48 stories · Across Illinois

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The Disaster Relief Assistance Program allows impacted residents to apply for up to $15,000 in housing and utility reimbursements. West Siders and people over 60 will be given priority.

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The anticipated new Broadway musical “The Princess Bride” is swashbuckling its way to Chicago, with a premiere at the James M. Nederlander Theatre next July.The highly anticipated remake of William Goldman’s novel and the 1980s fantasy film by Rob Reiner promises to maintain the sword fighting and romance from the past with a fresh cast and an all-star creative team.“The Princess Bride" is aiming to be Broadway’s next must-see musical, with a book by Tony Award winner Bob Martin (“The Drowsy…

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Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and two Chicago-area restaurants made this list of the country’s best eateries. Here’s what else you need to know today.1. Google linked with artist Sanford Biggers to create a major outdoor sculpture for its Loop headquartersCalled Vector, the winding, angular piece will be composed of glazed terra cotta panels — a contrast to the glassy and rounded headquarters and its now-muted exterior colors brought about by the building’s current renovation, my colleague…

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The Trump administration denied state’s last request for help after 2025 storms.

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Ravinia Festival announced another series of renovations on Wednesday, this time to the Martin Theatre, the last original structure standing from when the 36-acre wooded park in Highland Park opened in 1904.The Martin Theatre refresh will cost an estimated $38 million. The Northbrook-based Negaunee Foundation gifted Ravinia the funds to complete the modernization project.The building will close down after English singer-songwriter Jacob Collier performs on Sept. 23, and the first phase of…

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The Cubs believe they’re still capable of winning the World Series, even during a late-season downturn that’s seen them win only four of their last 10 series.But even the doubters panicking over the team’s shaky bullpen had to be somewhat less skeptical watching the best bats in baseball bash the Braves in Wednesday night’s 8-4 win.Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, miles ahead in the MVP race, kept adding to his untouchable resume, smacking two home runs to grow his season total to 44. He…

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A pair of men were wounded in a shooting Wednesday evening in Chatham, Chicago police said.At about 7:45 p.m. in the 800 block of East 79th Street, two men were shot by another man, who had approached them before fleeing the scene on foot, according to police.A 29-year-old man was shot in the face and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition, police said.A 44-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to the same hospital in critical condition.Area…

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This might rub some Cubs fans the wrong way, but Cubs players are rooting for the White Sox — reliever Colin Rea, in particular.“I’m rooting for them because I think it would be cool to be Cubs-White Sox in the World Series,” Rea told the Sun-Times.No doubt, that would be cool. Of course, the Cubs would need to get there, too. But Rea also appreciates the way the Sox play.“They play the game hard, and they do a lot of good things,” he said. “And they’ve turned things around quickly.”Indeed, the…

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Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson racked up the air miles for a rehab assignment that never happened.For the last step in his recovery from a strained left oblique, Swanson flew to Omaha on Monday to play in Triple-A Iowa’s game Tuesday. It got rained out, and the game Wednesday appeared to be in jeopardy.Swanson returned to Chicago on Tuesday night, and the Cubs organized a simulated game for him Wednesday at Wrigley Field. He totaled six at-bats against two prospects, right-hander Gavin Hollowell…

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Para la ocupada temporada del arte en otoño, Daniel Silva quería que su nuevo espacio de exhibición y centro cultural Te-Qu estuviera abierto y listo para funcionar en La Villita.Su equipo, que incluye al muralista local Mr. Pintamuro y a Julio Anaya, de Little Village Local, planeó una gran inauguración para el 30 de julio. La celebración iba a incluir dignatarios locales, un DJ, servicio de catering y más, todo como parte de una gran reunión comunitaria.Pero un día antes del evento, el…

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An appeals court panel has upheld a decision to fire the Chicago police supervisor in charge of the botched raid in 2019 that led to social worker Anjanette Young being handcuffed naked in her home.The decision came down last week, with the appeals court affirming the Chicago Police Board’s finding that Sgt. Alex Wolinski’s inability to lead or intervene “allowed the horrible treatment of Ms. Young to occur and continue.”The board voted in June 2023 to discharge Wolinski from the police…

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Welcome to crunch time for the Cubs.With only a handful of games remaining on the regular-season schedule and a tight NL wild-card race keeping their playoff fate a mystery, where does this team stand in terms of being able to achieve its long-held, championship-level goals?It depends on who you ask.The folks in the Wrigley Field bleachers have different thoughts than the ones in the third-base dugout.Inconsistency has struck at, seemingly, the worst time for these Cubs, who still have…

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Theater Glenn Davis (left) and Namir Smallwood portray brothers Lincoln and Booth in “Topdog/Underdog.”Joel Moorman “Topdog/Underdog” is Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about brothers Lincoln and Booth, two Black men living in America and just trying to get by but sibling rivalry and resentment get in the way. Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood star; Kenny Leon directs. From Sept. 17-Nov. 1 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Tickets: $20-$129. Visit steppenwolf.org.Erik…

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With four games left in the regular season, the Sky’s focus will be on developing young players and building for the future rather than a postseason run.It’s not where this team wanted to be.Everyone expected this roster, built around legendary point guard Courtney Vandersloot, to make the playoffs.Say what you want about the decision to build a team around a 37-year-old — and the critiques will continue until the Sky are winning again — but Vandersloot does not shy away from acknowledging her…

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Minutes into his final argument to jurors Wednesday, a defense attorney for U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Luis Uribe brought up “the statement … that I know you all heard, and I know you all thought about.”He meant Uribe’s quip on the witness stand a day earlier, as Uribe defended himself at trial against claims of sexual assault. When a prosecutor asked Uribe about one alleged assault, Uribe remarked that he “got a good workout in” and insisted the encounter was consensual.It took…

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For the past couple weeks, Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill and his staff have only been able to watch their players skate and scrimmage from afar.On Thursday morning, they'll finally get hands-on for the first on-ice day of the NHL's shortened training camps, following an off-ice day Wednesday.The Hawks will race through their systems prep, new emphases and four-game preseason slate to prepare for their Sept. 29 season opener in Las Vegas, which is less than two weeks away.Here are five…

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CLEVELAND — Pictures of happier moments from the season hung up along the tunnel to the visitors’ dugout, a loud thud of someone taking out their frustration on a wall after Tuesday night’s walk-off loss, Tommy Pham accelerating his return from the injured list with a literal elevator pitch to general manager Chris Getz.The issue is not these individual actions, but the wounds in the White Sox playoff pursuits to which they’re responding, which remained on display in a 6-3 loss at Progressive…

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CLEVELAND — Will Venable said Monday that he would “be shocked” if Tommy Pham returned from his calf strain to play in this week’s series in Cleveland. As recently as postgame Tuesday, the 38-year-old veteran still needed to run the bases in front of training staff to get medical clearance to return for this weekend’s series hosting the Detroit Tigers.Then Pham ran into White Sox general manager Chris Getz in the elevator of the team hotel and stated his case. Roughly 12 hours later, he was…

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Chicago radio personality Judy Markey was never embarrassed to be real on air, whether sharing a personal story or pointing at something silly she'd done. Like the time she drove away from a gas station with the pump still in her gas tank.Sharing such tales with charm and ease was part of the magic she brought to the "Kathy and Judy Show" alongside her co-host and close friend Kathy O'Malley.The groundbreaking show became the first in Chicago radio history hosted by women in a heavily…

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Have O'Hare or Midway Airport seemed relatively shabby recently?If you think so, you're not alone.Both of Chicago's airports have again been ranked below average in JD Power's annual airport customer satisfaction survey.O'Hare tied for last place with Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey among the nation's 20 largest "mega airports."O'Hare has ranked poorly over the last few years, but this is the first time the airport has taken last place. In 2024, O'Hare ranked 18th out of 20, then rose to…