Freddie Gibbs — the Gary rapper — is credited on Leon Thomas’s Grammy-winning album MUTT, a milestone that local outlets are calling a first for a Gary rapper.

The Chicago Public Library’s 'Puerto Rico x Bad Bunny' series pairs the superstar’s music with lessons on Puerto Rican history ahead of his halftime show. Sessions mix scholarship, visuals and community conversation.

Terry Boers, a founding voice of 670 The Score and co-host of Boers & Bernstein, has died at 75. The station says it will celebrate his life on-air next week.

UNESCO tapped Chicago to host International Jazz Day 2026. Herbie Hancock and local partners will lead a month of concerts, education and a global Lyric Opera livestream.

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will charge non-members $5 to enter the Butterfly Haven starting Feb. 2; museum officials say proceeds will fund butterfly care and programs.

Chicago awards $2 million in grants to local cultural institutions impacted by federal funding cuts, supporting arts and culture with a strong focus on community engagement and equity.

Giancarlo Guerrero’s first full season at Grant Park centers American and American‑influenced works for the nation’s 250th, opening June 10 with Bernstein, Tower and Barber. The program pairs staples with premieres and special events.

David McGowan has built a classroom in Rwanda and Uganda to teach rangers and guides how to document wildlife through short films.

Keck’s 12‑sided House of Tomorrow is getting new triple‑pane glass and structural repairs in a $4 million restoration at the Indiana Dunes. The work aims to return the 1933 pavilion to its original look.

Chicago Children’s Theatre will present a monthlong Chicago Sensory Theatre Summit Feb. 2–Mar. 1 with workshops, sensory performances and a Red Kite prom for teens. The program pairs industry training with public-access events.

Sir Ian McKellen will perform One Knight Only at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Jan. 30, 2026, in a donated benefit that includes a free student matinee.

Gretchen Baker will take charge of the Chicago Botanic Garden on March 16, 2026, succeeding Jean Franczyk. Baker arrives from the Carnegie Museum with a background in exhibitions and public engagement.

Frank Gehry, the Pritzker Prize–winning architect behind Chicago's Jay Pritzker Pavilion, died Friday at 96. His daring, sculptural buildings remade skylines from Bilbao to L.A.