Stories by Paul Caine

Why Loyola Medical students are being encouraged to learn Transcendental Meditation – and how it could make them better doctors.

Like a planet drifting into a black hole, the state’s unprecedented political stalemate over the budget is increasingly sucking public education into financial uncertainty. State lawmakers discuss the fight over public education and Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget ultimatum.

Watch the February 25, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Should powerful Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward) be able to run the city's $100 million workers' compensation program? A pair of whistle-blowers say no and want an investigation into alleged patronage abuses. Paris Schutz has the story.

The Chicago River is far from America's cleanest waterway. But a few anglers are trying their luck as its ecosystem improves. Captain Tim Frey took us for a winter fishing trip on the river.

See Yo-Yo Ma perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, rub elbows with chickens at the Urban Livestock Expo and keep warm with homemade soup in Lakeview.

Earlier this month, a judge denied the city of Chicago's motion to let Lucas Museum construction begin on its proposed lakefront site. We speak with the head of Friends of the Parks, the nonprofit which filed the lawsuit.

Hear what viewers had to say about Carol Marin’s conversation with Arne Duncan and the latest developments in the battle over the Lucas Museum when we read feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Not typically known for their brewing prowess, the Field Museum plans to launch a limited-edition beer made with the same ingredients used by the Wari, an empire which flourished in Southern Peru from 600 to 1000 A.D. 

Crain’s Chicago Business managing editor Ann Dwyer takes a closer look at why the Old Main Post Office may be the target of a city of Chicago eminent domain takeover and other business headlines.

Geoffrey Baer tackles three questions about Chicago's beloved rapid transit system, including the various spellings of the system, old downtown entrances between elevated stations and Loop stores and a mysterious tunnel a viewer spotted while riding the Blue Line.

The FBI wants Apple to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the people behind December's mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. Apple says it's taking a stand for privacy rights, while the FBI says it's merely trying to conduct the most thorough investigation possible.

New discoveries and treatments are transforming the way doctors are fighting cancer. We speak with two specialists about recent developments that may offer hope for many patients.

Watch the February 24, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Art and science intersect at an historic – and controversial – look at race. Tour the exhibition "Looking at Ourselves: Rethinking the Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman."

A coalition of homeless service providers who pleaded with Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday to unlock $310 million worth of state funding say they will likely only get a small part of their wish.

Marja Mills, the Chicago-based author of "The Mockingbird Next Door" shares stories of her friendship with the late Pulitzer prize-winning author Harper Lee, who died last Friday in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama.

As the U.S. Department of Justice carries out its investigation of the Chicago Police Department, U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon joins us to discuss updates on the probe, the recent spike in gun violence gripping the city, and some of the high-profile cases his office has handled over the last few months.

Opioid and heroin overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The alarming rise in heroin deaths has tripled since 2010. "Chicago Tonight" talks about the heroin crisis with the executive director of a treatment facility and the founder of an anti-heroin education and advocacy foundation.

Would you pay a toll to zoom past traffic in an express lane on the Stevenson? That's one of the big ideas the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has for the Chicago region. Geoffrey Baer has an exclusive look at their newest plan.

Watch the February 23, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Fr. Michael Pfleger took to social media on Tuesday to openly criticize nonprofit Friends of the Parks for the continued legal delays preventing film mogul George Lucas from starting construction on his proposed lakefront museum. Do you think the construction holdup is warranted?

It sounds simple: slow down and make better choices. Most of us don't do that as well as we could, but researchers are studying how the simple act of slowing down can reduce crime. Brandis Friedman has the story.

"The crux of the issue is that Illinois' funding of public education is broken," the former U.S. Education Secretary said on "Chicago Tonight." Watch the full interview and get highlights from the discussion.

Watch the February 22, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.