Rick Kogan – Page 7 –

Ron Powers and his wife, Honoree Fleming, with their boys Kevin (left) and Dean in the 1980s. (Provided by Ron Powers)

Column: ‘No One Cares About Crazy People’ documentary shines a spotlight on our mental health system

April 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The film has strong Chicago connections, based on a book by former Sun-Times critic Ron Powers, with music by Jeff Tweedy and narrated by Bob Odenkirk.

Former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, from left, Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett and former Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin are among the recipients of the 2026 Order of Lincoln, to be presented on April 11 on the campus of Southern Illinois University. (Dominic Di Palermo, E. Jason Wambsgans and Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Column: Have you heard of Illinois’ highest honor for its citizens? Here are its newest members.

April 1, 2026 at 2:15 p.m.

Former Tribune critic Blair Kamin and former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White are among the 2026 recipients of the Order of Lincoln.

The baiduhai published illustrations making it look like dinosaurs had invaded the city on April 1, 1906. (baiduhai)

Column: April Fools’ Day is tomorrow, here’s some memorable hoaxes from the past

March 31, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

If the first April Fools' Day stunt is lost to history, there have been some memorable pranks over the years, my favorite involving an invented baseball pitcher with one bare...

Owners Victoria and Adam Bilter stand in what will be a library lounge room in a new Astor Club location in the over 100-year-old Blair Mansion on North Lake Shore Drive, March 23, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Column: Of mansions, mahogany and the Astor Club’s new Clubhouse

March 25, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

It will only be a matter of time until 1516 N. Lake Shore Drive, one of seven mansions that remain on a street once lined with them, becomes a clubhouse.

Author Michael Lee Nirenberg's new book is “Cinematic Immunity: An Oral History of New York Filmmaking as Told by the Crews that Got the Shot.” (Jessie Hunnicutt / Feral House)

Column: ‘Cinematic Immunity’ shows us the action behind the movie-making glitz and glitter

March 24, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Michael Lee Nirenberg takes us behind the scenes of 50-some movies in his new and enlightening book, “Cinematic Immunity."

Jan Hieggelke and Brian Hieggelke, the married publishers of Newcity magazine, in their home in Chicago's South Loop, March 9, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Column: For 40 years, Newcity has been delivering the city’s cultural scene

March 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Newcity's 40th anniversary issue is proof that this publication is a significant part of Chicago's artistic life — and a survivor.

Rupert Murdoch and then-wife Jerry Hall on May 23, 2016, in London. (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty)

Column: A four-part Rupert Murdoch family saga tells us money can’t buy you love

March 17, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Rupert Murdoch’s family is captured in an often overwhelming, frequently perplexing and ultimately depressing four-part Netflix documentary, “Dynasty: The Murdochs.”

Jerrold "Jerry" Nedwick (left) and Rhoda Katz were married on April 4, 1925. (Provided by Peter Garino of the Shakespeare Project)

Column: ‘Dear Rhoda’ is a love story in letters set in roaring 1920s Chicago

March 11, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

When was the last time you wrote a letter? Not a text. Not a tweet. But a real, ink on paper letter? It’s becoming a vanishing art. But a pack...

Co-curators Tim Blackburn, board member of Ridge Historical Society, left, and William Tyre, executive director and curator of the Glessner House, stand in the “Jack Simmerling: Through His Eyes” exhibition at the Ridge Historical Society in Beverly, March 5, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Column: Ridge Historical Society celebrates artist Jack Simmerling’s creative life

March 10, 2026 at 3:33 p.m.

“Jack Simmerling: Through His Eyes” takes up most of the ground floor space of the Ridge Historical Society, charmingly housed in a 1922 house.

A photograph of a young John Prine honing his skills on the guitar in his Old Town School student days adorns a wall at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood on Feb. 26, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Column: Return with us now to those thrilling songs of yesteryear in ‘Chicago 1971’

March 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

"Chicago 1971" is about the summer night when Kris Kristofferson, Steve Goodman and John Prine met.

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