Stories by Brandis Friedman

The first full day of summer also marks the last day of the school year for Chicago Public School students. How stormy will their summers be as the district tries to weather its financial crisis?

In light of the elevated lead levels found at Chicago Public Schools, we ask local experts what high lead levels mean for your health.

Since its creation in 1946, Argonne National Laboratory has been at the forefront of scientific research. Lab director Peter Littlewood joins us to discuss 70 years of scientific discovery.

Remember the very musical von Trapp family from “The Sound of Music”? Last summer, my daughter and I met a group you might call the Chicago von Trapps. Together with their father they call themselves Cielito Lindo, which means “beautiful heaven.”

The city of Waukesha on Tuesday was given a green light to divert water from Lake Michigan for its drinking water supply after eight representatives from the states that border the Great Lakes voted unanimously to allow the diversion.

Watch the June 20, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

The debate rages on over the sale of assault weapons like the one used in the Orlando massacre. We talk with Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg about his experience trying to buy that kind of assault rifle.

Meet a Chicago police officer who says she faced retaliation after investigating corrupt cops, and find out how she hopes to help other whistleblowers.

From their rise in the early 1960s at the forefront of the British invasion to the worldwide mega-tours of more recent decades, the Rolling Stones have never left the public eye. A new book takes a panoramic look at the band. 

Gov. Bruce Rauner renews talk of possible bankruptcy for Chicago Public Schools. How would it work? That and more in a rare one-on-one interview with the governor.

Young artists get a rare opportunity to show their work. We visit the Union League Club to see an exhibition by a cultural institution in the Kenwood community called Little Black Pearl.

Monday marks a rare celestial event for stargazers: For the first time in decades, the full moon falls on the summer solstice.

In 1880, a 26-year-old German leather manufacturer left his hometown for America. Now, his great-great-granddaughter is recreating his cross-country journey in a 1880s Victorian dress.

Don’t be alarmed if you spot a large, colorful frog hopping around the city this week.

Whether it was dancing with a polka queen or meeting with protesters, Mayor Harold Washington was always smiling. We celebrate Chicago’s first and so far only African-American mayor with the signature drink, How’s Harold?

Rick Drew has been exploring and photographing abandoned sites in and around Chicago for a decade. But the hobby is considered by some as simple trespassing. "Chicago Tonight" asked Drew about his eccentric – and sometimes dangerous – pastime.

The average Chicago homeowner's property tax bill will go up roughly 13 percent, and it will keep going up for four years. That story and more on this week's edition of The Week in Review with Joel Weisman.

The Lincoln Park Zoo unveiled plans Thursday for major renovations to the Kovler Lion House and the construction of a new polar bear exhibit.

Watch the June 16, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Illinois State House Republican Leader Jim Durkin joins "Chicago Tonight" after a week of incendiary rhetoric in Springfield as the end of the fiscal year is just two weeks away.

A proposed ordinance would require 5 percent of a rideshare company's fleet to be wheelchair accessible, but Uber has its own plans to address accessibility.

With more and more Chicago schools being found to have elevated levels of lead in their water, some Chicago aldermen are now calling for public hearings on the issue.

City officials and law enforcement outlined plans for increased security measures at next weekend's 47th annual Chicago Pride Parade in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando.

From his studio in Bronzeville, Kerry James Marshall creates large-scale canvases that are prized in museums around the world. A 1997 winner of a MacArthur "genius" grant, Marshall spoke with “Chicago Tonight” at the opening of his career retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art. 

Plenty of dad-friendly events are on tap this weekend – including a finger-licking barbecue fest in Portage Park – and in the heart of Boystown, Pride Month festivities are under way.