Chicago Tribune Opinion

For Park Forest's 75th birthday, reduce one resident’s water bill each month by $75 and chip 75 cents off everything else the village markets or collects.

As she waits for her sister's inevitable death from cancer, columnist Donna Vickroy grapples with how you head into a new year not with optimism but with sadness and grief.

Leave to kids to offer some basic kind advice to those who are feeling down during the holiday season or about life in general.

Christmas week, 1957, included parties and dinners. The main east-west street of Pikes Peak Avenue with its movie theaters, restaurants and small shops, was awash in bright lights and Christmas decorations.

As a Chicago high school teacher, it was a challenge to get everyone committed to serious learning, until I assigned "The Outsiders."

There once was a time when a piano was a mainstay in many homes. These days, however, they've been replaced by electronic keyboards and anyone trying to sell an old family piano will have a tough time finding a buyer.

South Holland resident Nalaysha Moore works as a cashier at Petco in Homewood, where a second free Photos with Santa day was added after the one-day event proved popular.

Suburban mom Paula Dettmann’s simple wish is to be home for Christmas after a spinal infection left her hospitalized six months ago.

The Rhoyal Bistro Live's target audience are patrons ages 30 to 35 and older, who enjoy good food, R and B, blues, jazz and gospel music and the ambience of a grown folks chic establishment where they don’t have to pay for parking.

Chef Javier Reyes, a Joliet Junior College culinary instructor, not only mans the Naperville-based Butterball talk-line to address turkey prep questions, problems and emergencies, he'll be doing it live Thursday on "Good Morning, America."

Sometimes decking the tree a little early is the only way to create a bit of cheer when life problems and world issues start taking a toll.

Trish and Rick Knoll have discovered the great outdoors -- right in their back yard -- thanks to Forest Preserve District of Will County's Take It Outside Challenge.

Park Forest's veterans celebration included a mock-up of a Korean War surgical hospital, a MASH unit, and four banners in Freedom Hall honoring military medical personnel.

While you may miss the creativity and the comaraderie of being in an office, few people miss the boring meetings, the daily grind or the structured schedule that comes with it, columnist Donna Vickroy says.

Consumers expect to spend $875 on average on gifts, decorations, food and other key seasonal items, $42 more than in 2022, according to a National Retail Federation survey.

When the grandkids want to use their imaginations and have adventures, Oona and Papa forget their aching backs and sometimes unreliable muscles to join in the fun, columnist Donna Vickroy says.

It's been ingrained in us to be afraid of spiders -- and this is the time of year when that concept is reinforced in Halloween images -- but they play a big role in our ecosystem and need to be protected, not smashed.

Park Forest Oscars will include nominees walking down a proverbial red carpet with awards for outstanding student, community advocate, spoken word, stellar voice pioneer and local historian.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Daily Southtown.

After both your parents have died, you realize you are now an "orphan" and the loss of those two people -- even as you became their caretaker -- has left a huge gap in your life, columnist Donna Vickroy says.

Alfred Lacks-Carter Jr., the grandson of the late Henrietta Lacks whose cells have been used in medica research for 70 years, speak at Governors State Epic Cancer Prevention and Awareness Fair.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Daily Southtown.

A ribbon cutting Saturday will dedicate redeveloped Somonauk Park, which has new paths, a catch-and-release fishing pond, a kayak rental facility and updated play facilities including an all-abilities playground.

Lorrie Smietanski lost her beloved husband, Gary “Smitty” Smietanski, to ALS 30 years ago, and she's dedicated to raising money to help others who find themselves in the same plight and to finding a cure.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Daily Southtown.