Stories by WTTW News

You’re not crazy. A local expert says people are seeing “substantially more flashing activity in the evening.” He tells us why there are so many of our favorite summertime bug – and why they light up.

A 12-person jury deliberated for more than eight hours over the course of two days in Peoria’s federal courthouse, but failed to reach a unanimous decision in the death-penalty case. 

Watch the July 18, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday posted data showing nearly 68,000 drug overdose deaths were reported last year. Overdose deaths had been climbing each year since 1990, topping 70,000 in 2017.

Scientists are often the foremost experts in their fields of study, but they aren’t necessarily well versed in the tricky science of collaboration.

Rising temperatures this week could lead to unhealthy air quality, particularly for people with respiratory conditions, as the heat combines with pollution from vehicle emissions and other sources, says the American Lung Association. 

More than 100 local heat records are expected to fall Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Most won’t be record-daily highs but record-high nighttime lows, and that lack of cooling can be dangerous, meteorologists say. 

Why the federal probe into a former Chicago alderman could spell trouble for House Speaker Michael Madigan. Our politics team takes on that story and more in our weekly roundtable.

John Paul Stevens was a born-and-bred Chicagoan who rose to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Local legal scholars, historians and attorneys who worked with Stevens reflect on his life.

A new deal could be worth up to $100 million for the giant Port of Chicago on the city’s Southeast Side.

A youth basketball league from the 1940s and ‘50s is a reminder of Japanese American internment during World War II. Geoffrey Baer has that story and more in this edition of Ask Geoffrey.

New analysis of Chicago homicide data by the Erikson Institute underscores the effect violent crime can have on young children.

Watch the July 17, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

A bold plan to get hundreds of people into the Chicago River for a 2.4-mile swim remains docked for a year or so after organizers struggled to secure permits and coordinate with a number of city agencies.

A 12-person jury is in the process of deciding whether the former Ph.D. candidate will live out the rest of his natural life behind bars or if he’ll be put to death for the kidnapping and killing of Yingying Zhang.

Is a peek into the future worth your privacy in the present? That concern was pushed to the spotlight this week with the resurgence of a smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence to transform your current face into your younger and older selves.

John Paul Stevens moved left as the Supreme Court shifted to the right during his nearly 35 years as a justice. That’s how the bow-tie wearing Republican from the Midwest emerged as the leader of the high court’s liberal wing.

Colorful sidewalks, a massive music fest, Mexican fare and a moon bash usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Apple and Google are rolling out dozens of new emoji that of course include cute critters, but also expand the number of images of human diversity.

United said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit soared 54%, to $1.05 billion. The results beat expectations, and United slightly raised its forecast of full-year profit.

There’s a parade of new shows on stage in Chicago. Theater critic Hedy Weiss recommends her current favorites.

John Paul Stevens, the bow-tied, independent-thinking, Republican-nominated justice who unexpectedly emerged as the Supreme Court’s leading liberal, died Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after suffering a stroke Monday.

Even as President Donald Trump cracks down on undocumented immigrants, Illinois is expanding services available to them. What services are – and aren’t – on offer.

Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Illinois on Jan. 1, but there are a lot of unanswered questions about how employers will react – and adapt – to the law. 

The House passes an amendment to reverse President Donald Trump’s ban on most transgender people serving in the military. Retired Col. Jennifer Pritzker joins us.

Meet Dr. Patrice Harris, the new leader of the Chicago-based American Medical Association, the country’s largest association of doctors and medical students.