Stories by Kristen Thometz

Students at the University of Chicago protested early Thursday in response to news that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon had accepted an invitation to speak at the school.

The new film “Mr. Canoe” chronicles the life of Ralph Frese, a world-famous canoe-builder and conservationist who ran Chicago’s last working blacksmith shop. 

Nearly seven years after former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson took his own life, a bill bearing his name will aim to prevent the disease that is believed to have led to his suicide.

Watch the Jan. 24, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

He is the top federal prosecutor in Northern Illinois. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney John Lausch gave his first interviews since taking the job, sharing his plans to fight crime and corruption.

Meet the man who literally went to the ends of the Earth to see as many bird species as possible.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is pregnant – at age 49. Are so-called “geriatric pregnancies” the new norm? And what are the risks of having children later in life? A doctor weighs in on later-in-life childbirth.

A viewer remembers a tall and terrifying bear in the former Marshall Field’s building. Was this just a figment of a child’s imagination?

Portraits of mummies greet visitors at a new exhibition where art, science and history intersect. 

In the first 22 days of 2018, the Illinois Poison Center says it has received 31 calls related to people ingesting Tide Pods, with six of them associated with a dangerous social media trend.

The city’s lawsuit comes a week after attorneys at the University of Chicago filed their own lawsuit against the steel corporation. “This Great Lake is our most precious natural resource and we must preserve and protect it,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement.

Janice Jackson was officially appointed Wednesday as the new CEO of Chicago Public Schools. But one of her first decisions is already drawing ethics concerns.

Monster trucks, prix-fixe menus and an overnight bookstore bash usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

The gloves came off Tuesday as Democratic candidates for governor faced off on TV. Carol Marin and guests discuss the latest on that race, and the crowded Democratic field for attorney general.

Watch the Jan. 23, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

A debate over reproductive health care and a $5 million TIF grant the city recently awarded to a Catholic hospital raises questions about where medical responsibility ends and religious freedom begins.

A controversial article about a sexual encounter: some say it was just a bad date. Others describe it as sexual assault. In the era of #MeToo, is there a gray area relating to sexual conduct and consent?

A lack of drug stores in poor communities on the South and West Sides is creating so-called “pharmacy deserts.” What this means for some Chicago residents, and how researchers are looking for solutions.

New Year’s resolutions may already be broken, but there’s still time to make smart financial moves in 2018. We get money tips from Sean Sebold of Sebold Capital Management.

Marilynn Gardner took the reins of Navy Pier in 2011 and has overseen its $300 million transformation as the pier’s president and CEO. She joins us in discussion.

We climb to the top of the Leaning Tower of Niles, where centuries-old bronze bells lay quiet – for now.

The president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools is again speaking out against a proposed merger between the CTU and the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, which could be finalized next week.

The group Crate Free Illinois is calling on Trader Joe’s to stop purchasing pork from suppliers that use gestation crates, tight metal stalls that keep pigs in one position for the majority of their lives.

Legionalla bacteria – a waterborne pathogen that can cause a type of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease – is present in the water systems at the Illinois state capitol complex in Springfield.

Watch the Jan. 22, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

The Illinois primary is just eight weeks away. Will state lawmakers dodge controversial issues before the March 20 election?