Rick Kogan

Born and raised and still living in Chicago, Rick Kogan has worked for the Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times and the Tribune, where he currently is a columnist. Inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003, he hosts “After Hours with Rick Kogan” on WGN radio and is the author of a dozen books, including “A Chicago Tavern.

Retired photographer Steve Lasker, 78, at his home in Lincolnwood on Nov. 21, 2008, holding a photo he took during the fire at Our Lady of Angels grade school in Chicago on Dec. 1, 1958. One of the worst tragedies in Chicago’s history, the fire took the lives of 92 children and three nuns. (Bonnie Trafelet/Chicago Tribune)

Steve Lasker, pioneering photojournalist who captured iconic Our Lady of the Angels fire image, dies at 94

May 5, 2025 at 11:32 a.m.

Steve Lasker, a Chicago photojournalist who captured an iconic image from the Our Lady of the Angels school fire, has died at 94.

Singer Shannon Ward performs at Ken’s on Western on Feb. 22, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Column: Shannon Ward is a musician who sings and plays guitar for the joy of it, out of the spotlight

May 1, 2025 at 11:31 a.m.

The longtime South Sider may play in simple, comfortable places, but she has her fans and her music makes people happy.

The Department of Transportation closed the State Street Bridge for emergency repair work on April 28, 2025. The bridge is closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Column: As State Street’s closes for repairs, an appreciation of our bridges over the Chicago River

May 2, 2025 at 11:10 a.m.

We depend on them every day. Chicago has more of them than anywhere else. Pausing to reflect on the marvel and history of our movable bridges.

New Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte greets people during a 60th anniversary celebration of the Illinois Arts Council on April 29, 2025, at the Illinois Governor’s Mansion in Springfield. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

The State of Illinois has a new Poet Laureate and fellow poets rejoice

April 29, 2025 at 7:23 p.m.

Native American poet Mark Turcotte was introduced on Tuesday by Governor JB Pritzker as our state's latest official poet.

Mark Wukas, author of the crime novel "The Kiss of Night," in his home office, April 21, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Former City News kid Mark Wukas delivers his first novel, ‘The Kiss of Night’

April 23, 2025 at 9:20 a.m.

When boxes of the book he had written arrived on his doorstep, he said, “I took a copy out of one of the boxes and thought, ‘I pulled it off....

Sally Juettner browses around at Booklegger’s Fine Books at the 39th Annual Printers Row Lit Fest, the largest free outdoor literary showcase in the Midwest, on Sept. 7, 2024, in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Chicago has long been a place for book lovers, and book sellers

April 22, 2025 at 1:22 p.m.

This coming Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day. Should you need some reasons to participate, we have a shelf full of worthy writers and titles.

Pamela Des Barres gives a reading from her memoirs, including "I'm With the Band," in Portland on Dec. 5, 2024. (John Rudoff/AP)

Column: Pamela Des Barres, proud to be the Queen of the Groupies, talks about life, love and Disneyland

April 16, 2025 at 8:00 p.m.

Her 1987 book “I’m with the Band" made her famous. She's coming to Chicago for an event at the Constellation and to lead a women's writing workshop.

After a 45-minute performance, comedian Andy Kaufman slumps in his chair offstage, drained but still “wired” from his performance at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago on Feb. 18, 1978. Kaufman opened for Bowser and Sha Na Na. (Ron Bailey/Chicago Tribune)

Column: ‘Thank You Very Much’ tries to understand comic Andy Kaufman

April 15, 2025 at 11:33 a.m.

This 90-minute documentary gathers some of Andy Kaufman's contemporaries to share memories.

Open water swimmer Greg Lane touches the propeller of the Silver Spray Shipwreck, which ran aground in 1914 at Morgan Shoal in Lake Michigan, on July 15, 2016. (Anthony Souffle/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Appreciations of both our city’s lakefront and the talented Liza Minnelli, now on WTTW

April 9, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

A look at two WTTW shows: “Touring Chicago's Lakefront” with Geoffrey Baer and “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.”

Performer Amancay Kugler in a 2021 production of the Chicago Circus & Performing Arts Festival. (Peter Serocki)

Column: As circuses change, the Chicago Circus & Performing Arts Festival keeps the magic alive

April 8, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

How long has it been since you have been to a circus? Over the last decades, what we once knew has changed.

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