Stories by WTTW News

What's on America's economic to-do list? The creator of a new survey has the details.

Neil Steinberg, longtime columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, shares stories from his new book, a defense of the city of Chicago.

We remember Ralph Frese, who died yesterday at the age of 86.  Frese built hundreds of canoes by hand -- including giant ones to cross Lake Michigan.  We take another look at Jay Shefsky's profile of the legendary Illinois paddler.

Daley nephew R.J. Vanecko makes his first court appearance--and lands a judge with connections to the Chicago dynasty. Carol Marin has more.

On the last day of the veto session, a new pension bill aimed at mending the state's $96 billion unfunded liability was rolled out. Here to talk about the ins and the outs of the bill are two of its sponsors.

A series of missed opportunities cost the Bears, keeping their December free-fall going. James "Big Cat" Williams is here to break down what went wrong against the Vikings.

Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent is charged with intoxication manslaughter in a car accident that killed his teammate Jerry Brown early Saturday morning. James “Big Cat” Williams shares his thoughts on this latest NFL tragedy in our web extra video.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss the week's top headlines.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists talk about no-bid contracts and the impact on unions. And they discuss the latest developments in the case of off-duty Chicago police officer Anthony Abbate’s beating of a Chicago bartender.

Need some ideas what to do this weekend? Chicago Tonight knows what's going on!

Chicago’s high school dropout rate – about 35 percent – is at the heart of the city’s problems with poverty, violence and unemployment. We delve deeper on a special episode of Chicago Tonight.

Is Chicago on the right path in fighting its chronic high school dropout problem? Our panelists – young people, educators at challenging schools, researchers and thought leaders – answer candid questions from members of our studio audience and viewers at home in a 30-minute web-exclusive conversation.

In Chicago Tonight’s American Graduate Special, we delve deeper into the city’s dropout epidemic. Young people, educators, researchers and leaders come together as panelists and audience members. Take a look at our behind-the-scenes slideshow of the American Graduate Special.

With a high school dropout rate around 35 percent, Chicago is a city full of out-of-school teenagers. Educators, activists, reformers, and district officials have competing ideas on how to reverse this trend. Yet students’ perspectives are often missing from the conversation on dropout prevention. We talk with young people – two who left CPS without a high school diploma, and one who decided to stay in school – about their ideas to change the system.

Students who are truant in their K-8 years are much more likely to drop out of high school later down the road. Elizabeth Brackett reports on one elementary school’s hands-on approach to combat the truancy crisis.

We talk with the educators who try to keep kids from falling off the grid, one student and one day at a time.

How do you narrow the college achievement gap between low- and high-income students? A new program in Chicago schools is trying a new strategy: teaching character.

Communities across Chicago are concerned with the city’s alarming high school dropout rate. But what would a comprehensive, district-wide dropout prevention campaign actually look like? And is CPS on the right path to unraveling this problem? We evaluate the big picture with University of Chicago researcher Elaine Allensworth and alternative schools leader Jack Wuest.

A new bipartisan proposal to tackle Illinois' growing pension crisis was unveiled today. We get the latest from Springfield.

Two years ago tomorrow, Toni Preckwinkle became Cook County Board President. She joins us with a look ahead at the rest of her term.

A brand new look for some of the oldest artwork at The Art Institute. We preview newly restored classical works from ancient Greece, Rome, and the Byzantine Empire.

Some are calling it another parking meter deal. Will a plan to build electronic billboards along the expressway help or hurt taxpayers? Paris Schutz has the story.

How could Rhode Island's pension reform efforts inform Cook County's solution? The architect behind some of the country's boldest pension reform joins us.

Illinois is on the way to joining two other states in giving undocumented immigrants driver's licenses. We have the latest on what happened in Springfield.

The Illinois Senate approves a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

The nephew of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, has been indicted for involuntary manslaughter. We have the latest on a stunning turn of events in this homicide from 2004.