Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking filmmaker, playwright and musician whose work ushered in the “blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s and influenced filmmakers long after, has died. He was 89. 

Proposals to list the properties on the National Register of Historic Places cleared a key committee hearing Wednesday and will come before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in October. 

The author of the best-selling “The House on Mango Street” is back with her first work of fiction in almost a decade, a story of memory and friendship, but also about the experiences young women endure as immigrants worldwide.

“I know people are upset but you can’t tell me there’s not bad activity there after dark,” Mike Kelly, CEO of the Chicago Park District, said in defense of gates the agency installed that are now at the center of another controversy brewing at Jackson Park.

In 2009, Adlai Stevenson III spoke with Carol Marin on “Chicago Tonight.” Even though he was a self-proclaimed “reformer,” he still found virtues in the old party machinery. Stevenson died Monday at the age of 90.

Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in suburban Darien is roughly 30 miles and a world away from downtown Chicago, but this is where a section of the city’s prized lakefront once rested. 

Slain activist Fred Hampton would have turned 73 years old last month, and though he was killed more than 50 years ago, his memory and legacy still loom large. Now Hampton’s son is seeking a landmark designation for the only surviving building with ties to Hampton’s activism.

A new outdoor exhibition in Gage Park tells the neighborhood’s history from the perspective of its residents. It’s part of a new program from the Gage Park Latinx Council that invites young people to reclaim their community’s narrative. We go for a look — and a local history lesson.

Nearly 30 years after “Candyman” was released, people are still daring one another to say the title character’s name in the mirror to summon this hook-wielding ghost. Some urban legends don’t die, they’re just reborn.

Six years ago President Barack Obama named the Pullman neighborhood a national monument. On Labor Day weekend, a new visitor center in the century-old clock tower will finally open. Geoffrey Baer visited Pullman to get an exclusive first look.

Jerry Harkness was inspired by Jackie Robinson to take up the game of basketball. He ended up becoming a civil rights trailblazer in his own right.

As Chicago inches toward the replacement of its lead service lines, officials need help identifying where those pipes are. Here’s a simple way to determine whether you’ve got lead, steel or copper lines running into your home.

Nearly 700,000 Chicago residents claim Mexican heritage, and over the years, Mexican culture has become woven into the city’s tapestry. A new business in Little Village explores the space where the Midwest meets Mexico by combining haircuts with deep cuts.

Older artists are getting a second chance at stardom through the efforts of a local record label tucked away in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. We explore the musical world of Numero Group.

A proposed two-story triangular DraftKings Sportsbook addition to Wrigley Field still requires a heavy lift from City Council, but the Commission on Chicago Landmarks won’t stand in the way of Cubs ownership.

If you thought your last move was a hassle, CTA has got you beat: The agency just relocated an entire building.