Get the details on just some of the parties and programs honoring the country’s semiquincentennial.
Aaron Montgomery Ward is linked to stores and mail-order retail. There’s less fanfare around the tycoon’s work to preserve Grant Park.
Featured Audio
A summer afternoon is well spent wandering among Mizenburg’s wood sculptures, which his family and community members have sought to preserve and protect.
In the Loop & Say More
More News
Prosecutors say Austin and her top aide, Chester Wilson Jr., accepted home improvement materials such as sump pumps, a dehumidifier and kitchen cabinets as kickbacks from a developer overseeing a $50 million development in Austin’s ward.
An extreme heat warning remained in effect through early Friday, with temperatures expected to stay in the 90s throughout the week, according to the National Weather Service.
The new Illinois Department of Early Childhood is responsible for home visiting, early intervention and early education programs that were previously handled by three separate agencies. State officials hope putting these programs under one roof will make it easier for families to navigate their options.
Several volunteer groups, many with affected family members, have been collecting items like medical supplies, baby formula and canned goods that will first be sent to Miami.
A pandemic-era bid to support restaurants and bars will permanently become Illinois law Wednesday, one of a series of laws that takes effect July 1.
The justices relied on a long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment to make their ruling. Chicago-area immigrant advocates say they welcome the decision but worry about future attacks on immigrant rights.
Top Illinois officials said trans athletes in the state have the right to play on teams consistent with their gender identity, and nothing in Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling changes that. But the Trump administration said it would work to ensure that “every educational institution in America abides by the law of the land.”
The legislation would hike the maximum payout to $50,000 for each year spent behind bars and $25,000 per year on probation or parole, or under an order to register as a sex offender. “This will make a huge difference,” said Stephanie Kamel, director of the Illinois Innocence Project.
Chicago has more lead pipes than any other city in the country. It’s also paying more to replace each one.
The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning that will remain in effect through Wednesday evening. The risks prompted Mayor Brandon Johnson to invoke the historic 1995 heat wave, which killed more than 700 Chicago residents.
This year’s theme, “Free to Be Proud,” comes amid increasing attacks on the LGBTQ+ community across the nation — including in Illinois, which is largely considered a haven for queer people in the Midwest.
This follows a smaller drop the previous year. A new national report details the decrease, but experts warn the gains in tackling the opioid crisis may be lost amid potential federal funding cuts.
This year’s theme, “Free to Be Proud,” comes amid increasing attacks on the LGBTQ+ community in Illinois and across the nation.
After years of charming audiences with a cosmic country songbook, the singer releases his first record full of originals for hopeless romantics.
The university announced the museum’s closure in February. Laura-Caroline de Lara, the DePaul Art Museum’s director, will remain in charge of the collection’s management.
Curious City
What's That Building?
Ongoing throughout the year
Aug 29
Sept 12 - 13
Oct 22
In Case You Missed It
- Neglected Frank Lloyd Wright house on the West Side sold for $125,000
- New study finds the creative sector is Chicago’s third-largest industry
- Chicago teens testify about takeovers — ‘How can we better make adults our role models?’
- Chicago’s Music Box Theatre to debut third screen this weekend
- Hallmark Channel picks Bears for upcoming Christmas movie ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story’
- CPS says it won’t cut instructional time or Safe Passage program in upcoming budget
- Air pollution is often worse in the summer. Now, Chicago can monitor it neighborhood by neighborhood
.png, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/9a/5a/2298e79b459e870088d3ac9c584b/wbez-fy2027-events-vocalomeltdown1920x1080-website-v1-1.png, width=1921, height=1081}}], wordCount=null, _styledTemplate=null, imageAlignment=null, isFeatured=false, title=Vocalo's Summer Meltdown Feat. Adamn Killa and Taylor Bennett, url=https://www.wbez.org/event/vocalos-summer-meltdown-feat-adamn-killa-and-taylor-bennett, description=[{items=[July 11]}], type=null, anchorId=promo-a30000, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, ampLink=null, categoryUrl=null, audio=[], audioDuration=null, category=null, publishDate=July 11, 2026 07:00 PM, _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs, authors=[], timestamp=1783814400000}, {publishDate=August 21, 2026 06:30 PM, wordCount=null, _styledTemplate=null, imageAlignment=null, isFeatured=false, title=Food Aid Festival Day 1: Joe Pug, media=[{narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/fd/46/f01fe4914b54ad2e1eeffa020051/1920x1080-heroimg-black-2.png, width=1920, height=1080}, alt=1920x1080-Heroimg-black-2.png, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/fd/46/f01fe4914b54ad2e1eeffa020051/1920x1080-heroimg-black-2.png, width=1920, height=1080}, ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs}], type=null, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, ampLink=null, url=https://www.wbez.org/event/food-aid-fest-day-1-joe-pug, timestamp=1787355000000, categoryUrl=null, audio=[], description=[{items=[Aug 21]}], audioDuration=null, category=null, anchorId=promo-460000, _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs, authors=[]}, {description=[{items=[Aug 22]}], wordCount=null, _styledTemplate=null, title=Food Aid Festival Day 2: Shemekia Copeland, imageAlignment=null, isFeatured=false, anchorId=promo-7a0000, type=null, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, timestamp=1787441400000, media=[{alt=1920x1080-Heroimg-black-2.png, ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/06/be/3339499d492f8a4471aa9c0d5c0c/1920x1080-heroimg-black-2.png, width=1920, height=1080}, narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/06/be/3339499d492f8a4471aa9c0d5c0c/1920x1080-heroimg-black-2.png, width=1920, height=1080}}], url=https://www.wbez.org/event/food-aid-festival-day-2-shemekia-copeland, ampLink=null, categoryUrl=null, publishDate=August 22, 2026 06:30 PM, audio=[], audioDuration=null, category=null, _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs, authors=[]}, {wordCount=null, _styledTemplate=null, anchorId=promo-440000, imageAlignment=null, isFeatured=false, publishDate=August 29, 2026 02:30 PM, title=Thalia Hall Free For All, type=null, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, url=https://www.wbez.org/event/thalia-hall-free-for-all-august-2026, ampLink=null, categoryUrl=null, audio=[], audioDuration=null, category=null, description=[{items=[Aug 29]}], _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs, authors=[], media=[{alt=Untitled (1920 x 1080 px).png, ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/7d/d6/1caa8b7a402886fd4cf15a908265/untitled-1920-x-1080-px.png, width=1920, height=1080}, narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/7d/d6/1caa8b7a402886fd4cf15a908265/untitled-1920-x-1080-px.png, width=1920, height=1080}}], timestamp=1788031800000}, {url=https://www.wbez.org/event/wbez-presents-tent-talks-at-evanston-folk-festival, anchorId=promo-090000, wordCount=null, _styledTemplate=null, imageAlignment=null, isFeatured=false, timestamp=1789230600000, type=null, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, title=Tent Talks at Evanston Folk Festival, ampLink=null, categoryUrl=null, audio=[], audioDuration=null, category=null, media=[{ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, alt=Tent Talks 2026, narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/f8/02/9d47842c4d56bd4a49ff6d7c9eca/untitled-300-x-200-px.png, width=300, height=200}, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/f8/02/9d47842c4d56bd4a49ff6d7c9eca/untitled-300-x-200-px.png, width=300, height=200}}], _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs, authors=[], description=[{items=[Sept 12 - 13]}], publishDate=September 12, 2026 11:30 AM}, {url=https://www.wbez.org/event/chicago-story-fest-2026-villains, title=Chicago Story Fest 2026: Villains, wordCount=null, _styledTemplate=null, imageAlignment=null, description=[{items=[Sep 18]}], isFeatured=false, media=[{narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/68/5f/4567450f4da8a1063c4f3e435744/chicago-tier-1-thumbnail-no-logo.jpg, width=3865, height=2605}, ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, alt=Story fest 2026, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/68/5f/4567450f4da8a1063c4f3e435744/chicago-tier-1-thumbnail-no-logo.jpg, width=3865, height=2605}}], type=null, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, timestamp=1789779600000, publishDate=September 18, 2026 08:00 PM, ampLink=null, categoryUrl=null, audio=[], audioDuration=null, category=null, _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs, authors=[], anchorId=promo-ba0000}, {publishDate=October 22, 2026 07:30 PM, url=https://www.wbez.org/event/wbez-presents-whitney, title=WBEZ Presents: Whitney, wordCount=null, _styledTemplate=null, imageAlignment=null, isFeatured=false, description=[{items=[Oct 22]}], type=null, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, timestamp=1792715400000, media=[{alt=Whitney-UKEU-2026-Alexa Viscius (2).jpg, ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/d3/3a/64125e294a13bb4c9d2aff271c72/whitney-ukeu-2026-alexa-viscius-2.jpg, width=3000, height=2000}, narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/d3/3a/64125e294a13bb4c9d2aff271c72/whitney-ukeu-2026-alexa-viscius-2.jpg, width=3000, height=2000}}], ampLink=null, categoryUrl=null, audio=[], audioDuration=null, category=null, _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs, authors=[], anchorId=promo-300000}], showListNumbers=false, imagePositionHorizontal=null, titleColor=null, subTitle=null, ampLink=null, listHeaderPosition=null, hideDescriptions=false, title=Upcoming WBEZ Events, ctaTarget=null, suppressPagination=false, hideAuthors=true, count=8, promoButtonText=null, titleUrl=https://www.wbez.org/events-calendar, pageCount=0, backgroundColor=null, carouselAutoPlay=false, _styledTemplate=/page/list/PageListH.hbs, ctaButtonText=[], hideTitles=false, hideDates=true, titleTarget=null, anchorId=list-490001, mobileCarousel=false, carouselSpeed=null, hideCategories=true, _template=/page/list/includes/PageList-header.hbs, _parentFiles=[/page/list/includes/PageList-header.hbs]}){kind=link}