A sampling of a trio of shows conveyed a strong sense that puppets have the power to take on the most vivid existences, even as their human puppeteers project powerful profiles of their own.

Making sense of the proposals in the O’Hare design competition with the Chicago Tribune’s architecture critic Blair Kamin.

A master plan for the $6 billion Lincoln Yards development is released. The developer says it has taken community concerns to heart, but critics say the plan is being pushed too fast.

Chicago’s Department of Aviation unveiled proposals Thursday from five architectural firms competing to design O’Hare International Airport’s $8.5-billion expansion project. 

The show, which is literally breathtaking and a breathtakingly funny production by Windy City Playhouse, is a bravura exercise in extreme mental and physical comedy.

Puppets, celebrations of Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of plastic balls usher in the weekend. Here are a dozen things to do in and around Chicago.

British actor Brendan Coyle, who played Mr. Bates in “Downton Abbey,” chats about his Chicago debut in the Goodman Theatre’s production of “St. Nicholas.” 

With the third edition of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival under way, we visit with the co-directors of the festival's opening show. 

A trio of current and former Chicago police officers have been acquitted of charges that they conspired to hide details of the Laquan McDonald shooting. Watch live reaction to the verdict.

In 1971, Bruce Iglauer founded a Chicago record company that would reach a worldwide audience. We look back at 50 years of the blues.

A 19-year-old man from Elgin allegedly stole a cellphone belonging to an individual he met through an unidentified dating app. 

With current enrollment of just 20 students and a small incoming class projected, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced it will close St. Joseph College Seminary. 

They were among the first African-Americans to be accepted into the U.S. Marines Corps. Now, surviving members of the Montford Point Marines fear they could lose their veterans hall in Englewood.

With support from new Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Illinois is getting closer attention throughout the state. 

It takes an actor of formidable technique to bring this two-act, two-hour monologue to vivid, active, almost cinematic life. From the moment Brendan Coyle emerges from the shadows, the spell is cast.

Lyric Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s popular romantic tragedy features singers who not only fit their roles ideally but also know how to act.