The Illinois Lottery is nationally recognized for its pioneering work with specialty lottery tickets dedicated to raising awareness and funding for specific worthy causes that impact local communities. Nearly twenty years since it introduced its first-in-the-nation specialty ticket, dedicated to breast cancer support and research, the Illinois Lottery is ...

Kimberly Akimbo, through 6/22 at CIBC Theatre The post Real life is right now appeared first on Chicago Reader.

In the project 60 wrd/min art critic, writer Lori Waxman explores how art writing can serve an expanded field of artistsincluding those incarcerated, trying to gain visas, working to establish themselves professionally, or just wanting feedback for a secret hobby. For this iteration, Waxman reviewed a series by School of the Art Institute graduate Divyangi ...

Iraq, But Funny, through 7/20 at Lookingglass Theatre The post Iraq, But Funny lives up to its title appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The Secret History of Chicago Music likes to throw a spotlight on music’s hardworking timekeepers. Drummers in general dont get the love that singers and guitarists do, but I didnt decide to cover Fred Below just to address that imbalancehis skills were so remarkable and diverse that hed be worth writing about even if this […] The post Fred Below helped ...

He smoked a blunt onstage during a 2017 Chaka Khan performance at Essence Fest. He was there that night in 2009 when Lupe saved Drakes life at House of Blues. He live-tweeted Amber Roses 2015 appearance at Adriannas, and he partied at East Room with streetwear star Joe Freshgoodsbefore it became Easy Does It five […] The post Larry Legend is the most ...

Universal Concepts Shipping CenterTue-Fri 10 AM-6 PM, Sat 9 AM-2 PM; 8704 S. Bennett, 773-902-7287, universalconceptsofficecenter.com   How a South Side small business is delivering trust and opportunity In the age of Amazon, Universal Concepts Office Center has become a southeast community staple for safe shipping and safekeeping. When McKeela Wilson ...

On day one, Jessica Walks First will teach her students about the Kwakwaka’wakw Salmon Boy who was taken by the Salmon People to their underwater village to learn their sacred laws, emphasizing respect, reciprocity, reincarnation, and the interconnectedness of human and natural worlds. A few lessons later, shell speak of the Lakota White Buffalo Calf ...

Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef, Curtis Duffy with Jeremy Wagner, Dead Sky Publishing, July 1 Cheffoirs always seem to follow a formula of triumph over adversity. See Grant Achatzs Life, on the Line and Rick Tramontos Scars of a Chef. This is a recipe likely born in Anthony Bourdains seminal Kitchen Confidential. But Ive read […] The post Some new and recent ...

The Moviegoer is the diary of a local film buff, collecting the best of what Chicagos independent and underground film scene has to offer. Color continues to be a theme in my moviegoing, starting this week with a Chicago Film Society presentation of Maurice Tourneurs 1915 silent film Alias Jimmy Valentine on Sunday at the […] The post Artificial ...

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, through 6/22, Joffrey Ballet at Lyric Opera House The post Another Wheeldon ballet filled with wonders appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Stages of Survival is an occasional series focusing on Chicago theater companies, highlighting their histories and how theyre survivingand even thrivingin a landscape thats become decidedly more challenging since the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown. Founded in Evanston in 1979 as Foster Community Theatre, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre (FJT) has been a home for plays ...

Summer isn’t just for street fairs and beaches (or protests and marches, which might be more urgent this season). There are still plenty of great options in comedy, dance, and theater waiting for you when you’re ready to shift gears (and some still let you get outside). Here are ten picks to store along with […] The post Best in shows appeared first ...

The persnickety part of my brain would like to remind you that its not technically summer this year in the northern hemisphere until Friday, June 20. Im being stubborn about it because the rest of my body is mourning colder weather. I know Im in the minority for loving Chicagos winters, but I expect some […] The post Arts and culture communities keep our ...

By E’mon Lauren The post a pair (two odes) appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Two weeks before Chicago Public Schools (CPS) classes finished for the summer, more than 20 preschool staff at Passages Charter School in Edgewater learned that when they said goodbye to their students, it would be for the final time. Five days later, on May 28, the school made the news public. In a town hall, […] The post Passages Charter School shutters ...

Chicago Reader Volume 54, No. 36. June 12, 2025. Summer Theater & Arts. The post Chicago Reader Volume 54, Number 36 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Diana, through 7/6, Theo at Howard Street Theater, Evanston The post Royal follies appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Black Bone, through 6/29 at Definition Theatre The post Blackademics in turmoil appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Footholds Vol. 6, through 6/21, Impostors Theatre Co. at the Den The post Breezing through appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Chicago fights ICE kidnappings Protesters, community members, and elected officials confronted federal immigration agents in the South Loop on Wednesday, June 4, to oppose the detention of at least ten immigrants.  Demonstrators and press convened on 2245 S. Michigan, the site of an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) facility for Immigration ...

For artist and arts administrator Gabriel Chalfin-Piney-Gonzlez, the desire for an anti-Zionist Jewish space didnt start in October 2023. At 13, the Hudson Valley native was kicked out of their first Hebrew school for inquiring about Israeli treatment of Palestinians. In late 2022, they felt a strong yearning for cultural connection and wondered: Where can ...

In general, maps arent allowed. Neither are annotations. Some prohibit coloring books or books with blank pages. Others ban anime or calendars or books on astrology. Several ban books that mention gender or sexuality or depict violence or nudity. These are just a few of the seemingly random mail restrictions at the prisons served by […] The post ...