Stories by WTTW News

Watch the Sept. 15, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The city asked for creative winter outdoor dining ideas, and Chicagoans delivered, offering 643 submissions ranging from the practical to the ridiculous. 

The agency charged with investigating allegations of police misconduct has failed to promptly release video and audio recordings of use-of-force incidents, as required by city law, according to a new audit by Chicago’s watchdog.

As MLB sprints through two months, the businesses in the neighborhoods surrounding the stadiums that rely so heavily on thousands making their way through the turnstiles 81 times a year are struggling, their futures murky at best.

The Midwest is now the center of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday, but Chicago has begun making “definite progress” against a surge of infections among young adults and Latinos.

Demand for toilet paper has been so high during the pandemic that in order to keep their shelves stocked, retailers are buying up foreign toilet paper brands, mostly from Mexico.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday warned of looming cuts to state government, including potential layoffs, without help from the federal government.

They’ve been on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19. Now they’re on the picket lines. Why University of Illinois and UIC health care workers, including about 800 nurses, are on strike.

Cook County’s second annual Racial Equity Week began Monday. This year’s theme: acknowledging past harm, its impact today and a vision for the future. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle tells us more.

Matt Sparapani and Alison Newberry weren’t planning to be in Chicago this summer. But like many of us, they had to rethink their plans. What the local teachers have learned about the natural areas of Chicago.

Amid uncertainty in Chicago and across the nation, a ray of hope: Chicago’s baseball teams are in first place, and the city’s beloved Bears pulled off a miracle comeback. Can professional sports actually be a tonic for tough times?

We speak with Angela Tovar, the city’s recently named sustainability officer, about a new air quality ordinance and improving Chicago’s environment.

In an age when false information can be disseminated to millions with a single tweet or Facebook post, combatting that misinformation is all the more important. What election officials are doing to dispel misleading myths.

It is past time for investigators to complete their probe into the conduct of 13 officers who lounged, slept and snacked in the burglarized office of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush as unrest swept the city in June, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

The e-commerce giant is opening more distribution centers in Chicago — and plans to hire thousands. Crain’s Chicago Business Editor Ann Dwyer joins us with the stories behind the headlines.

Watch the Sept. 14, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is raising concerns about coronavirus testing at the nation’s schools, colleges and universities in the wake of incidents in which he says the federal government “commandeered” supplies.

The unmistakable sound of the Salvation Army’s bell-ringers could be heard Monday morning along Michigan Avenue as the organization announced an unprecedented September kickoff to its annual Red Kettle fundraiser.

A drug company says that adding an anti-inflammatory medicine to a drug already widely used for hospitalized COVID-19 patients shortens their time to recovery by an additional day.

A push to build a first-of-its-kind workforce to conduct community-level contact tracing is months behind schedule, even as health officials brace for a surge in infections at the start of the traditional flu season.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown again criticized a perceived lack of consequences for gun offenders after a weekend in which 53 people were shot in the city, 10 fatally.

Smoke from the West Coast wildfires has drifted into northern Illinois, creating milky white or gray skies over what should be a sunny Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.

The city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance created just 1,049 homes in 13 years by requiring some developers to set aside units for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans, but that has barely dented the city’s affordable housing gap, according to a new report.

Authorities searched Sunday for a gunman who shot and critically wounded two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who were sitting in their squad car — an apparent ambush that drew a reward for information and an angry response from the president.

​Mexican Independence Day celebrations are a community staple across many communities in Chicago and beyond. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, those celebrations are looking very different this year.

Chicago Public Schools students talk about their first week of virtual classes. We explore the history of police in schools, and the local connections of the NFL’s first Black team president.