Rick Kogan

Born and raised and still living in Chicago, Rick Kogan has worked for the Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times and the Tribune, where he currently is a columnist. Inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003, he hosts “After Hours with Rick Kogan” on WGN radio and is the author of a dozen books, including “A Chicago Tavern.

American country singer Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, leave the front gate of Kansas State Prison, circa 1968. (Hulton Archive/Getty)

Column: Reconnecting with authors Colin Asher and Irvine Welsh, both with new books

July 29, 2026 at 10:53 a.m.

Colin Asher’s “The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music” and Irvine Welsh’s “Men in Love” were recent subjects in the New York Times Book Review.

Barbara Burgess, a writer who works out of the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, gets a sneak preview of a new Groundswell Coffee Roasters coffee shop on the ground floor of the building on July 9, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Groundswell Coffee is the Fine Arts Building’s new, caffeine-laced tenant

July 14, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

As Groundswell Coffee Roasters opens in the storied Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue, we remember the former Artists Cafe.

A digital painting from artist Dustin Mertz with other pieces on a wall at Art City gallery ahead of its July 10th exhibit, “CASH ONLY: An Ode to Dive Bars,” July 7, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Column: ‘Cash Only’ exhibit mixes booze and art and makes community

July 8, 2026 at 1:39 p.m.

“Cash Only: An Ode to Dive Bars” is a provocative exhibition at a gallery called Art City.

Boats travel down the Chicago River with a skyline view, June 7, 2026. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Celebrating history on the Fourth? Look and listen to the river.

July 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

A recently rebroadcast episode of "This American Life" takes a look at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.

Chicago skyline looms large over the trees of McKinley Park on June 16, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Column: New Chicago book shows us the beginnings of our city’s luxury in the sky

June 30, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

There has always been an energetic curiosity about how the “other half” lives, so I asked the authors of “Chicago's Luxury Apartment Buildings” why.

Albena Wozny and husband Bradley Prendergast outside their business, Devon Pawn Shop, in Chicago on June 18, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Column: The Devon Pawn Shop tells its own part of the story of the American Dream

June 24, 2026 at 5:15 a.m.

The small business in Rogers Park has for decades operated a service unlike those seen in such TV shows as “Pawn Stars."

Former child star Danny Bonaduce's arm is raised to pronounce his victory over pop singer Donny Osmond in their boxing match, Jan. 17, 1994, in Chicago. The two had been jokingly taunting each other during their workouts until Osmond, live on a local radio show, proposed to settle the matter once and for all with three rounds in the ring. Bonaduce won in a 2-1 decision. All proceeds went to charities. (Tim Boyle/AP)

Column: Do you remember who won the Danny Bonaduce-Donny Osmond boxing match?

June 23, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

On Jan. 17, 1994, Danny Bonaduce and Donny Osmond faced off in a three-round fight at the China Club in the West Loop.

Comedian Tom Dreesen, left, born and bred in Harvey, visits the restaurant Gibsons on Rush Street in Chicago and talks with with Steve Lombardo, one of the restaurant’s owners, on Aug. 15, 2019. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Comedian Tom Dreesen, from suburban Harvey and Sinatra’s opening act, has died at 86

June 17, 2026 at 7:59 p.m.

Comedian Tom Dreesen, from south suburban Harvey, grew up poor and first found comedy when he partnered with Tim Reid in an interracial duo. He later became Sinatra's longtime opening...

Tattoo artist Ben Wahhh creates a phoenix on Ella Nelson's leg at Deluxe Tattoo in Chicago on June 3, 2026. Wahhh helps people cover and transform tattoos and scars they got during turbulent times in their lives. Nelson was having her scars worked on. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Column: A Chicago tattoo artist helps women erase their past

June 17, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Tattoo artist Ben Wahhh has founded Ink Relief, a charity that supports survivors of domestic violence and other painful pasts by providing cover-up tattoos.

Green Mill owner Dave Jemilo, right, with longtime employees and new co-owners Jill Skintges, left, and Jason Cole at Green Mill in Uptown on June 3, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Column: The Green Mill has new owners, and the music plays on

June 10, 2026 at 5:30 a.m.

The celebrated Chicago jazz club's longtime owner, Dave Jemilo, has sold it to Jason Cole and Jill Skintges, both Green Mill employees who say they plan to keep running it...

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