Stories by Andrea Guthmann

The lowest gas prices in a decade combined with an improved economy are fueling traffic. So says a new AAA report predicting we'll see the worst Labor Day holiday traffic in seven years. In another traffic study, Chicago is reported to have five of the nation's most congested roadways. What's driving the traffic and what are the solutions?

After much anticipation, the Chicago Botanic Garden on Saturday night announced that Spike is not expected to bloom. 

Previews for Green Day musical American Idiot begin Friday in a staging by The Hypocrites at the Den Theatre in Wicker Park.

On this edition of Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review with Joel Weisman, our panel of guests discuss state and local politics, education, traffic, sports, and more.

Were you watching this week? Test your knowledge with these six questions.

Lincoln Square's Fine Wine Brokers, a 20-year neighborhood staple, will close Aug. 31, according to the shop’s co-owner Louise Rohr, who cited rising rent as the deciding factor in the store’s closure.

This weekend, you can hang out with the Stanley Cup, revisit new wave '80s band The Psychedelic Furs, walk through a garden in the city, take in a movie or two, and more.

The Chicago Public Schools budget that is short half a billion dollars is officially enacted. The fate of that $500 million assistance is in the hands of the Illinois House, where support is currently tenuous at best. Thursday, some House lawmakers sent a message to the city and Chicago Public Schools: certain things have to happen before that chamber gets on board. What are they?

Meet two storm survivors who moved to Chicago after the destructive storm ripped through the New Orleans area.

One of the most sizable redesigns of the Chicago lakefront is underway at Fullerton Avenue beach, and the change is predicted to be eye-popping. By next summer, everyone passing through the area will have a lot more breathing, sunning, and picnicking room. Chicago Tonight's Eddie Arruza has the story.

Awarding-winning Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner is back in town after spending a year at Harvard University for the prestigious Nieman Fellowship. Turner joins Chicago Tonight on Thursday to discuss what she learned during her time away.

Carol Fisher Saller's principles of copy editing might surprise anyone who's ever tussled with an editor over a piece of writing. She argues communication and collaboration between writer and editor are key; style rules are useful guidelines, not the straps of a straitjacket; and that language's evolution isn't anything to rail against. She joins Chicago Tonight. 

Chicago Sun-Times theater critic Hedy Weiss reviews Kurios – the latest from Cirque du Soleil – and the world premiere musical October Sky, directed by Rachel Rockwell at Marriott Lincolnshire.

We share what you had to say about some of our recent stories when we read viewer feedback from the Chicago Tonight website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Three original Japanese sliding door paintings from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition were discovered in a Chicago Park District storage facility, the CPD announced Wednesday.

The Chicago Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously today to pass a much-criticized $5.6 billion budget that includes almost $480 million from the state, $1 billion dollars in borrowing, and what teachers and parents are calling massive cuts to special education. Brandis Friedman joins us tonight with the latest from downtown.

A horrifying incident unfolded on live television this morning when a reporter and her cameraman were shot and killed by a man reported to be a former colleague. On Chicago Tonight, we'll look at what businesses can and should do to look for and address the potential dangers of a disgruntled employee.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is on death watch. Officials there say the famed titan arum plant, more popularly known as the "corpse flower," could bloom in a matter of hours and emit its notorious foul odor. Chicago Tonight was on the scene on Wednesday. Also, watch a livestream of the famous plant called Spike.

The radioactive mushroom cloud of marital unhappiness set off by the hacking of adultery website Ashley Madison keeps growing. But what does the website and its popularity say about modern marriages? And how do Ashley Madison, dating websites, and smartphone apps affect how we build relationships? Tonight, we’ll hear from Eli Finkel, a professor of social psychology at Northwestern University.

This month in Nature, an international team of researchers released some of their key findings after a first-of-its-kind study of the genome of the California two-spot octopus. The team found a massive and unusually arranged genome, with many genes unique to the octopus that could provide clues to the unusual animals. One of the researchers, University of Chicago neurobiologist Cliff Ragsdale, joins Chicago Tonight to discuss the ongoing project.

Boats fly by at speeds up to 150 miles per hour on an 800-foot course. There is drag boat racing every Thursday night all summer long at Blarney Island on Grass Lake. Chicago Tonight's Jay Shefsky goes to the races and takes a 94 mph ride on a race boat.

In this edition of Ask Geoffrey, viewers ask our local history expert about the Marshall Field’s clock, a World War II memorial in Lincoln Park and the Chicago Federal Building’s dome. 

Still no budget in Springfield and now the state's comptroller says Illinois is starting to fall far behind in paying its bills. We have the latest on this and other news out of Springfield on Chicago Tonight with Amanda Vinicky.