CARYN ROUSSEAU

Associated Press
Add To Watchlist

Chicago's Jane Addams Hull House to close

Hull House, the Chicago social services organization that Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams founded in 1889 to help thousands of immigrants adjust to life in America, will close this spring because of financial reasons, the charity's board chairman said Thursday.

Continue reading this entry ...

Sculpture honoring Wells to be built in Chicago

For six decades, civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells was woven into the fabric of Chicago's South Side as the namesake of a public housing project.

Continue reading this entry ...

MacArthur Foundation reveals 2011 'genius grants'

A Chicago skyscraper architect, a New York City children's choir founder and a North Carolina scientist who studies how to prevent sports-related concussions are among the latest 22 recipients of the no-strings-attached MacArthur Foundation "genius grants."

Continue reading this entry ...

Ill. teacher sues author over 'Three Cups of Tea'

Efforts to start a class-action lawsuit against "Three Cups of Tea" author Greg Mortenson in Montana now include Illinois.

Continue reading this entry ...

Winfrey finale devoted to fans, her 'safe harbor'

There were no free cars or vacations. No favorite things or makeovers. No celebrity guests on stage — though there were plenty in the audience.

Continue reading this entry ...

Finale of 'Oprah Winfrey' to air after 25-year run

Oprah Winfrey's talk show ends Wednesday with an episode featuring only the talk show queen thanking her viewers and highlighting the lessons they have learned from one another over 25 years.

Continue reading this entry ...

Stars come out to say goodbye to Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey wiped away tears as celebrity after celebrity surprised her during a farewell double-episode taping of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that will precede her finale.

Continue reading this entry ...

Questions linger about end of 'Oprah Winfrey' show

Oprah Winfrey has given the world 25 years of poets and politicians, A-list actors and musicians and talk show topics that defined and reflected American culture.

Continue reading this entry ...

Chicago's Lookingglass wins regional Tony Award

Lookingglass Theatre Company, an ensemble-based company that presents cutting-edge new plays and world premieres, was named Tuesday as this year's recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Continue reading this entry ...

Americans wake before dawn to watch royal wedding

Bleary-eyed Americans woke before dawn Friday to watch Britain's Prince William marry his longtime sweetheart, Kate Middleton, gathering before screens in living rooms and restaurants across the country to watch the spectacle of a royal wedding and the couple's first kiss as man and wife.

Continue reading this entry ...

Americans wake before dawn to watch royal wedding

Bleary-eyed Americans woke before dawn Friday to watch Britain's Prince William marry his longtime sweetheart, Kate Middleton, gathering before screens in living rooms and restaurants across the country to watch the spectacle of a royal wedding and the couple's first kiss as man and wife.

Continue reading this entry ...

US fans plan parties, teas to watch royal wedding

It's two weeks until Americans set their alarm clocks for the wee hours of the morning to watch Prince William marry Kate Middleton, and already the royal fever is heating up across the Atlantic Ocean.

Continue reading this entry ...

Jazz star Ramsey Lewis turns to composing

Renowned jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis has composed songs over the decades of his career — a special piece for a certain performance or a new melody for an album.

Continue reading this entry ...

Tim Gunn to designers, buying public: No fur!

"Project Runway" host Tim Gunn and actresses Taraji Henson and Olivia Wilde have a "no fur" message for designers showing collections at New York Fashion Week.

Continue reading this entry ...

Buzz surrounds creator of beehive hairdo

Before Marge Simpson, Amy Winehouse or Audrey Hepburn wore their hair in the famous beehive, there was Margaret Vinci Heldt and her salon on Chicago's ritzy Michigan Avenue.

Continue reading this entry ...

Restaurants uploading menus on iPads for diners

The bar is buzzing on a busy night at Chicago Cut steakhouse as regulars Keith and Peg Bragg sit at a high table scanning the wine list.

Continue reading this entry ...

Sweet success: Fannie May back after bankruptcy

A half-dozen years ago iconic chocolatier Fannie May, loved by Chicago candy devotees who passed down their affections for mint meltaways, caramels and vanilla buttercreams from generation to generation, was all but finished.

Continue reading this entry ...

Not eating, but still cooking: Ebert pens cookbook

Cancer may have robbed Roger Ebert of the ability to eat, but it won't stop him from dishing out cooking advice.

Continue reading this entry ...

2009 charitable giving falls 3.6 percent in US

Charitable giving fell by 3.6 percent last year as Americans continued to struggle with the recession, though some philanthropic experts feared the decrease could have been much worse given the economic downturn, according to an authoritative annual survey released Wednesday.

Continue reading this entry ...

Chicago chef to prepare White House state dinner

Will it be his pork with green tomatillo-avocado salsa, or the duck breast in red chile-apricot mole?

Continue reading this entry ...

Chicago rail chief defrauded agency of $475,000

An investigator says the head of Chicago's commuter rail service who committed suicide last week by stepping in front of a train had admitted to forging a signature to collect an unauthorized $56,000 bonus.

Continue reading this entry ...

Metra chief killed by train in Chicago suburb

The executive director of Chicago's Metra commuter train service was struck and killed by one of the company's trains early Friday, a week after an investigation began into claims he received an unapproved $56,000 bonus.

Continue reading this entry ...

Illinois sees job growth, but higher unemployment

The jobless rate in Illinois rose slightly to 11.5 percent in March and the state was ranked 9th nationally for its foreclosure rate in the first three months of the year, according to data released Thursday that economists say indicate the state's recovery is sluggish at best.

Continue reading this entry ...

Miniature rooms create magic at Chicago museum

Third-grader Jillian Beckman and her grandmother Sally Beckman peered through the glass, looking at the miniature rooms at The Art Institute of Chicago before deciding that their favorite tiny pieces in the intricately crafted historic spaces were the beds.

Continue reading this entry ...

CAPITAL CULTURE: Designer favored by Obama closes

The signs of Maria Pinto's rise were clear when Michelle Obama entered the world stage wearing her designs, also favored by Oprah Winfrey.

Continue reading this entry ...