Stories by WTTW News

President Barack Obama returns to Springfield. Toni Preckwinkle sounds the layoff alarm. Sears continues to implode. And in sports, the Blackhawks are still the best in the west. Hear about these stories and more with Eddie Arruza and guests.

Watch the February 11, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

New taxes – and lots of them. That's what Illinois will need to dig out of its current fiscal mess, according to a new report from the Civic Federation.

Efforts to pass a stronger plan making the City Council more accountable were sidelined yesterday. Aldermen tells us what happened behind the scenes.

Celebrate the Year of the Monkey or surround yourself with colorful flowers (or shiny new cars) this Valentine's Day weekend. We've got something for everyone in our weekend to-do list.

The Cook County Sheriff's Office is finding a way to keep certain criminal defendants at home and on the job, instead of in jail while they await trial. Brandis Friedman takes a look at how a two-year pilot program designed to release inmates jailed for low-level offenses is working so far.

It's the weekend for love, but Valentine's Day can leave some feeling awfully lonely. A University of Chicago neuroscientist joins “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the science of loneliness and its potential health hazards.   

In the 1950s, a loose affiliation of Chicago artists haunted by World War II tried to capture emotional intensity in their creations. Dubbed "The Monster Roster," a collection of their work is on display at the Smart Museum of Art on the campus of the University of Chicago. We take a tour.

The long and delicious history of the company is told in a new book, “The Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook: Remarkable Recipes from a Chicago Legend.” Maureen Schulman, one of the book’s authors, shares this sweet tale and tips for making the perfect cheesecake.

Hear what viewers had to say about our web-exclusive story about a tent city in the South Loop and Carol Marin's panel of aldermen discussing expanding the inspector general's powers when we read feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Watch the February 10, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Starting Sunday, the Art Institute of Chicago will exhibit all three of Van Gogh's "bedroom paintings," the famous series the Dutch artist painted of his own bedroom while living in the provincial town of Arles, France.

City Council today proved that it is ready for reform – just not very much reform. It was a tense debate over which reform measure to support: one that would give Inspector General Joe Ferguson broad, sweeping powers to investigate and audit aldermen, or a more hands-off approach favored by powerful Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward). Paris Schutz has the story.

With Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders winning convincingly in their respective Republican and Democratic primaries on Wednesday, one thing is clear: Voters on both sides of the political spectrum seemingly want little to do with establishment candidates or politics. Our panel of political experts weighs in on the race and where it's headed.

President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon—nine years to the day after he announced his run for the White House on the steps of the Old State Capitol. In a return to his old stomping grounds as a state senator, the president invoked many of the same themes from his 2007 speech.

Sears writes down the value of its trade name and the Sun-Times owner buys a stake in Tribune Publishing. We get the latest on these stories and more business headlines with Crain's Chicago Business deputy managing editor Ann Dwyer.

A famous photo taken in 1940s Bronzeville features the faces of five young African-American men, but their identities have remained a mystery for generations. Local history expert Geoffrey Baer is here with the story behind one of Bronzeville's most enduring images in this encore edition of Ask Geoffrey.

The curtain is about to go up on a highly anticipated new theater on the North Shore designed by renowned architect Jeanne Gang. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the space.

As aldermen debate who should be allowed to investigate them, former City Council watchdog Faisal Khan talks about his time at City Hall and why he billed the city for a flat-screen TV.

After reading about people living in tents on a large plot of abandoned property along the Chicago River, I grabbed my camera and set out for the South Loop to investigate.

Watch the February 9, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Nothing says Valentine's Day like a bunch of bodies twined together. You'll get that and more at this weekend with "Thank You for Coming: Attendance," an interactive dance show that explores the "conflict and comedy" that comes with interacting with other human beings.

The head of the state's largest social service organization says the state's ongoing budget impasse has now reached a crisis level that could impact the lives of hundreds of thousands vulnerable citizens. Paris Schutz has the exclusive story.

Today, Chicago Public Schools principals are learning just how deep their budgets will be cut after last week's announcement that the district was slashing more than $100 million from annual school budgets.

Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin joins us to discuss the Lucas Museum's latest setback, the Lathrop Homes redevelopment, possible new building guidelines for South Michigan Avenue and more.

Afternoon tea in the parlor and dressing in black tie just to have dinner at home: that was everyday life for the fictional, aristocratic Crawley family. Starting today, Downton fans can get an up-close look at those fashions in a new exhibit at the Driehaus Museum. Brandis Friedman takes us inside.