Stories by WTTW News

Why are craft beer selections at restaurants so limited and what's a good moonshine? Check Please! Host and Master Sommelier Alpana Singh joins us with answers to your wine, beer and spirits questions in Ask Alpana.

One-third of students who attend Chicago Public Schools began the new school year today. The school day is longer this year, but how is the time being spent? And is there any progress on teacher contract negotiations? CPS and CTU heads join us with updates.

Should the media be allowed inside Illinois prisons to authenticate claims of inhumane conditions? We have some of your thoughts in Viewer Mail.

Watch a web-exclusive conversation with Eddie Arruza and his panel of journalists.

As the price of college tuition rises, students are taking out more debt than ever before to pay for an education. Is the next generation of taxpayers biting off more than it can chew? We hear both sides.

It's a big expansion for Roosevelt University, as a new vertical campus opens in the Loop. But it's left the college with some big financial challenges. We hear how the university is trying to get back on track.

We meet trailblazing journalist and Chicago native, Carole Simpson, who made history as the first woman to moderate a presidential debate.

We asked if you thought the old Prentice Women's Hospital should be saved or torn down. We read what some of you had to say in Viewer Mail.

Former Illinois Governor George Ryan is one step closer to getting out of prison.  Paris Schutz has more on today's decision.

Funeral services were held today for pediatric surgeon Donald Liu.  Liu drowned on Sunday trying to rescue two children caught in a rip current.  We have a profile.  

A Chicago Public Radio report says Illinois' prison system is in a state of crisis, with overcrowding and new allegations of inhumane conditions. We have the latest.

If you get sweet cravings at strange times, help is on hand. Kris Kridel of WBBM Newsradio 780 and 105.9FM has that story, and more top business headlines.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney makes his pitch in President Obama's backyard. Paris Schutz has more on why Romney is in Chicago, and the local business that snagged him.

How does life go on after devastating trauma? A Bosnian concentration camp survivor and a journalist discuss their new book on trauma and healing.

Composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at age 68. We revisit a 1997 Artbeat story where Hamlisch visits The People's Music School in Chicago.

We get praise and taken to the woodshed in tonight's Viewer Mail.

The governor sounds the alarm on pension reform, but are Republicans finally buying in? Find out what the top Republican in the Senate had to say.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster calls it quits after 43 years. She joins us on her last day on the job to talk about her life, legacy, and what's next.

The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was held here in Chicago, but is anything still standing from the White City? Geoffrey Baer shares some surprising secrets in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey.

We have some of your rather pointed comments about the state's pension crisis when we read some of your viewer mail.

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

The board members of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Infrastructure Trust get to know each other in their first official meeting. But what else is really known about this new method of financing city projects? Paris Schutz has the story.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warns about a so-called fiscal cliff the nation is facing on January 2. We take up the automatic budget cuts some think could lead to a new recession.

In part three of our Vivian Maier series, Jay Shefsky introduces us to several people trying to unravel the mystery of the celebrated photographer.

Utility giant ComEd's first female president talks about the company's future plans to keep customers out of the dark.

See how the Illinois House voted on the Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act in our interactive graphic.