Stories by Hedy Weiss

The big surprise in this hit Broadway musical is how the seemingly most unlikely material for a musical – the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks – ends up feeling as if it were custom-made for the form and turns great darkness into a healing light.

The body of Yingying Zhang was never recovered after former University of Illinois doctoral student Brendt Christensen kidnapped and killed her. 

President Trump rattles financial markets with a surprise announcement of 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports starting later this summer. 

After months of shortages, Impossible Foods is partnering with a veteran food production company to ramp up supplies of its popular plant-based burgers.

The 52-year-old Kelly was denied bail in a Brooklyn courtroom packed with his supporters. He appeared sullen as prosecutors told Magistrate Judge Steven Tiscione he posed a flight risk and a danger to public safety.

State Sen. Tom Cullerton is alleged to have fraudulently received labor and benefits from a labor union in which, according to the indictment, he did “little or no work.”

Illinois recently passed a sesame-labeling law, but federal law doesn’t require such labeling when it comes to the ninth most common food allergen. What a new study tells us about its prevalence.

As Democratic contenders for the White House battle it out over their visions for transforming health care in America, President Donald Trump continues to try to position himself as responsible for bringing down costs.

We discuss the future of the Obama Presidential Center with Ghian Foreman, president and CEO of Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative; and University of Illinois at Chicago professor David Stovall.

After weeks of protests and demonstrations calling for his resignation, Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is expected to step down Friday. How local Puerto Rican communities are responding to the political uncertainty.

Unquestionably one of the company’s most irresistible, highly polished, dance-fueled productions of recent seasons, “You Can’t Fake the Funk” will take you higher, set you on fire, and infuse you with a Superfly energy.

For its big summer show this year, the Art Institute takes a fresh look at the early modern artist, Edouard Manet. We tour the show.

Like the city itself, the Rainbow Cone is a painterly masterpiece of colors and tastes, each separate and distinct, which together somehow become more than the sum of their parts. 

The longtime White Sox and Cubs broadcaster is the subject of a new book. Author Dan Zminda joins us to discuss “The Legendary Harry Caray: Baseball’s Greatest Salesman.”

A new report praises Illinois for raising taxes on tobacco products and increasing the legal smoking age to 21, but says there’s still more work to do when it comes to reducing cancer rates.

Descendants of notorious 1930s gangster John Dillinger seeking to have his remains exhumed say they have “evidence” the body buried in an Indianapolis cemetery may not be him.

Calling the allegations against his client “as stale as used gym socks,” the defense attorney for R&B superstar R. Kelly is asking a federal judge to consider letting Kelly walk free from jail as he faces his latest legal battle.

The evening marked some of the toughest attacks California Sen. Kamala Harris has faced as a candidate. The exchanges were part of a broader ideological fight for the future of the Democratic Party.

Most of the costs arose from city workers putting up and removing barricades to keep people away from the lagoon in Humboldt Park after the male reptile was first spotted there last month.

A big-time labor leader is cooperating with federal agents. Our politics team weighs in on that and more in our weekly roundtable.

While the U.S. economy continues its record-breaking expansion, some wonder whether the Fed reacted to softening global markets or perhaps even pressure from President Donald Trump.

We visit a local house on the route of the Underground Railroad that was built by a man who was also an accomplished painter of early Illinoisans.

Another day, another data breach. This time, Capital One admits that more than 100 million of its credit card users have had their personal data hacked.

The city of Chicago could be in line for a giant windfall of tax revenue, just in time to face down a $700 million budget gap.

A massive Grant Park music festival, cultural celebrations, canoes and fresh produce. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

A new law in Illinois prohibits discharge of coal ash into the environment and establishes a regulatory framework to ensure that polluting companies finance the cleanup of coal ash waste, according to the Illinois Environmental Council.