Stories by Brandis Friedman

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied and marched on city streets outside City Hall on Wednesday morning as Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered her first budget address.

As the city and the Chicago Teachers Union try to hammer out a contract agreement, we explore common strategies and pitfalls in any negotiation with professional mediator Teresa Frisbie.

Mayor Lightfoot laid out her plan to resolve the city’s massive deficit, but any final budget will require the support of aldermen. Weighing in on that and more: Alds. Scott Waguespack, Ray Lopez and Jason Ervin.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced tough questions Wednesday from members of Congress about his social media platform’s digital currency project. We discuss the billionaire tech entrepreneur’s plans for Libra.

Bill Daley has left Bank of New York Mellon after less than six months as vice chairman. He started there following his loss in Chicago’s mayoral election earlier this year.

Leaders from Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police are criticizing Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, the subject of an ongoing investigation into a driving incident who said this week he plans to skip President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Chicago.

A team led by several Chicago-area researchers has developed a new method to “upcycle” single-use plastics into a number of commonly used products, such as motor oils, detergents and cosmetics. 

Scaly creatures, a Dia de Los Muertos celebration, graveyard performances and a beer-centric conference usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered her first budget address Wednesday at City Hall amid a swirl of protests from striking Chicago Public Schools teachers and support staff outside. How she plans to close the budget gap.

Watch the Oct. 23, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Two teens and a juvenile are facing multiple felony charges after they allegedly carjacked a woman’s vehicle last week with two children inside it. Police say the children, ages 5 and 2, were found unharmed just blocks away.

A top U.S. diplomat testified Tuesday that President Donald Trump was holding back military aid for Ukraine unless the country agreed to investigate Democrats and a company linked to Joe Biden’s family.

President Donald Trump’s appearance next week at a police chiefs conference will be his first visit as president to Chicago, a city he has ridiculed for years. The city’s top cop plans to skip the speech, even though he’s hosting the event.

There is still no deal between the city and the Chicago Teachers Union, and the strike is raising specific concerns for some high school seniors. Meanwhile, a former teacher-turned-presidential hopeful rallied with the CTU on Tuesday morning.

A former Time editor and State Department official on fighting for truth in the age of disinformation. Richard Stengel tells us about his new book “Information Wars.”

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi has promised to fix a broken property tax system and end political patronage hiring. But a recent report found that the assessor’s office is not complying with a series of federal court orders. Kaegi joins us to discuss that and more.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday will deliver her first budget address, with an expected plan to close an $838 million budget deficit. She’s already accounted for $200 million of that with a proposal to refinance $1.3 billion in city borrowing.

Amid fierce fast-food competition, McDonald’s home market lost momentum in the latest quarter. Bloomberg reports that same-store sales rose 5.9% globally, but the Chicago-based fast food giant is struggling to attract customers in the U.S.

Louis Comfort Tiffany led an all-star team of artists and designers who could create almost anything out of glass: lamps, jewelry, mosaics and also artwork of a spiritual nature. We visit the exhibit “Eternal Light.” 

Lenny Bruce has been called one of the most influential comedians of all time. Joe Montegna and Ronnie Marmo give us a sneak peek into their one-man play about the controversial comedian, which opens this week in Chicago.

The city of Chicago is seeking $130,000 in reimbursement for police overtime costs spent investigating the former “Empire” star’s allegedly false claims. A judge on Tuesday said that lawsuit “will be going forward.”

Watch the Oct. 22, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office is seeking to add Irish pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt to its lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their role in the nation’s opioid epidemic.

President Donald Trump injected racial overtones into the House impeachment inquiry Tuesday by comparing the Democratic-led investigation into his handling of U.S. policy toward Ukraine to a “lynching.” 

The president, according to people familiar with testimony in the House impeachment investigation, sees the Eastern European ally, not Russia, as responsible for the interference in the 2016 election that was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller.

The exceptional breadth, depth and variety of Chicago theater was on full display Monday night as the winners of the 2019 Jeff Equity Awards were announced. Here are the highlights.