Stories by Alex Ruppenthal

Starting Oct. 1, crossbows can be used to hunt deer and turkey in Illinois thanks to a state law signed last week.

A scathing federal report on the Chicago Police Department outlined 99 recommendations for reform. But an analysis by an online investigative site says only six of those recommendations have been fully implemented so far. 

More than a dozen residents of the former Ida B. Wells housing project say they were framed and intimidated by a former Chicago Police Department sergeant. Now they are seeking to have their convictions overturned.

Chicago Tonight visits a little shop in Chicago for a look at how to rejuvenate pitched percussion instruments – and gets a history lesson in concert tuning.

The Taste of Chicago may be the granddaddy of local food festivals, but it was not the city’s first. We remember a 1977 event that offered another “taste of Chicago” at McCormick Place.

In 2015, Loyola University Chicago started a two-year college to provide high-quality education to low-income students. Now the school has graduated its first class of students.

He has worn many hats throughout his extraordinary life. The Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and weatherman talks about his long and storied career.

Is the Cook County sweetened beverage tax about to fizzle out?

The new U.S. News and World Report college rankings are out. See which Illinois schools made the list.

Watch the Sept. 12, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Median incomes in America are on the rise. What will be the response of a Federal Reserve Board with vacancies?

We visit a little shop in Chicago for a look at how to rejuvenate pitched percussion instruments – and get a history lesson in concert tuning.

A new report from Chicago Public Schools’ legal watchdog states an alternative high school located within the Cook County Jail has been falsifying its enrollment and graduation numbers for years.

A new episode of “Frontline” shines a light on the little-known story of the only U.S. bank to be prosecuted in the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. We speak with the director and producer of “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.”

A compound made by honeybees could become the basis for the first new antibiotics in more than 30 years, according to UIC researchers. 

Of Illinois’ 12.8 million residents, an estimated 5.4 million may have been impacted by the Equifax data breach. We review what you can do to protect yourself from potential identity fraud.

Attorneys for the city of Chicago on Monday hoped to convince a federal judge that plans by the U.S. Department of Justice to withhold federal grant money over immigration enforcement is unconstitutional.

Watch the Sept. 11, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Hurricane Irma leaves behind storm surge flooding, widespread power outages and serious damage to property. We get an update from Florida.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is leading a huge delegation in Israel on Monday evening. He tells us why.

What part – if any – does global warming play in the intensity of hurricanes? And what infrastructure failures contribute to the utter loss and destruction during extreme weather?

A great joke can make you laugh, but can it also help you face life’s mysteries? A new book makes the case that jokes not only delight us, but help us approach difficult subject matter.

An anonymous donation will be used to treat child abuse, mental health issues and the direct and indirect effects of violence on Chicago’s youth.

Just days after Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a new education funding formula into law, his handpicked education chief announced her departure.

State regulators signed off Monday on an energy savings plan that consumer advocates say could cost downstate residents nearly 30 percent in savings on utility bills.

Luigi, a 1-year-old Hoffman’s two-toed sloth, is getting settled alongside his new primate neighbors in a mixed-species exhibit.