Stories by Maya Miller

This Saturday, bookstores across the country will celebrate their status as indie shops, including two dozen stores across the Chicago area. “It’s like a pub crawl for bookstores,” said Lynn Mooney, co-owner of Women & Children First. 

Independent bookstores, wine tastings, James Beard-inspired menus and hundreds of artists usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

In a new graphic novel from the Chicago Architecture Foundation, teens – past, present and future – traipse through Chicago neighborhoods to ponder some big questions, such as: What makes a community?

It’s a TV show everyone is talking about, but with suicide a leading cause of death among youth, mental health experts are concerned about the message “13 Reasons Why” is sending.

Could heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula lead to a confrontation with North Korea?

Contemporary art with Mexican roots: Celebrating 30 years at Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art.

Watch the April 26, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

New technology lets police investigate whether drivers were using their cell phones moments before an accident. Could it curb texting while driving?

Many believe there is a fault line that divides Chicago, pitting brother against brother in a long-standing crosstown rivalry. But a viewer wonders if that historic boundary is a myth.

A study co-authored by Northwestern University climate expert Daniel Horton outlines a framework for measuring the impact of global warming on extreme weather events. 

“This could be a critical week for the future of our schools,” CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said Wednesday at a Chicago Board of Education meeting. “Ending school early would be a tragedy for Chicago students.”

President Donald Trump’s tax plan was formally rolled out Wednesday. As promised on the campaign trail, the plan includes several business-friendly tax measures.

Gov. Bruce Rauner sits down with Chicago Tonight correspondent Amanda Vinicky to discuss his agenda for public schools, the state budget crisis and why he drops the “g” when he speaks.

Watch the April 25, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

After two hours of debate this afternoon, the Illinois House passed a measure that paves the way for more taxpayer-funded abortions. The legislation allows for Medicaid recipients to use that government health insurance to cover an abortion. Likewise, for state employees.

Chicago teachers will spend the coming weeks preparing for a new course on the history of the disgraced former Chicago Police Department commander who, for two decades, systematically abused and tortured suspects on the South Side to force confessions.

A long-shot candidate for governor tells us why he thinks he’s got what it takes to lead the state.

The debate over President Trump’s executive order on skilled foreign workers.

According to organizers, an estimated 60,000 people attended the March for Science Chicago, making it the largest of those that took place Saturday in 400-plus cities worldwide. But some area institutions did not officially support the event.

Author Ted McClelland’s idea of annexing suburbs to Chicago to boost the city’s population had viewers talking.

By eschewing traditional tiaras, thrones and knightly armor, a fairy tale-minded exhibition at the Chicago Children’s Museum hopes to spark children’s imaginations without imposing gender stereotypes.   

Disaster scenarios near and far are daily considerations for a group of local scientists and engineers. We meet two members of the Global Security Sciences division at Argonne, nicknamed the Doomsday Squad.

Officials from a Chicago-based education collaborative looked at years of studies on social and emotional learning and found consistent, positive effects on student behavior and outcomes.

A program called Speak Up connects formerly homeless individuals with seasoned storytellers so they can learn how to speak more effectively about their life experiences. We meet a recent graduate of the program.

Chicago Tonight meets a celebrated photographer who captured the human condition with her camera.

In addition to having the top five highest-rated public high schools in the state, Chicago Public Schools has two of the top 100 high schools in the country, according to new rankings from U.S. News and World Report.