Why stop at a few courses when learning is on menu?

Charlie Trotter's plan to close his restaurant to pursue a graduate degree in philosophy is an opportunity to think about the joys of...

Officials: Auto accident led to river death

A man whose body was found in a car in the Chicago River died of drowning following an auto accident, the Cook County medical examiner's...

Kass: There's only one Lisbeth for me

The other day I bought a ticket for the Hollywood remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and I couldn't help worry.

Kass: There's only one Lisbeth for me

The other day I bought a ticket for the Hollywood remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and I couldn't help worry.

Fighting for air

For brief moments, Cassie Stanley can forget her precarious relationship with death.

• 
  Cassie's story: Waiting for new lungs

U. of I. investigating whether president's chief of staff was behind anonymous emails

University of Illinois President Michael Hogan's chief of staff resigned Friday amid an investigation into whether she sent anonymous...

20 years later, Holly Staker murder case reopens

As Juan Rivera enjoyed newfound freedom this weekend after being cleared in the murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker, Waukegan police reopened...

Ask Tom why: The high and low temperature records for Dec. 25 occurred in consecutive years, 1982 and 1983. How rare is that?

Dear Tom,

Police stopping, ticketing fewer drivers

An analysis of state data on traffic tickets found that the number of traffic stops dropped by 6 percent and the number of ticketed...

• 
  On patrol with Cook County Sheriff's police officer Tony Wasco

CHA grinds toward finish line of relocation plan

On a frigid day in December 2010, residents, onlookers, journalists and some members of the public gathered at 1230 N. Burling St. to...

Exhausted by son's fight for life, Rocky Clark's mother hopes to continue his fight for lifetime care

On the morning after her son died, Annette Clark was awakened by her ringing phone.

Days later, community still angry over Westclox blaze

– Shannon Talley turned in early on New Year's Eve, but just before midnight she was jolted from her bed by the wail of sirens....

At Lathrop Homes, CHA's talk of transformation brings worry

When Mary Thomas talks about the Julia C. Lathrop Homes, she likes to reflect back to a time when the public housing complex was filled with...

Ukrainian Village pizzeria robbery caught on brand-new surveillance system

Two men robbed a Ukrainian Village pizzeria at gunpoint early Friday, but the entire incident was recorded, thanks to a new surveillance...

Starlin Castro attorneys deny sexual assault allegations

Attorneys for Starlin Castro denied wrongdoing after a published report Friday that the Cubs shortstop has been accused of sexual assault by...

• 
  Starlin Castro in action

William O. McDermed, 1923-2012

Years before the Internet made sharing resources between libraries almost effortless, William O. McDermed helped build a cooperative...

Illinois primary ballot fills out before deadline

Surprise Iowa caucus near-winner Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich filed Friday to secure spots on Illinois' March 20 primary ballot, adding...

Rivera released after nearly 20 years in prison

Nearly 20 years after he was imprisoned, Juan Rivera walked out of Stateville Correctional Center and into a throng of jubilant family...

• 
  Photos: Rivera reunited with family

Zion-Benton teacher settlement elusive

Although no agreement had been made by Friday evening, dozens of striking teachers and staff in Zion-Benton Township High School District...

Should old fridge magnets be forgot?

In the purgative spirit of New Year's Day, I stripped the past from my refrigerator doors.

Cellini juror defiantly denies bias

In between colorful tirades aimed at William Cellini's lawyer Friday, a juror in the Springfield power broker's case acknowledged that she...

State police point finger at prints analyst

The Illinois State Police said Friday that it had reassigned a fingerprint analyst and is reviewing a number of the analyst's cases in...

Career criminal gets 54 years for 1991 murder of Chicago jeweler

A convicted robber was sentenced Friday to 54 years in prison for the 1991 home invasion and murder of a prominent Chicago jeweler that went...

Cardinal George apologizes for remarks comparing gay rights movement to KKK

Chicago's Cardinal Francis George apologized Friday for remarks aired on Christmas Day comparing the gay pride parade to the Ku Klux Klan.

Quinn optimistic about odds for Chicago casino agreement this year

Gov. Pat Quinn says he's optimistic a deal can be reached this year to bring a casino to Chicago, but negotiations are shaping up to be long...

Man questioned in officer's death arrested on unrelated weapons charge

One of four people being questioned in the slaying of Chicago police Officer Clifton Lewis was ordered held without bond Friday on an...

Obama administration unveils immigration policy tweak

Ana and Emeterio Nava found a sense of relief Friday in news that the Obama administration is preparing to make it possible for undocumented...

Ask Tom why: Have we ever experienced a December with as little snowfall as this past December?

Dear Tom,

Why fly all the way to Caribbean when you can winter in Chicago?

Maybe it's the mild winter. Maybe it's just too young to know any better. But yet another bird that should be wintering in a warmer...

Quinn wants you to walk 167 miles this year

Gov. Pat Quinn's New Year's resolution is to shed at least 15 pounds by walking, and he wants people across Illinois to get in on the act.

Emanuel says union standing in way of Monday library hours

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday sought to get a handle on the flap over imminent Monday closings of Chicago Public Library branches, saying the...

Latest Madoff property auction scheduled for Sunday

Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff won't be on hand, but dozens of items he once owned will be available for purchase at an Oak Brook hotel...

South Side pastor comes off roof to preach

The Rev. Corey Brooks believes in keeping his promises, including his vow six weeks ago to stay on the roof of a vacant Englewood motel...

• 
  Video: Pastor camps on rooftop for money

Chicagoland weather springs ahead

You know it's a weird time in Chicago when Nick Trotochaud has given up keeping snow on the ground.

• 
  Making snow for backyard fun

Questions raised about Leon Finney Jr.'s Woodlawn Organization

The Rev. Leon Finney Jr. built a name for himself in the 1960s by fighting slumlords and helping to save his Woodlawn community from...

Thinking outside the box to honor thy politicians

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, our all-powerful Rahmfather, appears ready to name a public building after Chicago's late former first lady...

Rasul 'Rocky' Clark, 1984-2012

Rasul "Rocky" Clark, who was paralyzed while playing football for Blue Island's Eisenhower High School in 2000 and later fought an...

Slain Chicago police officer laid to rest

Chicago police marched in step, their feet clicking in a solemn rhythm, as residents lined West Side curbs and dignitaries streamed into a...

Highland Park man accused of crossing state line for sex with minor

A Highland Park man accused of seeking sex with an underage Wisconsin girl he met online was awaiting trial on similar allegations in Lake...

Beleaguered DuPage Housing Authority hires new director

A lawyer with senior management experience with housing agencies in Texas, New Orleans and Hawaii was appointed Thursday as the new director...

Chicago libraries to close all day most Mondays

Chicago's branch libraries will be closed all day on most Mondays instead of being closed during the morning on most Mondays and Fridays, as...

Owner of building where firefighters died is freed on bail

A Chicago building owner was released on $50,000 bond Thursday on charges he failed to repair the abandoned structure before it collapsed...

Suburban boy fatally shot on Englewood porch

A 15-year-old boy shot dead on a front porch in the Englewood neighborhood Wednesday was visiting relatives who lived on the block.

Unanswered email reaches the boulder stage

King Sisyphus, as you may remember from your study of ancient mythology, was the poor guy who forever rolled a boulder up a hill only to...

Whooping cough facts

Whooping cough, or pertussis, infects babies, children and adults and looks a lot like the common cold at first — runny nose, sneezing...

Will County Jail sex harassment suit can proceed in federal court

A former Will County correctional officer's lawsuit claiming she was sexually harassed by male co-workers who bet on who could sleep with...

Long on decline, whooping cough makes a comeback

Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. -- many of them children -- were coming down with whooping cough each year when vaccines against...

Zion-Benton teachers on strike

Representatives of striking Zion-Benton High School District 126 teachers and staff are tentatively scheduled to resume contract talks...

Ask Tom why: How long do water molecules live?

Dear Tom,

Elmer Polzin, 1924-2012

Colorful, charismatic, compassionate and coarse.