Our summer series of politically inspired cocktails has come to an end but goes out with a bang as we look back at a man who encompassed just about everything wrong with Chicago politics – longtime alderman Fred Bruno Roti.

A new gang has surfaced at the Cook County Jail that even the sheriff refers to as “bizarre.” Tom Dart credits members of the gang, called Savage Life, with a hostage incident that occurred at the jail late last month.

Not that long ago, air pollution from burning coal made the Windy City more like the Smoggy City. Geoffrey Baer tells us how Chicago cleaned up its act, and shares other stories about Chicago history in this encore edition of Ask Geoffrey.

Soak up the long summer weekend with cool jazz, world beats, Polish beer and a picnic or two. We've got top picks for city and suburban events this holiday weekend.

What career path to choose, who to marry, whether to have children. A University of Chicago economist tells us how basic economic principles can help you figure out life's biggest decisions.  

For the seventh straight year, children and teens will be guided along their daily commute by Safe Passage workers – community members hired out by CPS to keep watch over students during as they walk to school in the morning and back home in the afternoon.

The saddest ballad of all is the ballad of what never was – like the ballad of Thomas Hoyne, who was elected mayor of Chicago, but never served. Belly up to the bar and get a little taste of Chicago’s spirited history.

Chicago Public School students can kick off their last week of freedom at one of several Chicago institutions. Learn more.

When most people visit a National Park Service site, they visit the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. Not many realize that there are more than 400 National Park Service sites. But that’s one thing Mikah Meyer hopes to change as he travels cross-country visiting all 412 of those sites.

Brendan Dassey, whose confession to involvement in the murder of Teresa Halbach was depicted in the wildly popular Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer,” may be released from prison by Thanksgiving. We hear from his post-trial attorney on the judge's ruling.

Cheer on Chicago athletes, shop for fall accessories, take in an outdoor movie, sip sangria on a sprawling lawn, run through mud, watch dashing dogs and more this weekend.

It has been said that the Great Depression was the best thing that ever happened to American artists. A new exhibition looks at how artists of the 1930s applied their diverse visions to the American dream during this time of immense change.

For the 54th year, the Englewood Back to School Parade celebrates education and pride on the South Side. 

Chicago native Wasalu Jaco is a Renaissance man of sorts. Most people know him as Lupe Fiasco, a sharp-tongued rapper and music producer. But next month, another side of his creativity will be on display at the Ed Paschke Art Center.

Our latest cocktail, inspired by Chicago boss William Dawson, brings north and south together with the sweet peaches of Dawson’s ancestral Georgia and the Irish whiskey of Chicago’s rough politics.

We hear from actor Kevin Bacon about helping out a group of young Chicago authors known as the Bomb Squad.