Stories by Erica Gunderson

The commercials for do-it-yourself DNA testing kits promise a bounty of self-discovery about your history and health. But are you prepared for the results?

Gov. Bruce Rauner used his veto pen this week to rewrite a bill making minor technical changes to the state’s new and much-debated school funding formula. State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith joins us.

Are chronic pain patients losing access to opioids? One advocacy group says yes, and now it’s pushing for “more reasonable” guidelines from the CDC on opioid prescriptions.

Brookfield Zoo is leading a first-of-its-kind study to collect data from dolphins and other aquatic mammals using a Fitbit-like device that figures to revolutionize human understanding of the animals’ behavior.

Watch the Jan. 10, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

In the face of mounting criticism over his handling of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a veterans home, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday promised additional upgrades to the facility.

Classical music gets a soulful twist in a show that reaches from Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre to a notorious prison in Louisiana.

The Obama Foundation says it revised plans for the Obama Presidential Center after extensive community input. But are they enough to silence critics of the center, and will city officials OK the plans?

If you’re looking to buy an affordable home near public transit, highly rated schools and other neighborhood perks – one real estate website says look no further than Chicago.

Health officials say the flu is peaking early this year, with 100 more flu outbreaks statewide than at this time last season. How hospitals are handling the increased volume of patients.

As lawmakers spar over a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a veterans home in Quincy, we take a closer look at how the illness spreads and is treated.

On Chicago’s West Side, an artist-run production weaving mill and a social service agency work together to weave adults with intellectual disabilities into the fabric of their community. 

Staf at the McKinley Park-area charter school filed their intent to unionize on Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board.

Free fitness classes, bull riding and craft cocktails usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Tribute concerts, storytelling, films and artwork commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. Here are eight ways to mark the holiday.

Board member Arnie Rivera has been chosen as Chicago Public Schools’ new chief operating officer, but a tweak to the district’s school code is needed before he can take over.

Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah told lawmakers Tuesday that he’s “proud” of the government’s response to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a state veterans home in Quincy. But critics say it was a delayed reaction that put veterans at risk.

Watch the Jan. 9, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

President Donald Trump surprised both supporters and detractors when he seemed to endorse an immigration deal a day after the White House announced that nearly 200,000 Salvadorans who have been in the country for more than a decade must leave.

A scorching accusation by a candidate for Illinois governor adds fuel to the gentrification debate in Chicago.

Born in Italy, Virginio Ferrari came to Chicago in the 1960s, and he blossomed into an internationally sought-after sculptor. We visit the 80-year-old in his Bridgeport studio.

They are the oldest forms of life on Earth and without them humans would not exist. How microbes shape the planet and its people.

Will the attorney general’s reversal of an Obama-era policy give prosecutors free rein to aggressively enforce pot prohibition?

State regulators are set to approve a pipe modernization project that could double your natural gas bill over the next 20 years.

If scuba diving with whale sharks or kayaking past glaciers sounds like you’re kind of thing, Shedd Aquarium has a trip for you this year.

Thomas Sierra, 41, spent more than half his life in prison, convicted of a murder he has claimed from the beginning he didn’t commit. On Tuesday, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped the charges. “It’s a bittersweet situation,” Sierra said.