Stories by Evan Garcia

Joey Santore isn’t your typical plant expert, but his colorful style and depth of knowledge have proved popular. We go for a stroll through Wolf Road Prairie, an 80-acre nature preserve in Chicago’s western suburbs.

Since the rib tip is not only a Chicago institution but also a finger food, we decided it was the best candidate this week for a beer-batter-and-hot-oil dunk.

A year after announcing it was dropping mandatory SATs as part of its admissions process and increasing financial aid for low-income and rural students, the University of Chicago is seeing an impact on enrollment.

A yearslong investigation by the Washington Post offers a state-by-state snapshot of the opioid crisis. What the data says about Illinois – and what the state is doing to fight back.

Latricia Brown is seeking damages for what she claims is the wrongful death of her son, 26-year-old Sharell Brown, who was shot and killed in May during an encounter with police.

Watch the Aug. 8, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the White Sox will play host to the Yankees in Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 13, 2020.

“You’ll see pictures of him in the background,” Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier said, without elaborating. He promised “surprises at the beginning of the season that you’re going to love.”

President Donald Trump tells reporters he is “thinking very seriously” about commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a 2010 contestant on “The Apprentice” who is now halfway through his 14-year prison sentence.

An indicted state senator keeping a leadership post, and city officials react to deadly shootings. Our politics team weighs in on those stories and more in our weekly roundtable.

Two years after a scathing report unveiled a rampant problem at the Department of Water Management, more employees are speaking out about what they call a toxic culture at the city agency. 

Illinois’ two senators continued their pressure campaign on Major League Baseball to be more proactive about fan safety at ballparks, urging greater transparency about how often and how seriously fans are hurt by foul balls.

The First Nations Garden in Albany Park was created by the American Indian Center and the Chi-Nations Youth Council in partnership with the city of Chicago. “It’s become a beacon for native people,” said 17-year-old Adrien Pochel.

A group dedicated to addressing Chicago’s gun violence offers an update on what it’s learned through conversations with community members impacted by gun violence in the North and South Lawndale neighborhoods. 

Each year, hundreds of Chicago Public Schools are having to make do without teachers and substitutes because of a teacher shortage. But according to new reporting from WBEZ, that shortfall does not impact all schools and students equally.

It’s been a rough few decades for the rusty patched bumblebee. Once widespread in Illinois and throughout much of the U.S., the species has lost nearly 90% of its population over the past 20 years.

A new report from a group of UIC students claims at least 450 predominantly international students received incomplete ballots or were erroneously told they were ineligible to vote in April’s student government election.

A huge South Side parade, food festivals, acrobatic felines and natural wines usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Watch the Aug. 7, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

After killing the Chinese scholar, Brendt Christensen says he put her body in three separate garbage bags, which he tossed in a dumpster outside his Champaign apartment.

The 40 counts R. Kelly faces carry a combined maximum prison sentence of more than 500 years, meaning the R&B star could spend the rest of his life behind bars if he loses badly at trial. 

Marijuana will be legal in Illinois in five months, but a growing number of communities across the state are considering saying “no” to cannabis sales within their borders, including suburban Naperville.

As a writer, publisher and general lover of literature, opening a bookstore was never in the plans for Danielle Mullen. But when faced with a tumor, she was forced to answer a question she hadn’t thought much about: her own legacy.

After a weekend of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, as well as nearly 60 people shot in Chicago – seven of them fatally – gun control proponents are once again calling for action.

Descendants of the notorious Depression-era bank robber claim they have evidence that the body in his grave in Indiana may not be his. We examine the enduring fascination with the legendary outlaw.

To truly appreciate the charm of a terra-cotta lavished building, Chicago author and photographer Lee Bey says to put on your gym shoes and go for a walk. We join him for a look at some of the city’s early architecture.