Boy found outside Wheaton apartment building to remain in custody of foster parents

A toddler would be better off with his foster family than with his mother, a Myanmar refugee who abandoned him outside a Wheaton apartment building, a DuPage County judge ruled Monday.

Once biggest cinema in Bridgeport, Ramova has been shut for 26 years

With its ornate terra cotta facade, the 1,400-seat theater once attracted thousands of moviegoers to its exquisite Spanish-courtyard-style auditorium, with cozy balconies nestled on the inside walls and a vaulted ceiling painted with a fresco of a night sky.

U.S. senator who suffered stroke last month watched Super Bowl with family, doctor says

Sen. Mark Kirk has been upgraded to good condition and was able to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday night, said Dr. Richard Fessler, who operated on Kirk after a stroke last month.

Surveys suggest productivity, attendance suffers the day after the big game

If your office appears emptier than usual Monday, there could be an explanation.

Nagging maintenance issues at the Old Post Office that straddles the southbound tracks add to problem

Thousands of commuters continue to breathe high levels of lung-damaging diesel exhaust at Chicago's Union Station, in part because of nagging maintenance problems at the Old Post Office that straddles the southbound tracks.

Dance keeps getting better as kids grow up

"When are you going to start saying that you have adult children?"

At Phillips Academy High School, only 11 percent of juniors last year met state standards. But the turnaround school, taken over by the Academy for Urban School Leadership in 2010, has seen a climate shift.

While the Academy for Urban School Leadership has 'turned around' several failing Chicago Public Schools, some critics say improved test scores don't tell the whole story

Over the last decade, a nonprofit teaching academy with strong political ties has launched an education revolution inside Chicago Public Schools, tearing down and rebuilding some of the city's worst-performing schools.

The Naperville nightclub squabble that ended with the fatal stabbing of a young teacher allegedly began when a well-regarded airport manager was ribbed for drinking his beer from a wineglass, authorities said.

City councilman says Naperville should tighten enforcement of liquor laws

A Naperville city councilman is calling for tougher enforcement of liquor laws after the weekend stabbing death of an elementary school teacher at a downtown Naperville bar.

Renowned science fiction author Gene Wolfe remembers exactly when it happened, when he knew he was a writer.

Golden retriever recovering after spleen surgery

A Montgomery family visited clinic after clinic for a year and a half to find out why their 7-year-old golden retriever, Bruce, kept gaining weight.

Officials at Monarch Hospice and Palliative Care say frozen Medicare payments could affect 45 patients

Patients of a northwest suburban hospice might have to find new end-of-life care providers as the company faces a Medicare audit that operators say could force them to shut down as early as this week.

Lawsuit raises questions about city's efforts to improve safety

A class of preschoolers crosses the street — one teacher stands in the middle of the roadway with her arms stretched out signaling cars to stop, while two other adults flank the children — as David Hirsch watches with a pained expression.

With all 177 lawmakers up for re-election in new territory, not much is expected to get done

— Delivering an overly optimistic State of the State address last week, Gov. Pat Quinn urged lawmakers to muster the "political courage" to tackle the tough issues this year.

Northwestern football hero of 1949 Rose Bowl

Frank Aschenbrenner was a key player in Northwestern University's 1949 Rose Bowl victory over the University of California.

Despite having a tough start, woman finds hard work can propel you to success

Most days, from the wee hours of the morning until late into the evening, you can find Lynika Strozier in a molecular genetics and cell biology lab at the University of Chicago, poring over a microscope, conducting experiments with cells.

'Unflappable' LaHood has been a veteran of working in Middle East, group's leader says

When Lorne Craner hired Sam LaHood to lead the Egypt office of the International Republican Institute 18 months ago, he advised LaHood that he should strive to stay in the background as the country took small steps toward democracy.

Construction projects come on the heels of plans for a music and communication building

Northwestern University plans a building boom of sorts along the lakefront on the southeast tip of its Evanston campus, including construction of a $32 million visitor center with a parking garage for 435 vehicles, a $117 million school of music and communications, and a new boathouse.

Sport has tiny toehold in their soccer-mad nation

Ivan Toledano was 1,600 miles from home and alone on the ice Saturday at the Fox Valley Ice Arena, awaiting one of hockey's greatest challenges.

State report blasts manufacturer ThyssenKrupp over treatment of African-American employee

As it prepares to make Chicago its North American headquarters, the German-based ThyssenKrupp manufacturing company is facing allegations that Chicago area supervisors created a hostile and intimidating work environment for an African-American employee.

Last weekend I met some friends in Washington, D.C., and, like any proper tourist in the capital, couldn't resist posing for a photo in front of the White House.

Condo association, conservation group joined to save a preserve

It won't overwhelm you like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. It's not as big as Yellowstone Park. In fact, it's probably not as large as a nearby forest preserve.

Navy Pier design proposals fall into 2 camps

At their best, design competitions are a lot like opening your window on a breezy spring day. They let ideas flow, freeing us from concepts that have grown stale. And so it was last Tuesday and Wednesday nights when five design teams from Chicago and around the world presented their plans for redesigning Navy Pier's public spaces to packed houses in the theater of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Irish immigrant became longtime pediatrician on South Side, Evergreen Park

Dr. Michael J. Campbell emigrated from a fishing village in Ireland to Chicago, where he graduated from high school and got his medical degree before shipping off to the South Pacific during World War II to care for the wounded and soldiers felled by tropical diseases.