Time Magazine recently released its “World’s Top Universities” list, ranking the 500 best colleges from around the globe.

Holding the fifth spot on that list is the University of Chicago, following the University of Oxford, Yale University, Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Five other Illinois schools also made the list: Northwestern University (No. 99), University of Illinois Chicago (No. 151), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (No. 235), Illinois Institute of Technology (No. 266) and Southern Illinois University (No. 338).

Chicago’s legendary jazz scene is preparing to shine on the world’s stage in April, when the city hosts the UNESCO International Jazz Day 2026 for the first time. The global event will kick off April 1 with weeks of educational programming, master classes and special performances to the city. The month will culminate in the All-Star Global Concert on April 30 at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House. It will feature more than 40 international artists, including Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves, Ernest Dawkins, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Terence Blanchard.

The story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz begins with Dorothy and Toto in Kansas, but where did the idea for one of the best-known tales in American literature take shape?

L. Frank Baum, author of the original book, wrote the story while he was living in Chicago. A New York native, Baum was a lifelong writer, having established two amateur journals by the time he was 17 and publishing his first book at 30 in 1886. From there, he experimented in theater and later worked as a newspaper editor.

For the first time since 1972, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve will broadcast live from downtown Chicago, putting the city on a national stage as viewers across the U.S. ring in 2026.

Traditionally set in Times Square in New York City, the beloved New Year’s Eve special has become a cultural institution. Celebrating its 55^th year, the broadcast is taking on a historic expansion with Chicago hosting the Central Time Zone live countdown and a Spanish-language live broadcast from Puerto Rico.

When most of us think about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, we picture a beloved holiday icon leading Santa’s sleigh through winter skies, but few realize this famous character actually originated in Chicago.

In 1939, Chicago was home to one of America’s biggest retailers – Montgomery Ward. Trying to boost interest in its toy department and compete with rival Sears, the company turned to a catalog copywriter named Robert Lewis May. May was asked to create a children’s Christmas story to hand out at Montgomery Ward stores during the holiday season.