Stories by Evan Garcia

Two Chicago-area institutions are the first in the nation to receive certification in a new program that assesses the well-being of animals held in captivity.

Watch the June 15, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Friends of the Parks’ executive director Juanita Irizarry insists the lawsuit is still on, but Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he believes an agreement can be reached.

Lawmakers were supposed to be in Springfield on Wednesday, but House Speaker Michael Madigan canceled the session in spite of his pledge to work through the summer. 

It may not be quite an "exodus" of CPS principals, but more of them are leaving. Why the district is concerned it could get worse.

As Chicago remembers victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, it's also preparing to celebrate Gay Pride Month over the next two weekends. Hear details from the parade coordinator.

A process similar to making soda water may be an effective strategy in warding off an Asian carp invasion that’s threatening the health of the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan.

Watch the June 14, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Members of Chicago's Muslim and LGBTQ communities are grappling with the fallout from Sunday's attack at Pulse, a popular gay nightclub in Orlando that left a reported 49 dead and 53 injured. We speak with a local Muslim interfaith youth leader and a former employee of Pulse.

Actors and other theater professionals have banded together in Chicago to fight sexual harassment. We meet one of the founders of the advocacy group Not In Our House.

The city’s former top cop Garry McCarthy says he warned Mayor Rahm Emanuel about what he calls a “dysfunctional” disciplinary system for cops. 

If you’ve forgotten what presidential debates look and sound like without all of the accoutrements of our modern age – such as yelling, interruption and name-calling – you’d fare well by looking back a few years.

Watch the June 13, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

The state's credit rating takes another couple of punches to the gut. We talk with Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs.

Chicago reacts to the mass shooting in Orlando that left a reported 49 dead. We have the latest as a vigil gets underway in Lakeview.

Billed by the city as the first park of its kind in the Midwest, Big Marsh Bike Park will open this winter at a former industrial site that's now part of a 270-acre habitat restoration project.

All eyes are on the North Branch industrial corridor, once home to Finkl Steel, which could become the springboard of Chicago's manufacturing future.

Geoffrey Baer considers himself an experienced sailboat racer. But, he says, “I’d have no more idea how to sail the vessels I watched Friday during the America’s Cup World Series practice races off Navy Pier than I would know how to pilot an F-14 aircraft.”

For more than 20 years, researchers at Northwestern University have collaborated with a global network of scientists to try and unravel the mysteries of Parkinson's disease. A study published this month in Nature Genetics shares an important discovery from that research.

A new tourism guide from the Windy City Times showcases Chicago as an LGBTQ-friendly destination. But Tracy Baim, publisher and executive editor of the newspaper, says these travel tips are not just for tourists.

Chicago’s early history has a surprising amount of Kentucky in it, including five-time Chicago Mayor Carter Henry Harrison. We honor Harrison’s old Kentucky home by putting a Chicago spin on the classic mint julep.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk dumps presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Former Gov. Jim Edgar urges civility and compromise in Springfield. Mayor Rahm Emanuel looks for property tax rebates. And the Cubs soar as the Sox sink.

The preservation group Friends of the Parks is denying reports that it will drop a lawsuit against the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and its quest to build along Chicago’s lakefront.

Watch the June 9, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

A Muslim prayer service was held Thursday to honor the boxer in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. As part of a Nation of Islam delegation, Salim Muwakkil met Muhammad Ali in Kingston, Jamaica in 1974.

The America's Cup hits freshwater for the first time as it comes to Chicago this weekend. Elizabeth Brackett takes us to Navy Pier where teams are preparing for the races.