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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Chicago. Written by Monica Eng, Justin Kaufmann and Carrie Shepherd.

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New Ryan Field faces its neighborhood test

The new stadium is set to bring 35,000 people to Central Street in Evanston on Friday.

Sports

Northwestern football returns home Friday night, unveiling its $870 million Ryan Field nearly three years after the old stadium was demolished.The big picture: The Wildcats kick off against Penn State at 7pm Friday, exactly 100 years after the original Ryan Field opened.

Bite Club: The Reuben sundae

Kith Treats is serving three Katz's-inspired desserts, including a wild Reuben soft serve.

Food and Drink

New York&#x27;s legendary Katz&#x27;s Delicatessen has landed in Chicago, but don&#x27;t expect pastrami and corned beef.

New book highlights healing power of dance and more 

New book by Chicago's Dr. Geeta Maker-Clark illuminates many paths to healing.

Health

When Chicago physician <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Geeta Maker-Clark" data-vars-click-url="https://drgeetamakerclark.com/about/" data-vars-content-id="a2308e2a-253a-4d1f-a866-650dff87df41" data-vars-headline="New book highlights healing power of dance and more " data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://drgeetamakerclark.com/about/" target="_blank">Geeta Maker-Clark</a> launched her book &quot;Medicine For All People&quot; this summer, she knew there had to be dancing — and lots of it.

Chicago neighborhood quiz, volume 2: Do you know these famous landmarks?

There are so many landmarks in Chicago that it's ripe for a second quiz!

Neighborhoods

Last week, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="I quizzed you" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/09/25/chicago-neighborhood-quiz-landmarks-lakeview-beverly-pilsen-gold-coast" data-vars-content-id="9efdac03-893d-41ff-b5ca-53b20dff4fc1" data-vars-headline="Chicago neighborhood quiz, volume 2: Do you know these famous landmarks?" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/09/25/chicago-neighborhood-quiz-landmarks-lakeview-beverly-pilsen-gold-coast" target="_self">I quizzed you</a> on Chicago neighborhood landmarks. <ul><li>I gave you the landmark; you gave me the &#x27;hood.</li></ul>

Japan's teamLab makes Midwest debut at Chicago's Smart Museum of Art

The Japanese collective's colorful digital works transform galleries at the Smart Museum of Art.

Things to Do

Japanese art collective <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="teamLab" data-vars-click-url="https://www.teamlab.art/" data-vars-content-id="b14309b3-ac5f-4fd3-bf8c-12ef56998455" data-vars-headline="Japan&#x27;s teamLab makes Midwest debut at Chicago&#x27;s Smart Museum of Art" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.teamlab.art/" target="_blank">teamLab</a> makes its Midwest debut at Chicago&#x27;s Smart Museum of Art.The (very) big picture: teamLab presents large-scale digital works that collide with color and movement and interact directly with their surroundings.

Are Halloween celebrations starting too early?

Summer just ended, but skeletons, witches and Spirit Halloween stores are already taking over Chicago.

Culture

Cobwebs, skeletons, eerily real displays of incredibly scared children staring at a terrifying witch.<ul><li>That&#x27;s right, Halloween decorations are emerging from storage!</li></ul>

Chicago neighborhood quiz: Can you identify these famous landmarks?

Can you nab a perfect score on Chicago neighborhoods?

History

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods and today we are going to challenge your knowledge of them.

New exhibition explores Chicago's rich comics culture

The Glen Ellyn show spotlights the artists and community that shaped Chicago's alternative comics scene.

A new exhibition takes <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Chicago&#x27;s rich comics history" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/05/07/alex-ross-kingdom-come-documentary-music-box" data-vars-content-id="7455d6a0-a402-4f4a-a7c4-02e1ed37e03e" data-vars-headline="New exhibition explores Chicago&#x27;s rich comics culture" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/05/07/alex-ross-kingdom-come-documentary-music-box" target="_self">Chicago&#x27;s rich comics history</a> from the page and into the gallery. The big picture: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;Linework: Chicago Comics and Community&quot;" data-vars-click-url="https://www.theccma.org/linework" data-vars-content-id="7455d6a0-a402-4f4a-a7c4-02e1ed37e03e" data-vars-headline="New exhibition explores Chicago&#x27;s rich comics culture" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.theccma.org/linework" target="_blank">&quot;Linework: Chicago Comics and Community&quot;</a> explores what makes Chicago such a creative center for contemporary comics and artists.

What Chicago's State and Monroe looked like in 1920s

It's not just a mystery of where, but when this archival photo was taken.

Our <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="History Mystery" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/07/29/1940-photo-van-buren-dearborn-chicago-streetcar-l-train-maple-leaf" data-vars-content-id="6c702494-6754-4c23-8c24-f994de22b339" data-vars-headline="What Chicago&#x27;s State and Monroe looked like in 1920s" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/07/29/1940-photo-van-buren-dearborn-chicago-streetcar-l-train-maple-leaf" target="_self">History Mystery</a> sleuths didn&#x27;t just figure out where this week&#x27;s photo was taken; they may have corrected the history books.The (big) picture: We&#x27;re looking west on Monroe Street from State Street in the heart of the Loop.

Chicago's underground film fest keeps pushing boundaries

Nearly 3,000 submissions poured in from 100 countries for the five-day experimental film fest.

Now in its 33rd year, the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Chicago Underground Film Festival " data-vars-click-url="https://cuff.org/" data-vars-content-id="a6bb0435-d1cb-4100-8d15-0a35e34600fe" data-vars-headline="Chicago&#x27;s underground film fest keeps pushing boundaries" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://cuff.org/" target="_blank">Chicago Underground Film Festival </a>(CUFF) has emerged as the premier festival, receiving nearly 3,000 submissions from 100 countries.Why it matters: Chicagoans receive five days of experimental work that rarely reaches the big screen.

How well do you know Chicago punk rock? Take our quiz

Music

Riot Fest takes over Douglass Park this weekend with headliners Tool, Twenty One Pilots, Alanis Morissette, Morrissey, Iggy Pop and Rise Against.Between the lines: The festival has carved out a different lane from Lollapalooza, staying rooted in punk and alternative rock rather than chasing the latest pop stars.

Best Day Ever: Zayd Ayers Dorhn

The playwright's ideal day includes lakefront biking, Hyde Park dining and a night at the theater.

Writer Zayd Ayers Dohrn spends a lot of time thinking about politics, free speech and his family&#x27;s radical past.<ul><li>But even serious writers need a day off.</li></ul>The latest: His new play, &quot;The Humanities,&quot; about free speech on an elite college campus and the political fights that ensue, is now on stage at <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Victory Gardens Theater." data-vars-click-url="https://victorygardens.org/" data-vars-content-id="75915d5f-a580-4ede-9412-56060e41f9b9" data-vars-headline="Best Day Ever: Zayd Ayers Dorhn" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://victorygardens.org/" target="_blank">Victory Gardens Theater.</a>

Documentary goes behind the curtain at Chicago's Joffrey Ballet

"The Next Movement" follows five choreographers racing to create new works for the Joffrey.

A documentary airing Friday on PBS goes behind the curtain of one of the world&#x27;s most prestigious dance companies — <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Chicago&#x27;s Joffrey Ballet" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/06/05/joffrey-ballet-chicago-alice-adventures-debut" data-vars-content-id="7abbba29-2dcc-468b-8a08-e040f614226f" data-vars-headline="Documentary goes behind the curtain at Chicago&#x27;s Joffrey Ballet" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/06/05/joffrey-ballet-chicago-alice-adventures-debut" target="_self">Chicago&#x27;s Joffrey Ballet</a>.The big picture: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;The Joffrey Ballet: The Next Movement&quot; " data-vars-click-url="https://kartemquin.org/news/joffrey-ballet-the-next-movement-broadcast/" data-vars-content-id="7abbba29-2dcc-468b-8a08-e040f614226f" data-vars-headline="Documentary goes behind the curtain at Chicago&#x27;s Joffrey Ballet" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://kartemquin.org/news/joffrey-ballet-the-next-movement-broadcast/" target="_blank">&quot;The Joffrey Ballet: The Next Movement&quot; </a>follows five choreographers as they create new works for 2024&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Winning Works program" data-vars-click-url="https://joffrey.org/performances-and-tickets/26-27-season/2026-winning-works/" data-vars-content-id="7abbba29-2dcc-468b-8a08-e040f614226f" data-vars-headline="Documentary goes behind the curtain at Chicago&#x27;s Joffrey Ballet" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://joffrey.org/performances-and-tickets/26-27-season/2026-winning-works/" target="_blank">Winning Works program</a>. <ul><li>That&#x27;s Joffrey&#x27;s annual program featuring emerging choreographers of color. Performances take place in the spring at the MCA.</li></ul>

Destinos celebrates Chicago Latino theater

Latino artists explore labor, identity and community a year after Operation Midway Blitz reshaped Chicago.

Immigration

Chicago&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="largest Latino theater festival" data-vars-click-url="https://clata.org/en/programs/Destinos-2026" data-vars-content-id="1182b3eb-c613-4449-a432-9225f201dfa5" data-vars-headline="Destinos celebrates Chicago Latino theater" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://clata.org/en/programs/Destinos-2026" target="_blank">largest Latino theater festival</a> returns with productions exploring federal immigration enforcement and its impact on Latino communities.