Stories by WTTW News

Could spiking crime numbers hurt Mayor Rahm Emanuel's re-election chances one week from the April 7 runoff? According to challenger Jesús "Chuy" García, the uptick in homicides mean that "Rahm has not prioritized public safety." On Wednesday, García said "the numbers look really grim" and that if he is elected mayor, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy would have to go. We have the details.

Late last month, the Illinois Legislature passed a stopgap budget fix to plug a $1.6 billion deficit and avoid running out of money before the end of Fiscal Year 2015. With Fiscal Year 2016 starting July 1, the legislature is focused on refining the budget proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner in February. We discuss where budget negotiations are with a panel of lawmakers.

Ald. James Cappleman was elected in 2011 as a candidate for change. The former social worker, who is one of the Chicago City Council's openly gay members, has been heavily supported by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's PAC in his re-election bid. He's facing an April runoff against lawyer Amy Crawford, who is also openly gay.

Two U.S. Navy Culinary Specialists have spent their military careers cooking for hungry shipmates. But recently, they spent time in the relatively open kitchen space at the Union League Club of Chicago working with its Executive Chef, Michael Garbin. We follow them during a cooking session.

Erin McKean founded the world's biggest online dictionary, Wordnik. A graduate of The University of Chicago, she has also written books on weird words and given TED Talks about the subject. She joins us to talk about the latest word trends and linguistic gymnastics. Take a quiz on weird words.

We revisit a profile Jay Shefsky did on a Chicago artist on a personal crusade to paint and preserve 200 rare native plants.

We share what you had to say about our mayoral runoff forum in tonight's viewer feedback.

Chicago mayoral candidates Rahm Emanuel and Jesús "Chuy" García gave a brief news conference following the forum.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and challenger Jesús "Chuy" García went head-to-head in a live forum hosted by Phil Ponce and live streamed at wttw.com.

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth announced she will run for Senate in 2016 against incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk. 

Indiana's passage of a so-called religious freedom law has sparked an angry backlash from those who assert that it gives license to businesses to discriminate against same-sex couples on religious grounds. Already there has been a massive backlash against the law, with leaders of business—including Apple's CEO Tim Cook—decrying the law.

First-term Ald. John Arena, a member of the City Council's Progressive Caucus and a frequent thorn in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's side, faces a runoff rematch with Chicago Police Lt. John Garrido in the race to represent the northwest side's 45th Ward.

Tracking the history and treatment of cancer from ancient Egypt through today: we talk with Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of the book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, about a new three-part documentary produced by Ken Burns that begins airing Monday, March 30 on WTTW11.

Chicago's own Ethel Payne was the third African-American to ever receive White House press credentials–and she was only the second black woman to do so. We talk with the author of a biography about the importance of her legacy.

The School Project is a Chicago-based documentary series that is tracking the past and present status of the city's public school system. The fourth episode  focuses on the battle over standardized testing.

We share what you had to say about Jesse Jackson Jr.'s release from prison, contract negotiations between CPS and CTU, and Chicago's urban coyotes in tonight's viewer feedback.

On this edition of Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review with Joel Weisman, two Aurora men are arrested for allegedly plotting to attack an Illinois military base, mayoral candidates face off in a televised debate, and the CTU issues a list of demands.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists continue their conversation online with a discussion of journalists appearing in political advertising.  

Watch a mariachi opera set in 1910 Mexico; enjoy a musical set in 1950s Las Vegas; and kick off the running season in present day Grant Park. Chicago Tonight ​has your weekend picks.

Two local men were arrested on charges of aiding the ISIS terror group.

Former Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been released from a federal prison in Alabama after his 2013 conviction for tax evasion and misuse of campaign funds. His next stop will be a halfway house, likely located in the Washington, D.C. area.

Contract negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools have formally begun – and the union’s initial list of demands is not the traditional one. We have the details.

A French prosecutor announced Thursday that a Germanwings co-pilot deliberately crashed a jet in the French Alps after locking the pilot out of the cockpit. The prosecutor said there is no indication the crash was related to terrorism. The announcement has sparked questions about mental health evaluations for airline pilots, and why the co-pilot was able to prevent the pilot from gaining access to the cockpit. We have analysis.