as three other objects the U.S. now believes are most likely “benign” objects.

Robert Crimo, Jr., 58, pleaded not guilty to seven counts of felony reckless conduct during a brief hearing Thursday, one day after a Lake County grand jury indicted him on those charges.

A federal judge has denied R. Kelly’s request for a new trial, just a week before he is set to be sentenced on child pornography charges following his conviction in Chicago last year.

Mike Clevinger has reported to the Chicago White Sox for spring training, joining his new team amid an ongoing investigation by Major League Baseball into allegations of domestic violence.

In “Wake Up with Purpose: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years,” Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt tells her life story, offers spiritual guidance and shares some of the lessons she’s learned.

A winter weather advisory has been issued for 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Chicago area. Slippery pavement will be a bigger issue than snow accumulation.

The attacks from Mayor Lori Lightfoot represent a shift in her campaign strategy during the past three weeks. In late January, Lightfoot was publicly dismissive of Johnson’s chances, telling a gathering in Wrigleyville that the Chicago Teachers Union’s pick would not be mayor of Chicago.

The Bears’ major announcement about Arlington Heights. Mayoral candidates go after Brandon Johnson. Dissecting what’s in the governor’s proposed budget. And what city leaders can learn from the botched smokestack implosion.

Things got pointed at the final Chicago mayoral candidate debate. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

A recent confidential watchdog report found that Chicago officials could and should have prevented a botched smokestack implosion in Little Village, rekindling conversations about the role of industry in neighborhoods and where accountability lies when violations occur.

The only library in Back of the Yards shares a space with a local high school. Some residents have advocated for a new freestanding library, securing $15 million in state funding to build it. But a new proposal would incorporate the library into a public housing project.

Speaking before a joint session of the General Assembly, Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledged that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has been years since he last gave the ceremonial presentation from the Illinois House.

The indictment charges Robert Crimo Jr., 58, with seven counts of reckless conduct. Prosecutors have said he helped his son, Robert Crimo III, obtain a gun license years before the shooting in Highland Park, even though the then-19-year-old had threatened violence.