Purple Pig executive chef Effy Medrano is a native of Toluca, Mexico. But when he moved to Chicago and began working as a teenager at Spiaggia, it set him on a path to cooking Mediterranean cuisine.

Higher education in crisis after four minority-serving Illinois universities face faculty strikes. The influence of the American Library Association. And housing residents returning from prison.

The ballet, now receiving its Chicago premiere in a grand-scale production by the Joffrey Ballet on the Lyric Opera House stage, is a strange but compelling work inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s enduring classic and features impeccible dancing. 

A photo exhibit, rum festival and cherry blossoms usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

From Stevie Wonder and high-fashion models to everyday people, photographer Kwame Brathwaite documented Black culture across the globe. “He’s essentially synonymous with the Black is Beautiful movement,” said Grace Deveney of the Art Institute of Chicago.

A new exhibition of his photographs at the Wrightwood 659 gallery in Lincoln Park is an evocative look at gay Black men in Chicago during a pivotal decade — and a window into a community that’s often been overlooked and stereotyped.

The Black unemployment rate hits a new low. What the diversity of working journalists means for news coverage. And the Chicago Public Library partnering with a local barber.

Public libraries can be a safe haven for those struggling with homelessness. That’s the story of a local barber who benefited from the library’s resources to turn his life around. From living in the streets to becoming a licensed barber, Samuel Brown is now on a mission to pay it forward.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved preliminary landmark status for the Warehouse, a “magical place” where DJ Frankie Knuckles is credited with creating House music.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted unanimously Thursday to grant preliminary landmark status to a pair of early 20th century skyscrapers slated for demolition by the federal government.

Art exhibits, a boxing tournament and Earth Month festivities usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in Chicago.

Free concerts, theater and dance performances, and workouts are also part of the slate of summer events in Millennium Park announced Thursday by city officials.

Toews helped Chicago put together the best stretch in franchise history, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

A new policy gives Park District commissioners final say over permits for so-called “mega festivals.” It received its first test Wednesday.

“The Cherry Orchard,” Anton Chekhov’s masterful play, is about change — social, historical, financial and emotional. And change is of the essence at the Goodman Theatre too, with this production marking the retirement of artistic director Robert Falls.

Leaders of both museums cited inflation and the higher cost of wages and benefits among the reasons for raising admission fees.