At a time of Jim Crow laws, how did a black man compete to become the fastest athlete of his time? A new book by Michael Kranish tells the story a trailblazing cyclist and his connection to Chicago. 

In Illinois, African American women are six times as likely to die of pregnancy-related conditions than white women. A new initiative aims to close that gap in three Chicago communities, with the help of a $4.7 million grant.

The Trump administration has proposed $2.8 billion in cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including a decrease of more than $1.4 billion in funding for states. 

Watch the May 13, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

A number of extraordinary pianists have played on the Symphony Center stage during the past season or two. Sunday’s concert brought four encores, extended standing ovations and volcanic applause.

“Empire” will return for its final season this fall on Fox — with Jussie Smollett a question mark — and should count itself lucky.  Fox is hitting the reset button for the 2019-20 season by cancelling eight shows and adding 10 new ones.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Doris Day died early Monday at her Carmel Valley, California, home. She was 97. 

To his supporters, Rahm Emanuel was the brash, bright, big-city mayor who unapologetically raised Chicago’s profile as a global city. To his critics, he was a heavy-handed, top-down leader. On Monday evening, the outgoing mayor joins us in discussion.

“Chicago Tonight” has won three prestigious Lisagor awards for the best in Chicago journalism, for the best in arts, education and government news.

A concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra featuring the transcendent Mitsuko Uchida. A visit by Maestro Riccardo Muti and several master musicians to a juvenile detention center. And a virtuosic chamber concert.

More than 100 people gathered Friday along a chain-link fence outside a badly damaged Illinois silicone factory to remember four men who died in an explosion at the facility.

Paris Schutz and guests discuss a state bill that would direct publicly traded companies in Illinois to boost their boardroom hiring of women and people of color.

Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot visits Washington, D.C. Legalized pot and a progressive income tax face hurdles in Springfield. And Cubs fans boo the return of Addison Russell.

The new habitat will also bring a new pride of lions, with the zoo’s current group set to depart for a Kansas zoo in the coming weeks. 

Last year, about 5,400 detainees at Cook County Jail received treatment for opioid use – an average of 375-400 each month. The county will be able to expand its services for opioid use disorder, thanks to a new grant.