Chicago’s eight “selective enrollment” public high schools are fielding some of the city’s top graduates, giving parents an attractive alternative to fleeing for the suburbs. But are these elite institutions draining the brains out of the neighborhoods? Read more
At a meeting in L.A., the screenwriter Jay Lavender wanted to pitch Vince Vaughn on a new project, but the actor had another idea. The result: The Break-Up, Lavender's first movie, made in Chicago. Read more
With Legion Records, Rudy Acosta has created a successful local hip-hop kingdom. But his plan to build a humongous castlelike mansion has riled his Independence Park neighbors and incited them into a zoning revolt. Read more
A grand piano sits in the space once occupied by the bedroom of George Halas, whose lakefront apartment, now part of a larger home, is up for sale Read more
After a DePaul student placed his eternal soul on eBay, The Closer searched the site for a few locally based items that might lift his spirits. Read more
