Mark Caro

Mark Caro is a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Izidorius Laurinaitis, 19, of Palatine, works on checking the levels inside of a machine at Felsomat USA in Schaumburg on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015. Laurinaitis is a Palatine High School graduate and current Harper College student enrolled in a manufacturing apprentice program which hopes to offer students more hands-on and specialized experience in the manufacturing area. Laurinaitis hopes to be an engineer one day.

Career-oriented educational programs sprout in Chicago area but scale small

May 22, 2019 at 6:19 p.m.

When education expert Timothy Knowles moved to Chicago about 12 years ago, he wondered why the city's public school system let about half of its students drop out. "I think...

Chicago's 1871 hosts a variety of workers in August at the Merchandise Mart. The business incubator launched in 2012 and recently announced its second major expansion, to almost 120,000 square feet.

Chicago’s tech talent often grows away

May 22, 2019 at 6:19 p.m.

Tired of a Chicago tech networking scene skewed more toward big companies and recruiters than people launching startups, Pek Pongpaet gathered about a dozen like-minded entrepreneurs in a Streeterville building...

Former Chicagoan Brad Flora sold his social/online ad company Perfect Audience to San Francisco's Marin Software and he now works at that firm in California. Flora said he had trouble finding skilled risk-takers in Chicago.

5 steps Chicago can take to stop its tech talent drain

May 22, 2019 at 6:19 p.m.

Entrepreneurs in and out of Chicago agree the city has made strides in developing its tech scene, but they also say more can be done. Here are five steps they...

Jerry Mickelson and his dogs Mini, left, and Cooper are seen July 15, 2015, in the main lobby of Uptown Theatre. Mickelson, co-founder and principal of longtime Chicago concert promoter Jam Productions, and Jam partner Arny Granat formed a company, UTA II, in 2008 to buy the Uptown out of bankruptcy for a reported $3.2 million.

Tale of two Uptowns: Chicago and Oakland, Calif.

May 22, 2019 at 6:19 p.m.

At the heart of a once-bustling neighborhood known as Uptown, a large, shuttered-for-decades theater sits amid pawnshops, beauty parlors, a used bookstore, a nearby old theater and empty storefronts. Then...

Paul McCartney performs on Day 2 of the 2015 Firefly Music Festival at The Woodlands on June 19, 2015, in Dover, Del.

Letter to Paul McCartney: Play these at Lollapalooza

June 15, 2018 at 5:28 p.m.

Dear Sir Paul: Glad to have you back in the area after your epic shows at the United Center last summer, at Milwaukee's Miller Park in July 2013 and over...

Lori Hazelton and Stephanie Ward become the first same-sex couple to receive their marriage license in Muskegon, Mich., on June 26, 2015, after the U.S. Supreme Court declared such unions legal nationwide. Michigan was among the states barring same-sex marriage whose cases were before the court.

In Michigan, gay marriage ruling sparks celebration, denunciation

June 20, 2019 at 1:43 p.m.

Doug Roberts was driving from his Detroit home to his weekend DJ gig at the Dunes Resort in this western Michigan town when he heard the news that the Supreme...

Milwaukee dives into water tech, Chicago just getting feet wet

August 19, 2019 at 12:48 a.m.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett hates "the Rust Belt" as a moniker for the Great Lakes region — who likes rust? — so he's been pushing for a more apt nickname:...

Brian Wilson, left, and John Cusack are seen at Metro's Smart Bar in Chicago on May 19.

Brian Wilson, John Cusack on the alchemy of ‘Love and Mercy’

June 11, 2025 at 1:10 p.m.

With the enigmatic musical genius who wrote some of rock's most beautiful songs seated on the Music Box Theatre stage, a fan rambled into a microphone trying to convey how...

People clear rubble in Kathmandu's Durbar Square, which was severely damaged by a massive earthquake April 25, 2015. The 7.8-magnitude quake killed hundreds as it ripped through large parts of Nepal and triggered a deadly avalanche that hit Everest base camp.

Chicago climber OK after Mount Everest avalanche, Nepal earthquake

August 19, 2019 at 12:21 a.m.

The Chicago family of a 64-year-old Chicago Fire Department retiree set to climb Mount Everest was happy to hear that he was unhurt following the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal...

Detroit neighborhoods want update, aid like downtown gets

August 19, 2019 at 12:20 a.m.

The transformation of Detroit into an energetic, high-tech, pedestrian- friendly destination feels a world away from a desolate East Side stretch where 64-year-old retired Chrysler worker Dmetris England was eating...

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