Cook County officials filed lawsuits this week against a half dozen drug companies and their subsidiaries, blaming them for aggressively marketing prescription painkillers that have led to a spike in overdose deaths.

Belly dancing Wookiees, a magical scavenger hunt, New Year’s Day bike ride and a massive blanket fort party usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Watch the Dec. 27, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

He has been called “The Bruce Springsteen of Israel.” But unlike the Boss, David Broza can sing in four languages and plays a mean flamenco guitar. David Broza joins us in conversation and performance.

New Year’s revelers may want to take note: The city plans an extra crackdown on party buses that shuttle people from bar to bar. Here’s the latest on that and what to expect in 2018.

Roughly 20 percent of the produce grown in this country is never eaten, and a lot of it never even makes it off the farm because it doesn’t look right. Now, Chicagoans can buy that perfectly good but unattractive produce.  

From national issues down to neighborhood ones, 2017’s political landscape was shaped by the effect of President Donald Trump’s first year in office.

Chicagoans hear about Thorndale Avenue all the time in traffic reports, and a viewer wonders why. Geoffrey Baer speeds by with the story in this week’s “Ask Geoffrey.”

The coyote population in the area has about doubled since 2005, according to research by Stanley Gehrt, who’s been studying coyotes for nearly 20 years. 

A Southeast Side company must install air monitors to detect levels of dust emissions from heavy metals processed on-site, according to a letter issued by the city this week.

From City Hall to the halls of Congress, 2017 has been a transformative year. Chicago Tonight recaps the top stories of the year.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim alleges that Baxter violated a federal permit several times over a five-month span by releasing contaminated water that exceeded pollution limits. 

Retirement can be lucrative for some former Illinois educators who are taking home pensions from the state’s Teachers Retirement System. A records request submitted by Chicago Tonight reveals the top 200 pension earners receive well into the six figures. 

Watch the Dec. 21, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Will and Lake counties filed almost identical lawsuits in their respective counties against numerous pharmaceutical companies, claiming the opioid crisis began almost 20 years ago.