Stories by Rebecca Palmore

Cuban rhythms, classical ensembles, hot dogs and house music DJs usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

School superintendents weigh in on the education battle in Springfield.

What makes Chicago a go-to destination for food lovers? We talk all things food with Catherine De Orio, host of WTTW’s “Check Please!”

Watch the Aug. 9, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Several Cook County commissioners, including one who may be after Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s job, are blasting her handling of the new sweetened beverage tax.

Will President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers fare better on tax reform than health care?

Former U.S. attorneys weigh in on the new nominee for the Northern District of Illinois, John Lausch.

Jazz can bring to mind a dark nightclub after hours with a lot of booze, but we recently met a group of Chicago jazz musicians on a sunny summer morning – and they were fueled only by coffee and cake.

Secret handshakes, arcane symbols and initiation rites are all hallmarks of the Freemasons, an organization shrouded in mystery. Geoffrey Baer explores their history in Chicago in this encore edition of Ask Geoffrey.

Under a new law, Illinois residents as young as 16 years old can sign up to become organ and tissue donors when they receive their driver’s license or state ID cards. 

Chicago students may be dreading the rapidly approaching first day of school, but at least they won’t have to worry about how to get there.

Watch the Aug. 8, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Inmates at risk of substance abuse are given an overdose-reversing drug as they leave detention.

Cook County's new tax on sweetened drinks is sticking around, but Board President Toni Preckwinkle is dropping the county’s counter-lawsuit against the retailers who tried to get it tossed.

Aug. 15 marks the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Picasso’s debut, and Tuesday, the city celebrated the iconic sculpture with a public ceremony.

Despite increasing international condemnation, North Korea has ramped up its nuclear capabilities to a potentially dangerous level. 

The education funding model Gov. Bruce Rauner hopes will replace a new formula he sees as a Chicago Public Schools' bailout contains a “significant error” in how it calculates the value of TIF districts, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

It has become a rite of summer for hundreds of thousands each year. But beyond the annual intrigue over who will become the next breakout star comes a persistent question from city residents: Is this massive private festival really worth it?

“I think three or four years into something it’s important to let new ideas come in. It’s important to turn over the leadership,” 1871 CEO Howard Tullman said. “I want to give other people the opportunity to move up.”

Zingo, the first black-crested mangabey born at the zoo, has light-colored skin that will darken over time. 

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet also served as the state's poet laureate from 1968 until her death in 2000. Today's poets are finding creative ways to remember her.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner hasn’t used authority to borrow $6 billion to begin making a dent in the backlog of overdue bills that tripled during the budget impasse under the Republican’s watch.

Wyndham Lathem, 42, who is accused in the murder of a 26-year-old Chicago man, made his first court appearance on Monday.

Watch the Aug. 7, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

With tensions still high in Springfield, we talk with two lawmakers who are resigning from the legislature.

For the first time in the United States, scientists edit a human embryo and successfully remove a genetic mutation that causes disease.