We revisit a profile Jay Shefsky did on a Chicago artist on a personal crusade to paint and preserve 200 rare native plants.

Chicago's own Ethel Payne was the third African-American to ever receive White House press credentials–and she was only the second black woman to do so. We talk with the author of a biography about the importance of her legacy.

Watch a mariachi opera set in 1910 Mexico; enjoy a musical set in 1950s Las Vegas; and kick off the running season in present day Grant Park. Chicago Tonight ​has your weekend picks.

Best-known for the movies Ray and An Officer and a Gentleman, director Taylor Hackford is in Chicago directing a musical stage show about the legendary Vegas husband and wife team, Louis Prima and Keely Smith. We get a preview.

A Russian-born artist painted the town in the 1930s, but very little of his mural work is left. Where can you see these stunning panels? Geoffrey Baer answers this question and more in this week’s edition of Ask Geoffrey.

The finalists for this year's James Beard Awards have been released. Ten local names made the list of finalists in the restaurant and chef awards categories.

An exhibition at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston looks at the "haute couture" that has long existed in Native American communities. We get a preview.

Two years ago, Lyric Opera of Chicago presented what was called the world's first mariachi opera. It was well-received and a big hit with audiences--so much so that it spawned another mariachi opera. This time around it's a Lyric Opera commission that has brought back together the same creative team and many of the same performers from the previous work. Its title is El Pasado Nunca Se Termina or The Past Is Never Finished, and it's receiving its world premiere here in Chicago.

Homeless youth are one of Chicago’s most vulnerable populations. Estimates vary, but roughly 2,000 Chicago teens are thought to be homeless each night. But homelessness for youth often looks very different than it does for adults. Advocates call it "housing instability." We visit one program trying to prevent these teens from becoming chronically homeless adults.    

The head honchos at The Second City discuss their book about the importance of improv in everyday life.

Taste what Chicago has to offer; hear Chicago stories; and listen to the sounds of Chicago blues. Chicago Tonight has your weekend picks.

Geoffrey Baer's latest documentary exploring the career of the winner of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame is Street Smarts: Architect David M. Schwarz.We get a preview.

Meet the self-taught Chicago artist who could make dazzling art out of anything he found. Known as Mr. Imagination, he turned bottlecaps, mirrors, and scraps of wood into delightfully original works of art.

As a part of its Youth Safety and Violence Prevention program, the YMCA of Metro Chicago has launched the Urban Warriors program. The unique program brings together post-9/11 combat veterans with teens from some of Chicago's tougher neighborhoods for mentoring and bonding over their shared experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Geoffrey Baer tours a Miracle House, swings by a bobtail swing bridge, and makes some noise at a silent film studio in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey.

Author Gillian O'Brien joins us to discuss her book Blood Runs Green, a non-fiction account of the largely forgotten murder of a prominent Irish-American doctor who was also the member of a secretive Irish Republican organization.