Chicago art institutions are closed indefinitely, so we’re opening them — virtually. First up in our series of virtual tours: an art center dedicated to one of Chicago’s most celebrated artists, Ed Paschke.

In 1918, a deadly strain of influenza killed more people than World War I, and thousands of Chicagoans were among the dead. But it could have been much worse. Geoffrey Baer explains.

Could this year get any worse? Well yeah, it could. It once snowed in June, according to the National Weather Service.

The 1918 Spanish flu was not even close to being Chicago’s first bout with fast-spreading disease. Geoffrey Baer looks at how Chicago managed a tidal wave of diseases in its earliest years.

Missing that chatty CTA conductor from your morning commute? Have a hankering for an old fashioned mixed up by your favorite bartender? So are we. Join us as we pay tribute to the everyday folks who make Chicago great.

We’re spending a lot more time indoors. Join us as we get reacquainted with our beloved city through film. The polls are now open!

This toddlin’ town isn’t just the subject of some iconic songs, it’s also the home of artists who helped innovate and shape modern American music. We’re passionate about our faves, and we want to hear from you. Which of these acts deserves to be crowned champion?

With no hockey or basketball, delayed baseball and no March Madness, we don’t even have sports to turn to in these times of trouble. Enter the Chicago Showdown, four weeks of Chicago-themed brackets built to fuel friendly arguments – and we need your votes!

On stage at Lookingglass Theatre, a new play looks at a Chicago moment from March 1981 when Jane Byrne, the city’s first woman mayor, moved into the Cabrini-Green housing project. 

Chicagoans may never agree about sports teams or local politics, but if there’s one thing that unites the city, it’s our elevated train lines — known, of course, as the “L.” Geoffrey Baer has this preview of the highly anticipated show.

Taxidermy – the process of preserving animals – isn’t usually classified as fine art. But the Field Museum is challenging that idea by shining a light on the artist behind many of the museum’s own examples. 

Chicago was incorporated as a city March 4, 1837, the same day Martin Van Buren was inaugurated president. What else happened in 1837? Turns out, a lot.

There’s backlash from Italian American groups following a decision by the Chicago Board of Education to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day at Chicago Public Schools instead of Columbus Day. Is there a future for the holiday?

Chicago’s “L” lines are today operated by the centralized Chicago Transit Authority. But for many years, private companies actually ran and managed individual branches. Geoffrey Baer has the story of one of them.

Members of Chicago’s Native American community were surprised in the best kind of way on Wednesday when the Chicago Board of Education approved the change of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in its school calendar.

Sixty-five years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, the House has approved legislation designating lynching as a hate crime under federal law.