Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Gov. Bruce Rauner, flanked by Republican and Democratic legislators alike, did something Monday for the first time in his nearly 3.5 years as governor: he signed into law a new state budget.

Many studies on breast cancer have shown racial disparities in diagnosis and survival rates. New research suggests characteristics of a woman’s neighborhood could be contributing to those disparities.

Through repeated failures and mistakes, Chicago Public Schools failed to protect hundreds of students from sexual abuse and misconduct by its own employees, according to a bombshell report from the Chicago Tribune.

The EPA has failed to implement a 2016 regulation aimed at reducing landfill emissions of methane and other pollutants, according to a lawsuit filed this week by Illinois and seven other states. 

Illinois lawmakers approve a state budget. Another top Democratic official faces harassment allegations. President Donald Trump says he might commute Rod Blagojevich’s sentence. And Anthony Rizzo slides his way into controversy.

Paris Schutz and guests discuss Moody’s not-so-rosy reaction to this week’s budget news.

Watch the May 31, 2018 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Looking for the best way to spend a sultry pre-summer evening aside from taste-testing the latest flavor of gelato? Easy. Catch a musical.

The “Shark Tank” of the University of Chicago awards some big money to young entrepreneurs. Meet two of the newly minted Polsky prize winners.

CPS graduate Shawn Harrington is at the center of a harrowing but hopeful new book by Rus Bradburd, his former New Mexico State basketball coach-turned-author.

Longtime state Rep. Lou Lang, a Democrat from Skokie, is the latest of House Speaker Michael Madigan’s inner circle besieged by fallout from the #MeToo movement.

A disturbing upward trend in incidents of colorectal cancer brings about new guidelines for screenings.

For the first time since 2015 Illinois may actually have a budget in place before the start of the new fiscal year. And the governor says he will sign it.

What does race mean to you? An exhibit at the Chicago History Museum asks visitors to consider how much we focus on race every day, whether we realize it or not.

Lawmakers recently approved a bill that would help state agencies donate leftover food in an effort to reduce waste and feed hungry residents.

UChicago Medicine began offering level-one adult trauma care on May 1—something it hadn’t offered since 1988. 

Illinois will become the sixth state in the country to raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21, if legislation is signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Illinois lawmakers are expected to make a clean break from the paralyzing dysfunction of recent years, and are on the precipice of passing a bipartisan budget. 

Nearly a half-century after it was first approved by Congress, Illinois on Wednesday night became the 37th state to vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

Chicago parents should have more early learning options for their 4-year-olds starting next year. 

A growing number of states are taking up bans on the sale of ivory in an effort to curb elephant and rhinoceros poaching and undermine the $20 billion-per-year enterprise of wildlife trafficking. Illinois could be next.

Watch the May 30, 2018 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

There are at least 10 candidates eyeing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s job. One of them is Bridgeport native John Kozlar, who ran for alderman of the 11th Ward in 2011 and 2015. Why he now says he wants to be mayor.

The outgoing Cook County clerk has some ideas to boost democracy and to avoid a repeat of the March primary debacle that surrounded the Cook County assessor’s race. David Orr joins us in discussion.

To call last week in Chicago City Council “eventful” might be an understatement. We discuss the latest with a panel of Chicago aldermen.

In response to Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet, the former senior advisor to President Barack Obama said, “We need to turn it into a teaching moment.”