Stories by WTTW News

An ordinance that would crack down on illegal gun purchases quietly passes the Cook County Board today. Paris Schutz has more on what this means to the city's gun control efforts.

A special effect goes horribly wrong at a Lyric Opera of Chicago rehearsal, seriously burning an actor. We have the latest on his condition and what the company has to say.

Chicago ends its deadliest January in a decade as hundreds more police are deployed to the streets. Elizabeth Brackett and her panel discuss the city's crime rate.

The country's oldest planetarium has a new president. We hear what her vision is for the Adler.

Olympic gymnast and actress Cathy Rigby defies age and gravity as "Peter Pan." We talk with Rigby about her acrobatic career in sport and on stage.

A few years ago, Jay Shefsky introduced us to banjo prodigy Noam Pikelny when he had just joined mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile as part of his band, Punch Brothers. Pikelny is now nominated for a Grammy. We take another look at Jay's story.

The Smart Chicago Collaborative wants Chicagoans across the city to test the latest civic app and websites. 

Sen. Dick Durbin outlines the Senate 'Gang of 8' immigration proposal. Paris Schutz has the latest.

Charges of insider contracts surface in building and maintaining a $25 million UNO charter school. Carol Marin talks with the Chicago Sun-Times reporters who uncovered the story.

Provocative filmmaker Oliver Stone discusses his 10-part documentary series on the history of the United States.

Elizabeth Brackett reports on how the Shedd Aquarium is drastically cutting its energy consumption.

Look out below! Why are some Chicago neighborhood homes below street level? Geoffrey Baer tells us more in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey.

The life and work of a tough Chicago artist.  We take a closer look at painter Joan Mitchell, who expressed herself strongly during a macho era in American art.

We read what some of you had to say about low water levels in the Great Lakes in tonight's Viewer Mail.

Former longtime New York Mayor Ed Koch died on Friday. We take a look back at interviews with Koch from the WTTW archives.

Eddie Arruza and his panel of journalists discuss the week's top headlines.

Eddie Arruza and his panel of journalists break down the hype surrounding Super Bowl commercials, and whether some ads intentionally try to stir controversy. They also touch on player safety issues in the NFL, and the trickle-down effect to youth football.

Need some ideas for what to do this weekend? Chicago Tonight knows what is going on!

Obama campaign guru David Axelrod joins us to talk about the president's second term, and his new role at the University of Chicago.

Notice anything different about your property tax bills this year? Treasurer Maria Pappas is trying to use them to expose the worst sources of debt in Cook County. We check in with her.

Actor John Malkovich stars in an unsettling stage show  filled with music and murder. He joins us to talk about The Infernal Comedy.

We look back at a 1987 interview from Chicago Tonight’s archives between John Callaway, and actors John Malkovich and Joan Allen.

Find out why Woodstock, Illinois -- the backdrop to the classic movie Groundhog Day -- is reliving the same day over, and over, and over again.

We hear what you had to say about recent stories when we read some of our viewer mail.

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan is out of prison, and on house arrest for the remainder of his sentence. We talk with his former chief of staff Scott Fawell about the final chapter to this dramatic story.

Is further privatization the way to go? Paris Schutz has more on the mayor and the CTA chief's plans for private investment to pay for modernizing train infrastructure, and what it could mean for taxpayers.