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. 

She launched the first advertising agency owned and managed by an African-American woman in the 1970s. Barbara Gardner Proctor died on Dec. 19, 2018 at the age of 86.

The Chicago Bears rode a dominant defense to the NFC North championship in a breakout season. They hope to keep it going with a new coordinator.

Nearly 50 short love songs, all handwritten in the tiny Leuven Songbook, were apparently lost for centuries until their fateful rediscovery in 2014. Now, some of the songs are being brought back to life in Chicago.

Field goal do-overs, an unusual subway ride, sketch comedy and bucking bulls usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

2018 was a deadly year for journalists, with more than 50 killed worldwide. We hear from the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders about threats to journalists at home and abroad.