After hockey players congratulate each other on their games while filing out of the ice rink at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night, the sound of skates scratching the ice can still be heard.As the janitor cleans the bleachers, a core group of athletes stay on the ice to practice. They have no pads and no helmets, just trust in each other’s abilities. There is no puck and no net. Just eight Northwestern University women skating to the ...

The defense team won another battle—albeit a small one—in the case of the 1994 rape and murder of Nina Glover.On Nov. 16, the four defendants—Terrill Swift, Vincent Thames, Michael Saunders and Harold Richardson—had their convictions vacated because of newly discovered DNA evidence, as reported by The Chronicle on Nov. 21. The defendants are still waiting for the state’s attorney to decide if they will be forced...

Boarded up houses loom over large swaths of Chicago, standing as dismal reminders of the recession. These eyesores serve as havens for gangs, drug dealers and squatters, creating dangerous areas in already troubled neighborhoods. It isn’t uncommon for dead pit bulls, the casualties of ruthless dog fights, to be found in abandoned homes. With more than 10,500 foreclosures in the city in 2010, the problem shows no sign of abat...

The Chronicle recently chatted with the actress Thandie Newton about her new flick “For Colored Girls”. She discussed the challenge of bringing poetry to the big screen, her personal reaction to Ntozake Shange’s original play, and what it’s like for a Brit to play a streetwise American.Chronicle: Were you familiar with the play before you signed onto the movie?TN: I hadn’t read the play before, and I can only pu...