Stories by Andrea Guthmann

Using your words may be the secret to bridging the achievement gap for kids from different economic backgrounds. Find out about the Thirty Million Words Initiative.

It is a farmers market with a mission. Green City Market in Lincoln Park bills itself as Chicago’s only truly “green” farmers market, linking farmers to chefs and the Chicago community. And even when the seasons are changing, this year-round sustainable market offers a bounty of locally grown foods.

TV Land’s female-driven comedy series – from Chicago-based improv group the Katydids – airs in January, but VMA viewers got a sneak peek on Sunday after the awards show.

The mayor and top city officials are speaking to the public at this hour in the first of a series of town hall meetings on the city budget. That budget could be as much as $754 million out of whack thanks to escalating pension costs. Higher taxes and fees are almost certainly inevitable, the question is which? How are residents responding to the shortfall? Paris Schultz joins us live from Malcolm X College.

The state's budget standoff is entering its 10th week on Wednesday. We talk with two of the most outspoken leaders from both sides of the aisle to see if any compromise is on the horizon. Joining Chicago Tonight are Rep. Lou Lang and Rep. Ron Sandack. 

Two Chicago actors could see their pilot picked up by NBC for a web series. 

The fight to reopen a South Side high school has caused 12 parents and activists to go on a hunger strike to get Chicago Public Schools to hear their concerns. We look at the history of the closure and what the new proposals are.

The musical, directed by Steppenwolf’s Tina Landau will feature original songs from David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, among others. 

Patents recently issued to Northbrook-based insurance giant Allstate could allow the company to monitor your car for sources of distraction, collect health data on drivers, and even monitor what's going on around your vehicle. The company says any new technology will improve driver safety, but some are worried it could violate the privacy of drivers, passengers and passers-by. 

The lowest gas prices in a decade combined with an improved economy are fueling traffic. So says a new AAA report predicting we'll see the worst Labor Day holiday traffic in seven years. In another traffic study, Chicago is reported to have five of the nation's most congested roadways. What's driving the traffic and what are the solutions?

After much anticipation, the Chicago Botanic Garden on Saturday night announced that Spike is not expected to bloom. 

Previews for Green Day musical American Idiot begin Friday in a staging by The Hypocrites at the Den Theatre in Wicker Park.

On this edition of Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review with Joel Weisman, our panel of guests discuss state and local politics, education, traffic, sports, and more.

Were you watching this week? Test your knowledge with these six questions.

Lincoln Square's Fine Wine Brokers, a 20-year neighborhood staple, will close Aug. 31, according to the shop’s co-owner Louise Rohr, who cited rising rent as the deciding factor in the store’s closure.

This weekend, you can hang out with the Stanley Cup, revisit new wave '80s band The Psychedelic Furs, walk through a garden in the city, take in a movie or two, and more.

The Chicago Public Schools budget that is short half a billion dollars is officially enacted. The fate of that $500 million assistance is in the hands of the Illinois House, where support is currently tenuous at best. Thursday, some House lawmakers sent a message to the city and Chicago Public Schools: certain things have to happen before that chamber gets on board. What are they?

Meet two storm survivors who moved to Chicago after the destructive storm ripped through the New Orleans area.

One of the most sizable redesigns of the Chicago lakefront is underway at Fullerton Avenue beach, and the change is predicted to be eye-popping. By next summer, everyone passing through the area will have a lot more breathing, sunning, and picnicking room. Chicago Tonight's Eddie Arruza has the story.

Awarding-winning Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner is back in town after spending a year at Harvard University for the prestigious Nieman Fellowship. Turner joins Chicago Tonight on Thursday to discuss what she learned during her time away.

Carol Fisher Saller's principles of copy editing might surprise anyone who's ever tussled with an editor over a piece of writing. She argues communication and collaboration between writer and editor are key; style rules are useful guidelines, not the straps of a straitjacket; and that language's evolution isn't anything to rail against. She joins Chicago Tonight. 

Chicago Sun-Times theater critic Hedy Weiss reviews Kurios – the latest from Cirque du Soleil – and the world premiere musical October Sky, directed by Rachel Rockwell at Marriott Lincolnshire.

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