<< Back to main NATO page

The Joffrey Ballet Reaps an Extraordinary Work of Dance Theater With ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Review

0 Comments
“Midsummer Night’s Dream” performed by the Joffrey Ballet ensemble. (Cheryl Mann)

It is a very good bet that you have never seen (and might never see) anything quite like Alexander Ekman’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” writes WTTW News theater critic Hedy Weiss. She calls the show a wild and crazy dream-come-to-life that is brilliantly performed.

Read More > >

/2024/04/26/joffrey-ballet-reaps-extraordinary-work-dance-theater-midsummer-night-s-dream-review
“Midsummer Night’s Dream” performed by the Joffrey Ballet ensemble. (Cheryl Mann)

Cook County Democrats Tap Commissioner to Replace Karen Yarbrough, Pick Interim Clerk

0 Comments
Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon (left) will run in the November general election to replace Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough. Chief Deputy Clerk Cedric Giles (right) will server as interim clerk through the end of December. (Provided)

Leaders of the Cook County Democratic Party selected Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon to run in the November general election to replace Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, who died April 7.

Read More > >

/2024/04/26/cook-county-democrats-tap-commissioner-replace-karen-yarbrough-pick-interim-clerk
Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon (left) will run in the November general election to replace Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough. Chief Deputy Clerk Cedric Giles (right) will server as interim clerk through the end of December. (Provided)

Former Foxtrot Employees Rally to Demand Back Pay After Abrupt Store Closures, Layoffs

0 Comments
A group of former Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen and Market employees, and supporters, rallied in front of the Foxtrot Commissary in Pilsen on April 26, 2024, to demand back pay following abrupt closures of all Foxtrot and Dom’s stores. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)

The upscale grocery retailers Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen and Market announced Tuesday they would cease operations, shuttering 35 stores across Chicago, Austin, Dallas and the D.C. area.

Read More > >

/2024/04/26/former-foxtrot-employees-rally-demand-back-pay-after-abrupt-store-closures-layoffs
A group of former Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen and Market employees, and supporters, rallied in front of the Foxtrot Commissary in Pilsen on April 26, 2024, to demand back pay following abrupt closures of all Foxtrot and Dom’s stores. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)

Doctors Seeing More Syphilis Patients With Unusual and Severe Symptoms, Study Shows

0 Comments
Syphilis is caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum. Cases have been increasing in the United States. (NIAID via CNN Newsource)

Syphilis cases are surging across the U.S. In 2022, there were more than 207,000 syphilis cases reported, the highest number since the 1950s, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read More > >

/2024/04/26/doctors-seeing-more-syphilis-patients-unusual-and-severe-symptoms-study-shows
Syphilis is caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum. Cases have been increasing in the United States. (NIAID via CNN Newsource)

Federal Appeals Court Upholds R. Kelly’s Child Pornography Convictions From Chicago Trial

0 Comments
R. Kelly appears for a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Friday, March 22, 2019 in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the R&B singer’s claim that the statute of limitations had passed and instead affirmed his convictions, stating that “(f)or years, Robert Sylvester Kelly abused underage girls.”

Read More > >

/2024/04/26/federal-appeals-court-upholds-r-kelly-s-child-pornography-convictions-chicago-trial
R. Kelly appears for a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Friday, March 22, 2019 in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)

‘Physician Magician’ Pioneers English and Spanish Shows at the Rhapsody Theater

0 Comments
(The Silverman Group)

In a series of back-to-back English and Spanish performances set for the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend, the “Physician Magician” will become “El Medico Mago” at the Rhapsody Theater in Rogers Park.

Read More > >

/2024/04/26/physician-magician-pioneers-english-and-spanish-shows-rhapsody-theater
(The Silverman Group)

Caleb Williams Goes to the Chicago Bears With the No. 1 Overall Pick in the NFL Draft

0 Comments
Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Chicago Bears with the first overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (Jeff Roberson / AP Photo)

The expectations are clear: Become the franchise quarterback the Bears have craved for years and lift the founding NFL franchise to the top of the league. Other than that, there's no pressure at all.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/caleb-williams-goes-chicago-bears-no-1-overall-pick-nfl-draft
Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Chicago Bears with the first overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (Jeff Roberson / AP Photo)

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, April 25, 2024 - Full Show

0 Comments

Advocates say huge warehouses and constant truck traffic are hurting Black and Brown communities. And the “physician magician” is here with a new trick up his sleeve.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/chicago-tonight-latino-voices-april-25-2024-full-show

Judge Approves $12.25M Settlement Over Botched Little Village Smokestack Implosion

0 Comments
A still image from a video taken of the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack, April 11, 2020. (Courtesy of Alejandro Reyes)

“At the end of the day, it’s about respect for this community — the immigrant, Mexican community of Little Village, and it’s about justice,” attorney Scott Rauscher said.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/judge-approves-1225m-settlement-over-botched-little-village-smokestack-implosion
A still image from a video taken of the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack, April 11, 2020. (Courtesy of Alejandro Reyes)

Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?

0 Comments
Mary Buchanan, 68, stands outside her home in West Garfield Park on March 21, 2024, examining the recent construction to her front lawn. She paid $12,000 to install a check valve to prevent waste water from flowing into her home the next time her neighborhood floods. Her basement was significantly damaged in July 2023 after a major storm. (Victor Hilitski / Illinois Answers Project)

Flooding is the state’s most threatening natural disaster and touches every corner in Illinois, but communities of color and poorer areas often face the greatest risk — particularly in the city of Chicago and greater Cook County. Sewer and stormwater infrastructure can often no longer handle the onslaught of water that comes from these heavy rainfalls, experts told Illinois Answers.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/flooding-illinois-most-threatening-natural-disaster-are-we-prepared
Mary Buchanan, 68, stands outside her home in West Garfield Park on March 21, 2024, examining the recent construction to her front lawn. She paid $12,000 to install a check valve to prevent waste water from flowing into her home the next time her neighborhood floods. Her basement was significantly damaged in July 2023 after a major storm. (Victor Hilitski / Illinois Answers Project)

Who’s Ready for a Wild Weekend? The Annual City Nature Challenge is Here

0 Comments
A deer grazing in LaBagh Woods, a Cook County forest preserve, spring 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Hundreds of cities around the world will take part in the friendly City Nature Challenge competition — Friday through Monday — to see who can identify the most biodiversity.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/who-s-ready-wild-weekend-annual-city-nature-challenge-here
A deer grazing in LaBagh Woods, a Cook County forest preserve, spring 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Dexter Reed Hit by 13 Bullets Fired by 4 CPD Officers During Traffic Stop, Autopsy Finds

0 Comments
Chicago police officers surround an SUV driven by Dexter Reed moments before shots are fired on March 21, 2024. (Civilian Office of Police Accountability)

All five officers who stopped Dexter Reed near the border of Humboldt Park and Garfield Park remain on paid administrative leave and have not returned to active duty after completing a mandatory 30-day stint after the shooting, as required by department rules, a department spokesperson told WTTW News.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/dexter-reed-hit-13-bullets-fired-4-cpd-officers-during-traffic-stop-autopsy-finds
Chicago police officers surround an SUV driven by Dexter Reed moments before shots are fired on March 21, 2024. (Civilian Office of Police Accountability)

Pritzker Announces New State Funding Aimed at Addressing Racial Disparities in Homelessness

0 Comments
File photo of a homeless encampment. (WTTW News)

“Our approach understands that homelessness is not an issue of personal failing, but of historical discrimination and structural barriers that have driven inequality for Black families across the nation, and of course, right here in Illinois,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/pritzker-announces-new-state-funding-aimed-addressing-racial-disparities-homelessness
File photo of a homeless encampment. (WTTW News)

The Swans of Harlem: How a Group of Pioneering Black Ballet Dancers Are Telling Their Story and Reclaiming Their Place in History

0 Comments
“The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History” (Credit: Penguin Random House)

Together they made history under the direction of Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the first Black principal ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet. 

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/swans-harlem-how-group-pioneering-black-ballet-dancers-are-telling-their-story-and
“The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History” (Credit: Penguin Random House)

Coal Byproduct, Other Pollution Sources at Waukegan and Michigan City Power Plants Face Strict Regulations Under New EPA Rules

0 Comments
The Michigan City Generating Station has been burning coal for electricity for nearly a century. (WTTW News)

Environmental advocates in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana applauded a tough new slate of Environmental Protection Agency rules for coal-fired power plants — rules that cover local generating stations that are already offline or slated to be phased out.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/coal-byproduct-other-pollution-sources-waukegan-and-michigan-city-power-plants-face
The Michigan City Generating Station has been burning coal for electricity for nearly a century. (WTTW News)

Lady Luck Smiles on New Production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ at Drury Lane Theatre: Review

0 Comments
A performance of “Guys and Dolls” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. (Brett Beiner)

Sin and salvation form an odd power couple in Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls,” a true classic of American musical theater that’s tuneful and fresh nearly 75 years after it premiered. And Drury Lane Theatre’s new staging of the beloved 1950 musical finds the funny in its sturdy old bones.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/lady-luck-smiles-new-production-guys-and-dolls-drury-lane-theatre-review
A performance of “Guys and Dolls” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. (Brett Beiner)

Much-Needed Financial Aid for CTA, Metra and Pace Should Be Tied to Merger of Transit Agencies, Civic Federation Says

0 Comments
(WTTW News)

Failing to tackle a looming $730 million budget hole for CTA, Metra and Pace could have “potentially debilitating” effects on disinvested Chicago area communities that rely on transit – but boosting funding for public transportation without drastic governance reform would be a major failure, a new report says.

Read More > >

/2024/04/25/much-needed-financial-aid-cta-metra-and-pace-should-be-tied-merger-transit-agencies-civic
(WTTW News)