For Briana Morales -- who was named Illinois Teacher of the Year last year -- it was poetry that helped her cope. Morales returned to Hoffman Estates High School  last week, not only as a proud 2013 alumna but as the outgoing Illinois Teacher of the Year. Morales...

Suffice it to say, Dr. Bruce Moss Moss does not like to toot his own horn, but with this being his 45th summer conducting the Wheaton Municipal Band, well, he's bursting his buttons with pride. "At the risk of sounding immodest, I can comfortably say this is really a...

Nashville native Austin Dean Shaw stars as rock 'n' roll pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet, playing now at the Metropolis Center for the Performing Arts. He nearly steals the show with his shenanigans while playing the piano in such classics as Great...

Summer solstice happens only once a year -- when the sun is at its highest position in the sky, leading to the longest day of the year -- and its abundant daylight and sense of rebirth is a time to celebrate. At least that was the premise behind the annual Summer...

Bernie's Book Bank -- which distributes free books to children throughout Chicago and Milwaukee -- reached an astounding milestone this week: The Lake Bluff-based nonprofit has distributed more than 27 million books to more than 300,000 children. Audra Meyer is one of...

On Baseball Day in Mount Prospect, when all three fields at Meadows Park featured All-Star games, the action paused mid-innings, to honor longtime coach, commissioner and legend, Vic Rose. "Baseball was his true passion," said Athletics Manager Brad Wessel. "He spent...

A team of middle school students from Buffalo Grove emerged as one of the top five teams in the You Be the Chemist Challenge and as a result earned a trip this month to Houston, where they competed in person and ultimately finished third overall. These young chemistry...

Think Storytime in the Park is all about reading children's books outside in the local parks? Think again. The venerable program includes so much more: Think music, dancing, imaginative play, and yes, reading books. Storytime returned this month as a collaboration...

Don't look now but Wheeling High School students enrolled in engineering classes are working with NASA to provide parts for lockers sent up to the International Space Station. This year's challenge was to design and manufacture the locking mechanisms for lockers being...

Rolling Meadows High School swimmer, Vera Conic, just wrapped up her sophomore year but she's not done yet. She's hard at work training for the Olympic trials, where she qualified in two events: the 100 meter and 200 meter backstroke. The trials take place June 15-23...