Watching the World Cup soccer so far, not just our outstanding USA team, but all the games and all the teams, the refrain from Neil Diamond’s famous song “Sweet Caroline” comes to mind.
Taste of Chicago is ready to take off, and with it, of course, comes all the fun, frolic, and maybe even a little aggravation thrown in just for good measure.
Dear Candid Candace: Every time I mention that I live in Chicago, someone feels compelled to warn me about crime, politics, taxes, or some scary headline they saw on social media. Most of these people don't even live here. Yes, Chicago has challenges, but it also has world-class restaurants,…
Pixar's "Toy Story 5" delivers another charming adventure with the beloved gang, even if this installment feels a bit different from its predecessors. While I thoroughly enjoyed it, my husband Chuck wasn't quite as enchanted, proving that your mileage may vary depending on how much whimsy yo…
This is going to sound weird.
I guess it’s time to say goodbye,
I must admit I'm not as well-versed in the world of dance as I'd like to be, but I know excellence when I see it, and the June 4 opening night of The Joffrey Ballet's "Eugene Onegin" had it in spades.
Dear Candid Candace—I wanted your thoughts, as we are now parents of young children starting to go to their friends’ birthday parties. They have been invited to pirate-themed parties, magic shows, treasure hunts, princess parties, face painting parties, and even spa parties and laser tag par…
Let’s pretend for a few paragraphs here that we could match up some of Chicago’s finest and most famous in a boxing match, or maybe better yet, a no-holds-barred Ultimate Fighting kind of contest.
Editor’s Note: This article was reprinted with permission from the Journal & Topics Newspapers.
The Chicago Sky women’s basketball team is off and running with a bit of a mixed bag to start the season.
It is getting near time for our beloved Chicagoans to break out their T-shirts from the old dresser drawer where they have been hiding for the past five months.
Dear Candid Candace: A little neighborly problem for you. Our next door neighbor has just purchased a dog.... a pit bull! The dad, in particular, is training it very well and so far the dog is very well behaved with no issues. But still it is a pit bull, and I have read some truly awful sto…
With all due respect to the individual selective tastes of one’s own view on what is funny and what is not, let me be bold enough here to stake a claim to what I believe to be the best comedy on TV right now: Apple TV’s hit show “Shrinking.”
In our third installment of the soon-to-be, but not yet award-winning segment of “Dad vs. David,” we take up the great(?) game of golf.
Dear Candid Candace: I ran into this somewhat sticky situation a few weeks ago. While shopping in a drugstore, I saw somebody take some products off the shelves and put them in their backpack. While I couldn't be completely positive, it sure looked like a clear case of shoplifting. I looked …
Underrated, unsung, undervalued, below the radar, overlooked, hidden gem, unnoticed, underappreciated—those are just a few of the adjectives that could be attached to the Juvenile Protective Association (JPA), which may be Chicago’s longest-standing and one of its most effective charitable o…
Mayor Brandon Johnson, I know it is a tough job, and you are, for sure, doing your best.
Wow. What a finish in this year’s Kentucky Derby!
In honor of the recently completed NFL draft, I thought I would take a look at some our more prominent politicians and cabinet holders and see what the NFL scouts would say about their “prospects.”
Dear Ask Candid Candace: My mom says she “doesn’t want anything,” but I still want to make the day special without the usual flowers-and-brunch routine. Help! Signed- Trying Hard to Please
Many people of all ages use walking as their primary source of exercise. “I take a long walk every day,” they proudly proclaim, and certainly they should be proud of their efforts.
Dear Candid Candace: My friend group has started going out without me and I only find out from Instagram posts the next day. No one has said anything directly, but it feels intentional. Do I confront them or just take the hint? Signed: Feeling Left Out
Not sure why… but as our website’s highly unofficial sports expert, I decided to partake in a quick word-association exercise in regard to many of our favorite sports.
Struggling to stay awake in the pews? Maybe church hopping is for you. This month, I gently, and quite delicately, delve into the topic of religion and I will go so far as to suggest attending a variety of churches (socially distanced of course) to hear different sermons, rather than going t…
Sometimes big sporting events don’t live up to the hype. Sometimes the build-up is greater than the reality.
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As the seasons begin to change in the Windy City, Chicagoans everywhere can rejoice at the return of lakefront season. For as long as the weather holds, there may be nothing more defining of the Chicago summer experience than time spent along Lake Michigan. Whether you're a walker, runner, r…
Dear Candid Candace: I’ve been invited to a lot of charity events lately, and while I love supporting great causes, the ticket prices, auctions and “must-have” donations are adding up fast. How do I stay generous and involved without feeling financially stretched, or worse, guilty for saying…
OK, confession right off the bat, I kind of cheated on the headline—a little sneaky attention-getting strategy, so, sorry for that.
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On the surface, living in an era of endless streaming services, podcasts, audiobooks, news apps, and the entire history of music at our fingertips, it may seem like we are living in the golden age of entertainment.
Those who have read my particular musings over the years on the Chicago Star’s website might know that I am not afraid to tackle topics of the seemingly most inane and inconsequential.
Here it is. After a not-so-careful analysis and a scientific polling of just one (me!), I have the pleasure to report, right here on our very own Chicago Star website, the unquestionable, inarguable 15 most classic songs of all time.
In the current landscape of college basketball, talented players who stay at one school for all four years have become a rarity.
On Sunday, March 15, the brackets will be announced, and soon after that, the fun begins. One of the best sporting events this country has to offer is about to commence.
Ask Candid Candace receives a lot of questions I can't answer so I turned to some pros I know for help. I'm a big fan of tips from the experts. Lord knows I need all the help I can get. I'm not good at housecleaning, cooking, flower arranging and a myriad of other things so I thought well, m…
I am not much for predicting the future, and the only crystal ball I ever really looked into was a girl named Crystal Ball who lived in the female dorm next to ours and caught my particular fancy (stalking was not a term back then, thank goodness) freshman year in college.
For many, palliative care and end-of-life issues are far from the common worries and thoughts of the day-to-day trials and travails of one’s life.
Across Chicago, experienced professionals are reimagining their futures in meaningful ways. Accelerated nursing pathways are emerging as a practical, community-driven response to both personal ambition and public need.
Dear Candid Candace: Quick question on elevator etiquette—and I realize this is not exactly a critically important topic but would still be interested in your take. I live in a large condo building (and of course this could be true in an office or public building as well) and often ride the …
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Winter style in Chicago often calls for functionality over fashion. As wind gusts hit 40 mph and ice freezes over Lake Michigan, there’s nothing that seems more appealing than bundling up in a mountain of warmth, no matter how frumpy the look may be. But in a city as vibrant as Chicago, wher…
Dear Candid Candace: With spring gala season kicking off in Chicago, my social calendar is filling up… except for one major event I’ve attended for years. I just saw photos from the kickoff party on Instagram and realized I’m not on this year’s invite list. I support the cause, I know the bo…
Someone once said it seemed like some of these Winter Olympic events started out as just a bad dare. They have a point.
Depending on how you look at it, the 2026 NBA trade deadline for the Chicago Bulls marked either the start of an exciting new era or the end of an exceptionally stagnant one.
Paul Kendrick is passionate about nailing the basics in Chicago. He’ll even bring you cheesecake to talk about it!
Those in the fairly close-knit community of figure skating have known about him for years, but for most of us—here in the United States and around the world—we are just discovering him.
Dear Candid Candace: Little bit of a touchy subject here, but I want your advice. We are good friends with our neighbors and have been for the past decade or so. They have no kids but the wife does travel for work often during the week. This past year, while she has been on business trips, I…
The headline on this story was going to be “Rush University Medical Center continues to do great work.”
The 7th Congressional District deserves a leader who not only understands the challenges our families face but who has a proven record of turning compassion into action. That leader, in my opinion, is attorney Richard Boykin.
In our second installment of the soon (?) to-beaward-winning edition of Dad vs. David here at the Chicago Star, we take on the granddaddy of all sports events—the Super Bowl.
They are almost upon us—the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, brought to you live from Milan Cortina, Italy, a two-week festival of the best of the best that our winter sports have to offer.
