Stories by Meredith Francis

Hunt for Easter Eggs, get your fill of March Madness, see stand-up from Trevor Noah and more this Easter weekend in and around Chicago.

Ann Goldstein, the former director of Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum, will take over the position previously held by James Rondeau, who is now the museum's president.

The Illinois Supreme Court dealt Mayor Rahm Emanuel a major setback Thursday in his efforts of saving two of the city’s four public employee pension funds, which city officials say could go broke within the next 15 years.

Hear what viewers had to say about the Nabisco plant layoffs and the upcoming one-day Chicago Teacher's Union strike when we read feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

In an era in which the Internet and social media have completely disrupted long-established business models for the entire print industry, do newspapers anywhere have a long-term future?

The Chicago school board is served with a walkout notice by the teachers union on the same day the board sues the Illinois State Charter School Commission. 

Watch the March 23, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

The DuSable Museum of African-American History has been granted a special status by the Smithsonian Institution – a move the museum says marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration between the two institutions.

A new book by Natalie Moore about the South Side blends personal history with investigative reporting to tell the story of a segregated city and misunderstood neighborhoods.

For decades, a cocktail called the Downscope was served up at Skipper’s Marina on the Calumet River. Its recipe was a closely guarded secret, until now. Geoffrey Baer tells us what's up with the Downscope and answers other viewer questions on this edition of Ask Geoffrey.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday announced plans to improve Chicago's lakefront and add recreational amenities at select parks across the city. 

Activists want a date when the 88-year-old Waukegan coal-fired power plant will begin a transition to cleaner power. But NRG Energy says it's poured millions into pollution controls for the plant and has no plans to close.

The notoriously polluted Chicago River is about to get cleaner with disinfection technology at a Skokie water treatment facility.

President Barack Obama addressed the Cuban people early Tuesday during his historic trip, saying, “I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War.”

Criminal backgrounds, homelessness and lack of education and opportunity are all factors in preventing black youth between the ages of 16 and 24 from finding employment, according to a report released by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute.

Watch the March 22, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Chicago authorities are increasing security at key locations in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said there are “no known threats” to Chicago at this time.

In 1958 a Navy sailor from Chicago was briefly onshore in Cuba while the revolution was underway. The sailor, named George Klauba, became first a tattoo artist and then a painter. For years now, he has focused his artistic energy on remembering a moment in history and putting his dreamlike impressions on canvas.

The saga over the sprawling Old Main Post Office is heating up. Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently started threatening to seize the building from the British developer who purchased it in 2009. Now comes word the building is about to be sold to a new owner.   

You may know her as the official gadget guru for America's Test Kitchen here on PBS. Lisa McManus is also the executive tasting and testing editor at Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines. She joins us to discuss "Cook It in Cast Iron: Kitchen-Tested Recipes for the One Pan That Does It All."

Efforts to derail Donald Trump's momentum heat up within the GOP as voters in Arizona and Utah decide who to support in Tuesday's primaries.

Watch the March 21, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Rising rates of addiction to heroin and prescription drugs have been making headlines across the country. Find out what the latest science is telling us about the nature of addiction.

Nearly a week after the Illinois primary election, Gov. Bruce Rauner said Monday he has not received any commitment from House Speaker Michael Madigan to resume negotiations on a state budget for what remains of the current fiscal year. 

Three hundred workers at Chicago's Nabisco bakery faced layoffs on Monday, with more cuts looming. We take a look at how the neighborhood is coping – and the future of manufacturing in Chicago.

The famous painting had been on loan to Florence's Palazzo Strozzi since September. In November, the painting moved briefly to the Vatican for a visit with Pope Francis, who had declared it to be one of his favorites.