Cory Franklin

Burt Katz, co-owner of the now-closed Burt's Place, his legendary Morton Grove pizza restaurant, has died at 78.

Burt Katz was a true genius

May 11, 2019 at 8:16 a.m.

Unless you travel in rarified circles — Nobel Prize winning physicists, Academy Award winning actors, world-class athletes — you are not likely to come in contact with many true geniuses...

Richard Speck, center, is taken to the Joliet prison Diagnostic Center for processing after being given the death sentence at his trial June 5, 1967, in Peoria. Sheriff Willard Koeppel, of Peoria, left, and undersheriff Richard Diekhoff, right, escort Speck.

Doctor: The time I tended to mass murderer Richard Speck

May 11, 2019 at 8:16 a.m.

I had my first real experience with evil in the world 50 years ago when I was 12. In the summer of 1966 some friends and I went to the...

The main entrance to Cook County Hospital is mostly empty in 2003, except for a woman who had toured the closed building.

Communing with Cook County Hospital’s ghosts of the past

May 11, 2019 at 8:12 a.m.

A few days ago, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced new plans for the old Cook County Hospital building built in 1914. I worked there for three decades and...

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon hangs out in the dugout March 7, 2016, before his team plays the Kansas City Royals at a spring training game at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz.

Fast-forward to the Cubs at the 2016 World Series

May 11, 2019 at 8:11 a.m.

Scene: Deep in the inner recesses of Wrigley Field, in a plush, carpeted office, Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts sits in an oversized leather chair. One of his top public...

California Gov. Ronald Reagan, center, stands with in-laws Dr. Loyal Davis and Edith Davis on Sept. 28, 1967, at the airport in Peoria.

The other man in Nancy Reagan’s life

August 21, 2019 at 11:12 p.m.

The obituaries of Nancy Reagan concentrated on her devotion to the most important person in her life — her husband, President Ronald Reagan. Less attention was focused on her stepfather,...

Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers reacts after the Denver Broncos defeated his team with a score of 24 to 10 to win Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium on Feb. 7, 2016, in Santa Clara, Calif.

Cam Newton and the perils of being a sore loser

May 11, 2019 at 8:01 a.m.

After his Carolina Panthers lost the Super Bowl on Sunday, NFL MVP Cam Newton pouted through the postgame news conference, giving petulant answers and walking out of the interview early....

A Health Ministry worker fumigates for the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus at the Oriental Market in Managua, Nicaragua. Worries about the rapid spread of Zika through the hemisphere has prompted officials several Latin American countries to suggest women stop getting pregnant until the crisis has passed.

Zika: The latest exotic traveler to stir up trouble

May 11, 2019 at 7:59 a.m.

In ancient times, bacteria and viruses could not travel between different countries and regions faster than humans could migrate on foot. Distant populations were relatively safe from foreign diseases. The...

Volkswagen's emissions scandal proves the need for software ethics.

VW forgot: First do no harm

May 11, 2019 at 7:38 a.m.

Computer software now governs virtually every aspect of our lives, from cars to kitchen appliances; the human element has been removed from most machinery we use daily. But computer software...

No matter how good or bad players are, they win and lose as a team.

Give kids a sporting chance to learn, have fun

May 11, 2019 at 7:32 a.m.

Two world-class athletes recently issued powerful statements about youth sports. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison made his young sons return trophies they were awarded simply for being on a team:...

The Yelping of emergency room visits

May 11, 2019 at 7:30 a.m.

Yelp, the company that publishes crowd-sourced reviews on everything from restaurants to car mechanics, has added emergency room waiting times to its review pages. Upon reading that, my mind drifted...

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