In many ways, modern American life is set up for convenience and speed – and that can generate a lot of garbage. What you can do at home to reduce your waste output.

“Chicago, The Musical” holds the record as the longest-running American musical in Broadway history – and it’s a keeper. “August Rush: The Musical” is a New York-bred “tryout” production, and it just doesn’t work.

AB Specialty Silicones general manager Mac Penman on Thursday identified the final employee who died in the May 3 blast as 24-year-old Daniel Nicklas of Beach Park. 

Three cast members from Lyric Opera’s “West Side Story” join us in conversation and performance. 

When walking through Chicago’s older neighborhoods, you can often find hints about the history of the buildings just by looking up. Geoffrey Baer looks back – and up – at some architectural gems.

A South Side native watches her long-forgotten home movies for the first time in 35 years. What was on them – and how the viewing was made possible.

A native plant sale, nerdy comedy, a craft fair and a house walk usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

A proposed new development just west of Soldier Field is seeking major state subsidies. Meet the developer and the local alderman – and hear about the plans for One Central.

How safe is America from terror attacks and other threats? Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano talks about whether the U.S. has gotten safer since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Officials identified two more victims of a deadly northern Illinois explosion as crews continued searching for a fourth worker whose body hasn’t been recovered.

Greg Wade of Publican Quality Bread won Outstanding Baker, while Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark of Parachute won Best Chef Great Lakes at the 2019 James Beard Awards. 

Cellphone video recorded by Illinois motorist Sandra Bland, a black woman found dead in a Texas jail in 2015 following a confrontational traffic stop, shows for the first time her perspective.

Chicago is rolling out an electric scooter pilot program this summer, but a recent government study of the shared scooter system in Austin, Texas, underscores the importance of riders wearing helmets. 

Chicago’s connections to the meat processing industry are well known, but the beef industry didn’t just spur the city’s development. In a new book, historian Joshua Specht says the beef industry helped shape modern America itself.

Young Chicagoans have joined the fair trade movement – and they want you to get on board, too.

This electrifying revival demonstrates how, without straining to “modernize” or rework the 1957 Broadway musical – but by maintaining total respect for its vintage truth and beauty – its enduring power can be fully released.