News across Cook County

Les Jacobson: Asides
Once you’re a parent, you’re never again completely carefree. I leave my dreams as I leave my friends, with regret. I took a personality test recently. Good news: It came back negative. Best diet of all: Be so busy and engaged you forget to eat. All things considered, I’d rather…

Making hay while the sun shines
Five-year-old Noah Schroeder gathers straw to stuff a scarecrow at the Harvest Festival at Eggleston Park. The weather was perfect; hundreds came to visit the food forest, demonstration garden and pumpkin patch at the park across from the Ecology Center. More than 50 took part in…

Evanston Fire Department to host annual open house on Oct. 3
The Evanston Fire Department will host its annual open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Fire Department Headquarters, 909 Lake St. This free, family-friendly event offers a behind-the-scenes look at fire and emergency services while providing fun, education and…

Prieto Center to host service dog awareness celebration on Sept. 30
The City of Evanston is hosting a service dog awareness celebration at Prieto Community Center, 430 Asbury Ave., on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The event will start at 4 p.m. and is free. Whether you are a local business owner, a curious pet lover or just want to be a more supportive…

Rob Miller discusses independent music industry at PYGMALION Day 4
PYGMALION welcomed Chicago-based independent music publisher Rob Miller to the Rose Bowl Tavern Sunday evening to do a Q&A panel on his book, “The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low,” for the final day of the festival. “The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low” was published last…

ETHS and EPD partner to host inaugural Homecoming Hustle 5K
Evanston Township High School hosted its first Homecoming Hustle 5K walk/run Sunday morning at Lazier Field. Presented in partnership with the Evanston Police Department, the inaugural event capped a week of vibrant homecoming activities. The Homecoming Hustle was open to…

Neighbors remain unsatisfied after recent tours of waste transfer station
In an effort to increase transparency, Councilmembers Bobby Burns (5th Ward) and Krissie Harris (2nd) have hosted two tours of the WM waste transfer station at 1711 Church St. over the past month, but neighbors say they are still unsatisfied. The transfer station has operated a…

Council may reset Dog Beach ramp project again
Evanston’s City Council will meet at 6:15 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers at Morton City Hall, 909 Davis St., with an agenda that includes considering yet another reset on the long-delayed project to build an accessible entrance to the city’s Dog Beach — just as a city…

Local news readers around Chicago wary of AI, Northwestern survey finds
Many local news consumers distrust newsrooms’ use of artificial intelligence, even just to rewrite or summarize content, according to the latest local news survey conducted by Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative. A general lack of trust in AI is one of several…

‘If you have a bike, get on Ridge today’
Not a car was in sight as bikers, skateboarders, runners and walkers took over Ridge Avenue Sunday morning and early afternoon from Howard Street north to Church Street. Hundreds gathered for the 18th annual Bike the Ridge event. Rider Tadeo Carrillo was riding south on his way…

NU’s Block Museum to host screening of two Kip Hanks horror films on Oct. 1
On Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m., Northwestern University’s Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, will screen two rare horror films by Gulf Coast-based filmmaker Kip Hanks, together on screen for the first time. In 1986, then-22-year-old Hanks announced his ambitions in the…

How an Evanston audience’s reaction to ‘Sunset Boulevard’ changed movie history
Sunset Boulevard is an iconic and classic film. But the film that audiences know and love was not the film its director, Billy Wilder, planned to release. A test screening in front of an Evanston audience in January 1950 generated a surprising reaction that ultimately altered the…