Attendees gather around the drawings of five Prison+Neighborhood Arts/Education Project participants. The organization had a grand opening of its gallery and community space, Walls Turned Sideways, 2717 W. Madison St., on Jan. 27, 2024. (Blair Paddock / WTTW News)
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The West Side gallery is in line with work the Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project has been doing for over a decade: connecting teaching artists and scholars to incarcerated students through classes, workshops and lectures.

Rick Telander appears on the Jan. 29, 2024, episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander certainly waxes poetic when lamenting the fates of our oft-underperforming sports franchises. But now he’s turned his literary and wordsmith abilities to poetry in a new book called “Sweet Dreams: Poems and Paintings for the Child Abed.”

This stretch of hand-laid brick, completed as part of the once-grand U.S. Route 66 westward from Chicago to California, is preserved near the central Illinois town of Auburn. (Carol M. Highsmith)

“Route 66 was the first great American road trip,” said Amy Webb with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The trust is crowdsourcing Americans’ stories, memories and photos of the famous road that connected the Midwest to the West.

La Josie in the West Loop serves modern Mexican cuisine. (Emily Soto / WTTW News)

Chicago Restaurant Week is dishing out examples of the city’s diverse and delicious culinary scene. The 17-day celebration invites diners to get out and try new eateries, with specialized menus at more than 400 restaurants across the city.

(Courtesy of SKATE for Girls Instagram)

SKATE for Girls, or Solving Kinesthetically and Transforming Education for Girls, aims to increase young girls’ interest in STEM fields and make figure skating more accessible.

Teresa Castillo as Clorinda, Joshua Hopkins as Dandini, and Sophia Maekawa as Tisbe in “Cinderella” at the Lyric Opera House. (Michael Brosilow)

There is something about the Cinderella story that never fails to delight. And it might just be that those with a good heart and a true understanding of love will invariably triumph over those who are greedy and hungry for social superiority, writes WTTW News theater critic Hedy Weiss.

The Kiddieland Amusement Park sign at the Melrose Park Public Library, 801 N. Broadway in Melrose Park. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)

“If we didn’t take it, it would’ve gone to the scrap heap,” Gary Marine, Melrose Park’s director of public works, said of the historic Kiddieland sign that now lives in the Melrose Park Public Library parking lot.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cillian Murphy in a scene from "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures via AP)

Christopher Nolan’s three-hour opus, viewed as the best picture frontrunner, received nods for best picture; Nolan’s direction; acting nominations for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt; and multiple honors for the sweeping craft of the J. Robert Oppenheimer drama. 

The current home of the Chicago White Sox, Guaranteed Rate Field, is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)

Discussions are being held with developers and city officials on an early plan to bring a new Chicago White Sox stadium to vacant land known as The 78 south of the Loop. 

(Ryne Sandberg via Instagram)

Ryne Sandberg, a Chicago Cubs legend and Hall of Famer, announced that he is battling metastatic prostate cancer.

(WTTW News)

Snowprah Windfrey and Micicle Jordan are among the pun-heavy contenders just announced as finalists in Chicago’s second annual Name a Snowplow contest.

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Corey Perry (94) plays during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Nov. 18, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo / George Walker IV, File)

The Edmonton Oilers signed Corey Perry for the remainder of the season, adding the veteran winger early two months since the Chicago Blackhawks terminated his contract for unacceptable conduct.

The cast of “Anything Goes” from Porchlight Music Theatre, now playing through Feb. 25 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. (Liz Lauren)

Without a moment’s hesitation, the powers that be at Porchlight Music Theatre should invite a slew of heavyweight New York producers to Chicago to see its bravura production of “Anything Goes,” the classic 1934 Cole Porter musical. They just don’t make many musicals like this one anymore, WTTW News theater critic Hedy Weiss writes.

A dish at 14 Parish in Hyde Park. (WTTW News)

Chicago Restaurant Week kicks off Friday. But don’t be fooled by the annual event’s name — it’s actually a 17-day celebration of the city’s diverse and delicious culinary scene.

(Courtesy of Gretchen Schneider)

The Colorado native has signed with the Chicago Red Stars through 2028. The contract is worth $2 million on a four-year deal with a fifth-year option, according to reports.

Artist Tonika Lewis Johnson is highlighting historical injustices while working to revitalize vacant lots in Englewood. It’s part of her latest project, “unBlocked Englewood.” (WTTW News)

Artist Tonika Lewis Johnson is highlighting historical injustices while working to revitalize vacant lots in Englewood. It’s part of her latest project, “unBlocked Englewood.”