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Mitch Dudek III

Staff Reporter News
Walter “Slim” Coleman Little Village
Walter 'Slim' Coleman, an organizer who helped elect Mayor Harold Washington, dies at 80
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Erin Harkey, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, speaks during the grand opening celebration for the Terminal 5 extension at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 31, 2023
Arts & Culture
Chicago's cultural leadership still in flux as city braces for start of festival season
By Courtney Kueppers  and Mitch Dudek III
 
Ann Lightfoot, 90, Lori Lightfoot’s mother, chats with Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lauren FitzPatrick in the parking lot of St. James AME Zion Church in Massillon, Ohio, in 2019.
Politics
Ann Lightfoot, proud mom of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, dies at 95
By Mitch Dudek III  and Lauren FitzPatrick
 
People play drop-in pickleball at the new indoor facility, SPF, at 2121 N. Clybourn Ave. in Lincoln Park.
New indoor pickleball complex in Lincoln Park blends sport with beach resort vibes
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Mars Chocolate scientist Matthew Kradenpoth is all about M&Ms at the Chicago candy company.
Arts & Culture
M&M’s guru mulls chocolate all day at Mars Wrigley headquarters on Goose Island
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Bettiann Gardner, one of the founders of Soft Sheen and former owner of the Regal Theatre. Thursday, July 5, 2012
Bettiann Gardner, matriarch of family-owned hair care company and the first female co-owner of the Chicago Bulls, dies at 93
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Sarah Palmer as Gwengoolie, Bill Leff as Nostalgiaferatoo, Rich Koz as Svengoolie and Scott Gryder as Imp on the set of Svengoolie.
Arts & Culture
Popular MeTV horror movie host Svengoolie brings on sidekicks (and possible successors)
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Marilyn Katz
Politics
Marilyn Katz was a behind-the-scenes force in Chicago politics for decades
By Mitch Dudek III
 
cabrini green
Arts & Culture
Chicago film festival to open with local director’s take on life in Cabrini Green
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Martyna Majok’s “Sanctuary City” will make its Chicago premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre on Sept. 14.
Arts & Culture
‘Sanctuary City’ playwright Martyna Majok found her theater voice in Chicago
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Victor Parra hosted “Mambo Express” for more than 30 years, first on WBEZ-FM (91.5) and then on WDCB-FM (90.9), where he hosted until signing off for good in 2017.
Arts & Culture
Victor Parra, longtime host of ‘Mambo Express’ radio show, shared passion for Afro-Cuban jazz with thousands
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Children’s folksinger Ella Jenkins in 2014
Arts & Culture
Beloved children’s singer Ella Jenkins turning 99 Sunday with a party at a North Side park that bears her name
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Carla Haskins (center), a patient care technician at Loretto Hospital for five years, leads a chant for striking workers represented by SEIU Healthcare Illinois on Monday outside the West Side hospital.
Environment & Public Health
200 Loretto Hospital workers begin strike
By Mitch Dudek III
 
James and Paula Crown at MoMa’s Party in the Garden 2022 on June 7, 2022, at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
James Crown dead in Colorado race track accident at 70; Chicago billionaire had just announced plans to enlist CEOs to fight violent crime
By Frank Main  and Mitch Dudek III
 
A rendering of the planned Chicago Fire soccer team’s new West Side training facility.
Politics
Suit seeks to scuttle CHA land lease to Chicago Fire and construction $80 million training facility
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Valerie Toney Parker portrait
Valerie Toney Parker, who preached tolerance as a church leader and WBEZ exec, dies at 57
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Peter Poulos and wife, Christina, owners of Margie’s Candies, in 2005.
Arts & Culture
Peter George Poulos, Margie’s Candies owner dead at 86
By Mitch Dudek III
 
Linda Lenz
Education
Linda Lenz, who kept generations of CPS parents informed through her nonprofit publication Catalyst, is dead at 77
By Mitch Dudek III