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[Galaxy]

About 10:00 each evening I see an orangish star to the west and slightly north about 10 degrees above the horizon. Could this be Mars? I thought Mars was to the east. My husband thought he saw a red light on it. Maybe it's an airplane but it stays there at least an hour. Is it possible to see a plane moving straight away from you for so long?

[atomant]

Mars is barely above the east horizon after midnight.
At 10pm Jupiter is about 10 degrees in the west.
There are two bright stars also in the vicinity: Spica to the left of Jupiter and Denebola to the right. However, both are not red stars.
I know in Chicago, at 10 degrees above the horizon, the atmosphere can cause stars and planets to appear in dfferent colors.
Denebola seems to be the suspect. Denebola forms a triangle which represents the back end of Leo the Lion.
Depending on your skies, the triangle should be visible with naked eye. If not, use a pair of low power binoculars.
Hope this helps! Good luck!

[Centaur]

galaxy said:

About 10:00 each evening I see an orangish star to the west and slightly north about 10 degrees above the horizon. Could this be Mars? I thought Mars was to the east. My husband thought he saw a red light on it. Maybe it's an airplane but it stays there at least an hour. Is it possible to see a plane moving straight away from you for so long?

Based on your description, atomant's suspicion of Denebola in Leo seems to be correct. It's a 2nd magnitude star, similar in brightness to Polaris (the North Star). A 1st magnitude star in Leo, Regulus, would have set in the west shortly before your time of observation. An even brighter and orangish star, Arcturus in Bootes, would have appeared much higher at your time of observation and then would have moved into the region you described around midnight.