Stories by Brandis Friedman

Chicago Public Schools has filed a lawsuit against former Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett. The complaint, filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, seeks $65 million in money damages and civil penalties.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day a little early with three parades and the annual river dyeing. Live music, some impressive Lego-building skills and an acclaimed dance company round things out.

The Chicago Park District board unanimously approved an admission hike for the Lincoln Park museum on Wednesday, citing the museum’s lack of admission increases over the past 10 years. 

Dorothy Brown faces the Democrats vying to replace her in next week's Democratic primary.

It's a simple state legislative primary, but observers view it as ground zero in the standoff between Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan. Paris Schutz has more on a race that has the money and mud flying. 

Watch the March 9, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

At a court hearing on Wednesday morning, an increasingly impatient federal judge again asked why attorneys for the city of Chicago have yet to turn over documents which may shed light on the process by which the city leased out lakefront property where the Lucas Museum would sit.

We meet two of the Democratic candidates vying to be the nominee for U.S. Senator.

Watch the March 8, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight

The Chicago Public Schools system is one step closer to having an elected school board instead of one in which members are appointed by the mayor.

No need to chop off your ear – the Art Institute is adding extra dates to its Vincent Van Gogh-themed Airbnb listing, a rented room constructed in the style of Van Gogh's 1889 painting "The Bedroom."

The longtime advocate for health care reform, whose patients included President Barack Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died Monday at age 92.

It’s official: The first day of spring, March 20, is less than two weeks away. Chicago is gearing up for warmer weather and blossoming flowers with gardening and horticulture events in the area.

In its proposal to the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners, the museum says an admission increase would "offset the Museum’s increased utilities, maintenance and personnel costs." The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners will vote Wednesday on the proposed increase.

Who says ancient Greek mythology can't be as compelling as a Netflix true crime series? Play the part of the jury in the "Trial of Antigone," part of a series from the National Hellenic Museum in Greektown, where the audience decides the fate of famous Greek historical and mythological characters.

Watch the March 7, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Incumbent Bobby Rush and Alderman Howard Brookins Jr. discuss their race for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District. 

For the eighth year in a row, consumer debt topped Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s annual top 10 consumer complaints list. And for the first year, education-related complaints make the top 10 list.

A familiar face comes back to Illinois to coach the Fighting Illini. We have reaction from former Bears Coach Lovie Smith on his new gig.

Hear what viewers had to say about the ongoing contract stalemate between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools when we read feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Designed by famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, the 61,000-square-foot structure was first a 19th century stable, later housing theatrical costumes and sets in the 1930s. But now it looms, cold and vacant, across the street from its sister, the DuSable Museum of African American History – another Burnham original which has tried unsuccessfully for more than 10 years to bring the empty stable back to life.  

“People need to think of adequate sleep as an important aspect of maintaining good health," said Erin Hanlon, Ph.D., lead author of a new University of Chicago study linking insufficient sleep with increased consumption of snacks and high-energy, high-fat foods.

The Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union seem to be engaged in a game of “chicken,” where the both sides continue to decelerate before collision.

Teachers threaten an April strike. The Illinois House votes to strip Mayor Rahm Emanuel of school board control. Homicides soar and police morale sinks. And baseball is back. Joel Weisman had guests for these stories and more.

The Chi-Town Jazz Festival doubles as a fundraiser for area food pantries. The founder, a local priest, says jazz is a fitting genre to address social issues like hunger.

This weekend's festive Chiditarod shopping cart race will raise thousands of dollars and pounds of food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, but organizers this year are making special efforts to prevent teams from dressing in offensive costumes.