Stories by Alex Ruppenthal

President Barack Obama’s science and technology adviser will deliver a lecture on climate change this week in Chicago. John P. Holdren was the longest-serving science adviser in the history of the position. 

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago will investigate how social determinants like poverty and living in a food desert contribute to the health of marginalized groups. 

A Latino attorney with connections to high-powered politicians, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, is expected join the field of Democrats running for Illinois attorney general.

By the end of this year, the Chicago Police Department believes it will have the nation’s largest collection of officer-worn body cameras in use.

One woman’s “chemo shoes” inspired two friends to create a Chicago-based shoe and apparel company designed to empower women battling cancer.

The despised soda tax is repealed after just two months. Another property tax hike passes. Mike Ditka denies racial oppression. And the Cubs gear up for another dramatic postseason.

Cubs fans are gathering outside Wrigley Field for Game 5. It’s not the packed scene we’ve seen for the last three nights, but a sizable crowd has congregated on the Wrigley Plaza to watch the game on the big screen.

Watch the Oct. 12, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

ProPublica Illinois, the first regional newsroom for the nonprofit website ProPublica, officially launched this week. We speak with Editor-in-Chief Louise Kiernan.

Two of the 24 professionals named 2017 MacArthur Foundation fellows are from Chicago. We speak with Dawoud Bey and Rami Nashashibi.

Meet author Sonja Williams, who tells the story of a pioneering Chicago writer—and the lives he chronicled—in the book “Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom.”

As one of the most celebrated jazz vocalists of today, she has worked with David Bowie, Steely Dan and Wynton Marsalis. Catherine Russell joins us in conversation and performance.

With the national spotlight on issues surrounding women’s health, a newly opened exhibit explores how a woman’s body is connected with health and wellness.  

The Department of Justice issued a “last chance” warning to Chicago, Cook County and others to get in compliance with federal laws or risk losing grant dollars.

Organizers of the Women’s March on Chicago, which drew 250,000 people downtown in January, will mark the one-year anniversary of the event with another march and rally designed to engage and empower voters.

Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar is ending his bid for Illinois governor, saying he came too short in the race for cash to have a chance at winning the contest for the Democratic nomination. 

The Cubs and Nationals finally got Game 4 in under a steady cold drizzle at Wrigley Field.

Watch the Oct. 11, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

A new book questions whether for-profit law schools benefit students, or just investors. A discussion with author Riaz Tejani.

A Chicago alderman demands hearings into the city’s Water Department after a photo surfaced of a noose hanging in a department truck. 

A group of residents is getting back to its roots—literally—by partnering with the Morton Arboretum to harness the positive impact of trees on everything from the crime rate to the business community.

Thousands of Illinois inmates are asking a federal judge to take action and help resolve a “human rights disaster” they say is taking place inside state prisons.

The black-crowned night heron is one of the rarest birds in Illinois. Lincoln Park Zoo now hosts a colony of more than 600 herons, but things have getting a bit crowded. 

As accusations mount against Hollywood film executive Harvey Weinstein, a look at sexual harassment and assault.

Come December, Cook County shoppers and diners will no longer have to pay a much-reviled tax on sugary drinks after the county board voted Wednesday to repeal it.

Geoffrey Baer takes a peek at a 1930s burlesque-style show and remembers the Chicago Daily News sporting events of yesteryear.