Though Kenwood Academy’s boys water polo team was knocked out of the city playoffs yesterday by Whitney Young, its players and coach have a lot to be proud of. Created only four years ago, this team has shown marked improvement this season; they leapt from a meager 4-5 record last year to a 10-7 record this year, and took Kenwood the farthest it’s ever been in the water polo playoffs. This success, players say, is largely due to a new head coach at the helm.

Jerk-Yard Chicago, an upscale Jamaican eatery with a “downtown vibe,” is coming to 53rd Street this May. Setting up shop at 1310 E. 53rd St., the former site of What’s Krackin’, Jerk-Yard is the product of David Clausell, a nightclub promoter turned restaurateur who wants to combine his passion for food with his taste for elegant nightlife.

Rev. Frederick Haynes III, the Dallas megachurch pastor chosen to succeed Rev. Jesse Jackson as head of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, resigned suddenly last week after less than three months on the job. The decision to step down from the longtime civil rights organization was announced last Tuesday, when Haynes...

At long last, Sheila Clay’s clay tribute to Ukraine is complete. A lifelong sculptor of sorts, Clay has spent the last two years working on a piece commemorating the resilience of the Ukrainian people and the country’s history amid its ongoing war with Russia. She’s been shaping the sculpture at the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., where she takes classes.

Two teen boys have been arrested and are facing felony charges as of Sunday morning in connection to a string of armed robberies in Hyde Park and Back of the Yards, police say. According to the Chicago Police Department, the robberies occurred along the 5400 block of South Ingleside Avenue,...

A shuttered free store in Washington Park for migrants and neighbors in need is back open this week after volunteers’ months-long search for a new home. Called “La Tiendita,” the free store officially opened to the public on Monday, April 22 in the basement of the Coppin Community Center, 5627 S. Michigan Ave. It distributes donated clothing, household items and hygiene products free of charge.

More than 100 quilts of all shapes, colors and styles decorated the halls and gym of Ray Elementary School this past weekend. It was the first neighborhood quilt show since the pandemic, and the community came out in droves for a chance to explore the art and its history. “South...

The Hyde Park Herald is hosting a writing contest in celebration of Mother’s Day. Submissions can be an essay, poem or short story of no more than 600 words, and must be about mothers, motherhood or maternal figures. Enter your submission by Friday, May 2 for a chance to...

Two Kenwood Academy students won the Urban Debate National Championship last week, solidifying the school’s reputation as a city powerhouse in the sport. Senior Bianca Perkins and junior Amanti Washington took home the trophy after three days of debate, six preliminary rounds and a season of competing that’s not quite over.

Developers take note of bird-safe architectural gems in Hyde Park. Solstice on the Park by Jean Gang has alternate glass and solid panels throughout. It is ideal. Also by architect Jean Gang is a building located at Cornell Avenue and 53rd Street, which has glass panels that are slightly dimished, recessed and surrounded by a very wide framework of solid material.

Housing advocates are renewing a push to fund a $20 million state affordable housing tax credit in the upcoming state budget. Supporters of the “Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit Act,” modeled after a federal tax credit program, claimed it would result in over 1,000 affordable housing units being built over its first six years. The push for the measure, contained in House Bill 4909 and Senate Bill 3233, comes one year after a similar to appropriate $35 million in tax credits failed to advance.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois kangaroo owners are one step closer to being forced to surrender their marsupials last week after the House passed a bill criminalizing their possession. That was one of more than 300 bills to pass the House ahead of a Friday procedural deadline. If it becomes law,...

In April of 2022, the Gateways Festival Orchestra made its Carnegie Hall debut in a sold-out performance. This was the first time in the history of this legendary venue that an all-Black orchestra performed there. Last week, the Gateways Music Festival, along with the orchestra, came to Chicago for the first time, with performances offered throughout the metropolitan area last week.

The world premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' “Purpose” in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre continues the company's long tradition of staging explosive dysfunctional family dramas, but it also reveals the genius of a playwright who can masterfully blend humor and hurt, the passionately personal and the political. He also has the chutzpah to satirize sacred cows, but he does it with such a commitment to presenting all points of view that even the most hypocritical can come across as sympathetic.

I don't quite know whether to laud Eddie Izzard's “Hamlet” as a remarkable dramatic achievement or to lament that the renowned British comedian, actor and activist seems to have bitten off more than she can chew. Maybe both. In either case, the solo show at Chicago Shakespeare Theater,...

Scores of volunteers on Earth Day last Saturday fellow-shipped and cleaned up our favorite park. With that great participation, they could influence the powers that be to change "Jackson Park," named for slave-owner President Andrew Jackson, to "Barack Obama Park," in honor of our President, whose Presidential Center is next door.

Union workers at Howard Brown Health, a LBGT+ health care provider, reached their first tentative labor agreement with management this week after a year and a half of protracted negotiations. The union, Howard Brown Health Workers United, an Illinois Nurses Association (INA) affiliate, represents about 360 workers in roles such...

From its first frame, Carter James’ latest short film, “Broccoli Chase,” thrusts audiences into the nightmare of many a kid. A young girl, played by his little sister, darts through a forest and trudges through muck, running for her life from a faceless pursuer wielding, as the title might suggest, a plate of broccoli.

Hyde Park’s Special Service Area 61 (SSA 61) and the Chicago Public Art Group are seeking artists to help revitalize the 53rd and 55th Street viaducts. Spanning the southern walls of the two viaducts are 19 large steel panels displaying digital prints of four artists’ work. Installed in 2008, the panels, project organizers say, are overdue for new art.

San’yutei Ponta II anxiously paced back and forth in the wings of the International House theater like a boxer waiting to enter the ring before taking the stage to deliver his rakugo performance. “I'm very, very nervous because I can’t speak English and I am very, very sleepy because...