Gerry Smith

Remember as a child, when you didn't get everything you wanted for Christmas and your mother reminded you that someone out there had it worse? Sergio Lopez could be that...

Marcus Lyons was so bitter after leaving prison in 1991 that he tried to nail himself to a wooden cross outside the DuPage County Courthouse. On Friday, two decades after...

How to conduct a successful sit-in: Step 1: Assign volunteers to occupy the plant in three eight-hour shifts. Step 2: When the protest becomes a national symbol of a painful...

The Illinois Lottery began broadcasting its annual holiday TV commercial earlier this month, featuring black and white scenes where it appears to snow -- lottery tickets. "There's possibility and magic...

The family-friendly image of suburbia is being turned on its head. Many Chicago suburbs are embracing senior-only communities because they generate property tax revenue for school districts without adding students....

Robert Burgin could use some frontier justice -- maybe a group of mustachioed cowboys on horseback packing six-shooters. He's willing to try almost anything to chase down the cattle rustlers...

Giao Nguyen has tried his best to escape Obama-mania. Since Wednesday morning, Nguyen, who voted for John McCain, has managed to avoid newspapers and TV newscasts proclaiming the painful truth:...

The Englewood house in which actress-singer Jennifer Hudson grew up became a gathering place Saturday for mourners and those drawn to celebrity. A steady stream of neighbors and fans stopped...

Here's a scavenger hunt for you: Find a John McCain sign in Oak Park. It's not easy in the near west suburb, where 89 percent of voters took a Democratic...

After the rainiest day in recorded Chicago history, residents across the area faced more storms, closed roads and flooded basements Sunday as the remnants of Hurricane Ike were expected to...