Illinois is home to a vicious cycle that prevents its black residents from reaching their full potential, and too little attention is being paid to the numbers driving it.

Sara Norris

Consider us your personal Ben Kenobi: you won't find more wonderful hives of scum and villainy this side of Tatooine.

Class Dismissed explores the fast growing movement in the U.S. toward home education and learning outside of the traditional confines of a classroom. The movie follows a homeschooling family from LA who decide to take their two children out of school.

What do you give a guy who owns nine homes, made $60 million last year and wants to be governor of Illinois? I decided to give him the gift of music.

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Ebola-hawking candidates are trying for a bait and switch, but my bet's on women. Voting for someone who plays on Ebola fears while denying female workers a chance at equal pay is a fool's game -- and female voters are not fools.

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Can we really expect teachers and schools to overcome so many obstacles by preparing kids for "college and career" without addressing the inequality and poverty their students experience everyday?

With their relentless touring schedule, Rise Against show no signs of stopping and prove that like a fine wine, they are getting better with age. I spoke with singer Tim McIlrath about their history, work ethic, new album, and the responsibility a socially aware band has to their audience.

Keep an eye out, Chicago. The Windy City was the most rat-infested city in the country in 2013, according to pest-control company Orkin. The company based its rankings on the number of rat-eradication service requests it received in specific cities.

The cornerstone of every war is the dehumanization, a terrifying process with long-lasting and infinitely unfolding consequences. And the Vietnam War was the first in which the full horror of this process, stripped of all glory and pseudo-necessity, reached significant public awareness.

During the 2014 statewide elections, the eyes of most Illinoisans have been trained on the Republican and Democratic candidates for various state offices. But third-party candidates, members of the Libertarian Party, will also be included on Illinoisans' ballots Nov. 4.

Depending on fossil fuel subsidies to provide false hope of reviving coal jobs will only send more money and better opportunities down the drain.

The state as a whole does not go to sleep particularly late or early. In general, people on the East Coast tended to go to bed later, and people on the West Coast tended to go bed earlier.

The Illinois film industry is well represented during the Halloween horror movie season. As Halloween approaches, here's a look at the highest-grossing horror movies filmed in Illinois.

With so much focus on Illinois gubernatorial election Nov. 4, it can be easy to forget that Illinois is also in the midst of five other statewide races.

Saba's new mixtape, "ComfortZone," is one of the year's best. Lot of fun to have him on The Interview Show.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican candidate Bruce Rauner raised and spent a staggering amount between July 1 and Oct. 1, the latest campaign funding reports show.