Stories by Matt Masterson

Stephen Paddock, the gunman who opened fire on thousands of concertgoers in Las Vegas late Sunday night, had booked two rooms in Chicago overlooking Grant Park in August, during Lollapalooza, according to a report from TMZ.

The University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Chicago Medicine will join forces to conduct clinical trials designed to improve outcomes for patients with life-threatening emergencies as part of a newly formed national network. 

We preview the start of the Cubs’ playoff run with sports reporter Cheryl Raye Stout.

Food trucks, vintage VHS, marathon runners and South Side films usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are suing the city and the Police Department so they can be part of reform talks. The suit alleges that brutality “is magnified for people with disabilities.”

Watch the Oct. 4, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Geoffrey Baer explores an eccentric architect’s wacky proposal for the World’s Fair in this encore edition of Ask Geoffrey.

The Nobel Prize committee called it “a discovery that shook the world.” A local scientist explains gravitational waves.

“Blockbuster” and “epic” are the words being used to describe the cases on the U.S. Supreme Court docket this term. We discuss the key cases.

In one of Cook County Jail’s maximum security units, some detainees are given access to pens for the towering task of writing their memoirs. How these men are earning a new label: authors.

A new book by a Chicago community activist and mentor explains how cities can become safer and more equitable, and why we all have a stake in our neighborhoods. 

It looks like an art project, but a seven-floor structure at Lincoln Park Zoo is outfitted with logs, bricks, sticks and other materials to provide cozy spaces for insects to nest.

Is there a connection between losing the ability to smell and a greater risk of dementia? A co-author of a new University of Chicago study says it “may be an important early sign.” 

A new charge against 28-year-old suspect Brendt Christensen opens up the possibility of the death penalty for the Champaign man charged in the disappearance and murder of a Chinese student.

Tommy Shimoda, 24, won gold and bronze medals in speed skating at the Special Olympics World Winter Games this year in Austria. This week, he was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, becoming the first Special Olympics athlete to receive the honor. 

The inspector general calls it a “culture of abuse.” How he says police officers are gaming the system to collect millions in overtime pay.

Just weeks after its relaunch as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the agency is officially looking for a new chief administrator.

Watch the Oct. 3, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

How has free college tuition worked out for some students? City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado joins us.

Author and Northwestern University professor Wendy Pearlman interviewed more than 300 refugees for a new book of oral histories, “We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled.” She joins us in discussion.

How is the city addressing bike safety as well as concerns relating to inequality and bike infrastructure? Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield joins us.

A new report ranks Chicago’s chances of landing a massive new Amazon location as high—but will the costs be worth it?

Low-income pregnant women are more likely than their wealthy counterparts to experience chronic placental inflammation, which is linked to preterm birth and low birth weight, a new study finds. 

Dressed in little more than black-and-white body paint, a PETA supporter on Wednesday will urge passersby to skip performances this month by a circus company with a track record of mistreating animals. 

In the wake of the massacre of concertgoers in Las Vegas, Chicago is preparing to host one of its largest annual events, the Chicago Marathon, on Sunday. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city is ready.

The Chicago Police Department says that for the second month in a row, homicides in Chicago were lower than they were during the same month the year before.