Stories by Alexandra Silets

The state senator jumped into the crowded field vying for the Democratic nomination for governor a month ago. He joins us in discussion.

Shedd Aquarium’s dolphin calf Kukdlaa celebrated his first birthday with positive results from a physical checkup. And with cake, of course.

After a mild winter, spring is springing in Chicago and it’s time to get back into the garden. The Organic Gardener Jeanne Nolan is joining us for a new season of growing in the Chicago Tonight garden. 

Nationally syndicated columnist Ilyce Glink offers advice on everything from managing student debt to retirement funds.

Could the city’s open data portal be your new go-to website for restaurant planning?

Parents and community activists protested outside the Chicago office of Senate President John Cullerton on Tuesday to demand action on a bill that would grant the city an elected Board of Education.

An Albany Park bar toasts the late painter each week at a colorful event. We went to check out the “happy little trees” at Nighthawk.

A discussion about human rights on the South Side of Chicago – including public health and criminal justice – takes place Tuesday evening at a River North gallery.

It’s illegal in Illinois for insurers to charge rates based on factors like race, but a pair of state legislators say companies’ reliance on credit scores to set auto insurance premium rates contravenes the law. 

A spill last week at a U.S. Steel site in Northwest Indiana released an unknown amount of a potentially carcinogenic chemical into a Lake Michigan tributary, prompting the closure of three beaches at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Watch the April 17, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin visited with education and community stakeholders Monday afternoon at Burroughs Elementary in Brighton Park to pledge his support for federal after-school funding that’s facing the ax in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget.

Reports of abuse at U.S. immigration detention facilities, including those in Illinois, are rarely investigated, according to data obtained by a national nonprofit agency.

Nearly four months into Donald Trump’s presidency, tension over foreign affairs is flaring up.

Chicago’s magnificent skyline gets plenty of well-deserved attention, but what about architecture and design in our neighborhoods?

The city’s annual Summer Film Series returns with a line-up of Chicago classics and two of the most-buzzed about movies of 2016.

Nine out of 10 social services agencies said they were unable to raise 25 percent or more of the funding owed to them by the state, according to a new survey.

The 92-story skyscraper is a regular feature of Chicago architecture tours. But a changing political landscape has led some tour guides to be more careful with their comments about the structure.

Just in time for Easter, a reindeer named Bunny gives birth to a male fawn – the first reindeer born at Brookfield Zoo since 1980. 

Area teens can add one more freebie to their summer to-do lists.

United Airlines faces international scorn for dragging a passenger off a plane. Chicago cops oust their union president. Gov. Bruce Rauner goes on a political tour. And the Cubs raise the championship banner.

The orange-and-black insect has flocked to a Chicago neighborhood, but its presence is more of a political act than a natural one.

United Flight 3411 passenger Dr. David Dao was released from the hospital Wednesday night, after being treated for a concussion, broken nose and the loss of two front teeth, according his attorney.

Watch the April 13, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

The Chicago Tribune just won its first Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. We talk with Jason Wambsgans, who was awarded the prize.

NPR host Scott Simon on his lifelong love for the Chicago Cubs and what that World Series win meant to him.