Stories by Brandis Friedman

On her first full day in office, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a number of leaders who will serve in her administration, as well as several senior staff members.

As police departments across the U.S. weigh the use of facial recognition software, several communities are raising concerns about privacy.

There might be a new kind of meat cooking on the grill this weekend: alternative meat. But what is it? And why the craze?

Dozens of environmental activists from across the Midwest rallied Tuesday outside Chase Tower in the Loop to protest the financing of fossil fuel projects by the country’s largest bank.

Labeling a work of art a “masterpiece” is a dangerous business, but on rare occasions there can be no doubt that such a tag is unavoidable. This is one such case.

Neil Shubin, University of Chicago paleontologist and one of our favorite explainers of all things scientific, joins us to discuss stories making news in the world of science.

Doug McConnell has swam in New York’s Hudson River, the Boston Harbor and even the English Channel. Now he wants to make a splash in his own city.

Watch the May 21, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

A famous Chicago pizza joint is filled with antiques, and they’re all going to be part of an unusual estate sale. We go for a look.

Artificial intelligence outperformed radiologists in identifying lung cancer as part of first-time screenings, according to a new study. The technology also produced fewer false positives and negatives.

The suburban school district’s Board of Education voted Monday to spend $54,000 to reprint the books after more than a dozen photos were found of students displaying an upside-down “OK” hand gesture.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has at least two new gigs after wrapping up his second term in office. He joins the broadcast network as a contributor and The Atlantic as a contributing editor.  

The visitation, funeral and burial will take place this week for Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, who was strangled and whose baby was cut from her womb late last month.

Officials say genetic material from Asian carp has been detected near Lake Michigan, but a follow-up search turned up none of the invasive fish.

Watch the May 20, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The little-known story of Lori Lightfoot’s grandfather who was murdered in the Jim Crow South nearly 100 years ago.

Within hours of being sworn in, Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an executive order that aims to significantly curb aldermanic prerogative. She made signing it her first order of business as a demonstration she’ll bring change to the city. 

As Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes aim at City Council corruption, we talk with four aldermen about how they’ll work with the new mayor.

From humble beginnings in Massillon, Ohio, to a high-powered federal prosecutor – to mayor of Chicago. Our in-depth profile of the events that shaped the life of Lori Lightfoot.

Snowflake, a 16-year-old American alligator, is estimated to be one of just about 100 albino alligators in existence. 

Watching the company as it performed Boris Eifman’s latest work, the feeling that his dancers are not well served by his relentlessly madhouse style of movement – manic, extreme, repetitive – could not be denied.

Hilary Hahn’s bravura handling of a fire-breathing passage in Sibelius’ “Violin Concerto in D Minor” brings forth a “Wow!” from what was certainly an adult man in the audience at Symphony Center.

An individual with a confirmed measles infection took public transportation and visited several stores in the Loop late last week, according to health officials. 

Chicago’s new mayor, the first black woman and openly gay person to hold the office, takes aim at aldermanic prerogative and outlines her four guiding principles: community safety, public education, stability and integrity.

Did you miss the inauguration? Watch video of the ceremony or read the full text of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s inaugural address at Wintrust Arena. 

Police and Illinois’ child welfare agency say staff at a Chicago-area hospital didn’t alert them after determining that a bloodied woman who arrived with a gravely ill newborn had not just given birth to the baby boy, as she claimed.