Stories by Alexandra Silets

The professor and political analyst joins us to discuss his new book “What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America.”

The Catholic Church is weighing in on the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy. Cardinal Blase Cupich joins us to talk about it.

Nearly two dozen laboratory mice will be launched into orbit next week as part of a Northwestern-led research mission to learn more about the physiological effects of living in space. 

Beginning Monday, children and teens across Chicago will have access to free lunches during the summer.

What to read this summer? We asked a trio of local authors what books they’re taking to the beach. Here are their top picks.

Watch the June 20, 2018 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

On the 100th anniversary of his birth, Charles White is being recognized with the first major retrospective of his work since 1982. 

Fifty years after the death of her father Robert F. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy is out with a new book that examines his life and legacy.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order ending the policy of separating migrant children from their parents. Will the move spur immigration reform in Congress?

A tantalizing discovery suggests that life could once have existed on Mars – and may still exist today. We get the latest on the red planet with Adler Planetarium astronomer Mark Hammergren.

If, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the beholder is given a lot to admire at the Shedd Aquarium’s newest exhibit, “Underwater Beauty.”

A new program aims to create or preserve nearly 2 million acres of habitat across the U.S. for monarch butterflies, which could face extinction in 20 years. 

Nearly two dozen legislators grilled Chicago Public Schools officials for more than two hours Wednesday over the district’s mishandling of sexual abuse allegations going back at least a decade.

A celebration of pride, a massive block party, vintage baseball and scores of strawberries usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Funeral services for the award-winning journalist start at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Kenilworth Union Church. You can watch the ceremony here.

Watch the June 19, 2018 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Gov. Bruce Rauner weighs in on President Donald Trump’s controversial “zero tolerance” immigration policy.

Jitters on Wall Street as the U.S.-China trade war escalates. What it could mean for your wallet.

Why parents are hoping to reverse a decision that would turn their Level 1-plus elementary school on the city’s Near South Side into high school.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has vowed to get started on digging an 18-mile tunnel from Block 37 to O’Hare airport in the next three to four months. We discuss the plan with Deputy Mayor of Chicago Robert Rivkin.

From neighbors to roommates: How two Chicago schools are getting ready to merge as summer break begins.

A new 20,000-square-foot urban agriculture facility aims to expand job training programs and healthy food options in one of Chicago’s most troubled neighborhoods. 

Though not a terribly romantic process, walleye breeding at the Cook County Forest Preserve District produces thousands of young fish for county lakes. We take a closer look.

Meet a Loyola University Chicago oncologist who co-authored a new study on breast cancer and chemotherapy – and a patient already benefiting from its findings.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office on Tuesday ruled the death of award-winning journalist Elizabeth Brackett an accident.

As part of our celebration of Elizabeth Brackett’s life and legacy, we look back at some of the work that made her such an important journalist to audiences in Chicago and around the country.