Stories by Nicole Cardos

How safe are Chicago hospitals? A new report says some of them are not making the grade when it comes to patient safety and preventable death. 

Will a sports betting plan cross the finish line in Illinois? Gov. J.B. Pritzker supports it, and plans are being negotiated in Springfield to expand gambling in the state.

Mauyak, a 38-year-old beluga whale, is already mother to 6-year-old Kimalu and is expected to give birth again this summer. 

Historic homes, art fairs, cover bands and water lanterns usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Chicago police on Wednesday charged 1st Ward Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno with four felony counts after he allegedly lied to police and his insurance agency in January claiming his car had been stolen.

Watch the May 15, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

In what is clearly a case of pure happenstance, two autobiographical solo shows about mental illness recently arrived on Chicago stages. A look at “Certain Woman of an Age” and “The Mushroom Cure.”

Illinois’ child welfare agency is so intent on keeping children with their parents even when they have strong evidence of abuse that it has sometimes left those children in grave danger, a study released Wednesday found.

State Sen. Martin Sandoval’s legislation would hike the electric vehicle registration fees from $17.50 to $1,000. It would also include tax and fee increases on gas, license plates and driver’s licenses.

Lori Lightfoot campaigned on forcing change in the City Council, and now she is looking to take away the unilateral power aldermen have to influence decisions in their wards. 

A new poll finds the majority of millennials – those born between 1980 and 2000 – are hopeful about their economic future, even though only one-third have career jobs.

Mother’s Day was extra special for Rollie, a western lowland gorilla at Lincoln Park Zoo who gave birth to a male last weekend. 

A group of elected state and local officials signed a letter earlier this month urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to back a third northeastern Illinois airport near Monee. 

How did fights over high hats and hoopskirts shape Chicago’s downtown as a shopping destination? We talk with the author of a new book about women and consumer culture at the turn of the century.

The Block Museum show “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time” showcases the splendor and influence of medieval West and North Africa. We tour the exhibition with a special guest from the Smithsonian.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa wants to create an elected council to replace the Chicago Police Board and Civilian Office of Police Accountability and give the community a bigger voice in police oversight.

Tim Conway, the stellar second banana to Carol Burnett who won four Emmy Awards on her TV variety show, has died, according to his publicist. He was 85.

Watch the May 14, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Attorney General William Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was “lawful and appropriate.”

If you want to save your brain, focus on keeping the rest of your body well with exercise and healthy habits rather than popping vitamin pills, new guidelines for preventing dementia advise.

With one week to go on the fifth floor of City Hall, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel sat down with Paris Schutz to talk about anti-Semitism, his leadership style, the looming pension problem and his own transparency. 

Global markets slowed Monday, including the main U.S. indexes, as a trade war between the United States and China intensifies.

In partnership with local PBS news programs around the country, the second in our series looking at the legalization of marijuana in communities across the U.S.

At a time of Jim Crow laws, how did a black man compete to become the fastest athlete of his time? A new book by Michael Kranish tells the story a trailblazing cyclist and his connection to Chicago. 

In Illinois, African American women are six times as likely to die of pregnancy-related conditions than white women. A new initiative aims to close that gap in three Chicago communities, with the help of a $4.7 million grant.

The Trump administration has proposed $2.8 billion in cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including a decrease of more than $1.4 billion in funding for states.