Stories by Natalie Valdes

The Cook County Board will soon vote on whether or not to increase the sales tax, as proposed by Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer and Cook County CFO Ivan Samstein join us tonight to share their thoughts on the proposed tax hike.

In 1999, a car accident left DePaul University professor Clark Elliott concussed. As a leading scientist in the field of artificial intelligence he was intrigued by the impact on his brain and kept meticulous notes documenting the effects of his traumatic brain injury. Those notes became the basis for his new book. He joins us on Chicago Tonight.

At five CPS neighborhood high schools, students are earning college credit through a number of dual-credit courses. Those schools are also providing those students with a focused education on the science, technology, engineering, and math fields, or STEM for short. We take a look at how these schools work, how partnering with corporations like Microsoft and IBM helps, and why learning STEM benefits students who don't want to pursue science as a profession.

Chicago music fans have a lot to look forward to this summer with the Grateful Dead and Lollapalooza making headlines here. But Humboldt Park neighbors rejected the return of Riot Fest. Rock critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis join us to talk about the headliners and the headlines.

We share what you had to say about Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed 1 percent sales tax, Chase Bank’s decision to no longer accept pocket change, and the death of Jerry Roper, former president and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Chicago Public Schools was able to make its $634 million pension payment on Tuesday after using borrowed funds and cutting 1,400 jobs. Paris Schutz has the latest on CPS’ funding crisis, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s long-term plan to address how school districts and teachers’ pensions are funded.

State lawmakers are considered a temporary one-month budget in an effort to keep state government funded. That measure failed in the House. Senate President John Cullerton has proposed a measure that addresses the pension crisis facing Chicago Public Schools, while also incorporating a property tax freeze which Gov. Bruce Rauner sought. We talk with Chicago Tonight correspondents Carol Marin and Amanda Vinicky.

Facing a budget crunch, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is proposing a 1 percent hike to the county sales tax. She'll likely face a tough time finding the nine board member votes she needs to get the tax passed. Preckwinkle joins Chicago Tonight to talk about the budget.

Geoffrey Baer digs into the history of handball in Chicago firehouses, rides the Cinderella Train at Adventureland, and sails away with the Rainbow Fleet.

Chase bank will no longer take more than a little loose change from customers -- a move they say is in the name of customer service. But some customers are outraged, including Robert Reed, who wrote a column for Crain's Chicago Business. He joins us to lament the decline of banking services for retail customers. 

Ballerina Misty Copeland became the first African-American female principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre on Tuesday. In October, Copeland joined us to talk about her memoir, “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.”

We’ll talk about the latest developments in Springfield with veteran reporter Carol Marin and Springfield correspondent Amanda Vinicky. It’ll be a whooper of day as a state government shutdown appears increasingly likely because Tuesday is the final day in the state’s current budget. Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools managed to pay its $634 million pension payment Tuesday afternoon. 

Today was deadline day for a $634 million payment due to the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, and this afternoon the payment was made. But school finances remain in a perilous state. We talk with the head of the pension fund, Charles Burbridge, on what happens next.

With a fast-approaching debt payment due to the International Monetary Fund and no deal in sight, the world waits to see whether cash-strapped Greece will remain a part of the Euro currency. And here at home, massive pension debts and political battles are complicating budget deals for the state of Illinois and city of Chicago. We talk with two economists about both local and global economic issues.

Neighbors in an area of North Lawndale called the "Lawndale Triangle" feel cut off. They have no park or green space, and very few places where they can come together as a community. Now, neighborhood leaders and a local nonprofit have joined together to create a community park and garden on a lot that's sat empty for years.

Inspired by Fortune Magazine's 1955 publication of The Fabulous Future in America in 1980, this new collection of essays opens a dialogue about what the U.S. and the world could be like in 2040. Will we live happier, longer lives? Where is higher education headed? How will journalism transform? We talk with the editors of the new book.

James McNeil Whistler and Theodore Roussel had linked artistic visions. Their decade of professional collaboration gets a fresh perspective in this look at the creative output of the American mentor and his European student.

Jerry Roper, the former president and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce has died. He passed Sunday night at the age of 74, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Illinois State Board of Education has identified $450 million to fund CPS' pension contribution. Meanwhile, budget talks continue as Illinois faces a potential shutdown. Amanda Vinicky joins us tonight from Springfield while Paris Schutz has reaction from local lawmakers.

Former Chicago Public Schools chiefs Paul Vallas and Terry Mazany will talk with us as part of a series of discussions we are having with education experts and elected officials on the colossal challenges facing Chicago Public Schools and what it means for students and parents.

With the Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage, the last 14 states now must recognize and grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Each year, Chicago-based Working Bikes collects thousands of used bikes and sends them to partner organizations in Africa and Latin America. There, bike mechanics are trained, bikes are refurbished and local residents get critical personal transportation. Jay Shefsky visited Working Bikes and helped pack a shipping container.

The unseasonably wet start to the summer has done little to dampen growth in the WTTW garden. The Organic Gardener Jeanne Nolan is back with an update from our vegetable patch and some answers to viewer questions.