Stories by Alexandra Silets

Ald. Toni Foulkes was mapped out of her 15th ward and decided to run for alderman in the 16th ward. She now faces Stephanie Coleman in a runoff.

Author Gillian O'Brien joins us to discuss her book Blood Runs Green, a non-fiction account of the largely forgotten murder of a prominent Irish-American doctor who was also the member of a secretive Irish Republican organization.

Chicago Sun-Times Theater Critic Hedy Weiss reviews the latest from the Goodman Theatre and much more.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and challenger Jesús "Chuy" García went one-on-one in the first runoff debate Monday. The two hit hard on each other's positions on city finances, crime, and red light cameras.

The race for the open seat in Chicago's 11th Ward has gone to a runoff between Patrick Daley Thompson and John Kozlar. Thompson is an attorney and Water Reclamation Commissioner. He's also a nephew of Richard M. Daley and grandson of Richard J. Daley. Kozlar is a law student and neighborhood advocate who ran and lost in the 2011 race. They join us.

It's Brain Awareness Week -- a global campaign designed to highlight the importance of brain research. University of Chicago neuroscientist Peggy Mason is here to enlighten us all. Take a Brain Quiz!

On this edition of Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review with Joel Weisman, Mayor Rahm Emanuel goes on the attack in his latest campaign ad. Challenger Jesús "Chuy" García earns key endorsements. The Illinois Supreme Court tackles the legality of the state's pension reform law. And, City Council grants preliminary approval to provide parkland to The University of Chicago if it's the chosen site for the Obama Presidential Library.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss the Bears' decision to stick with Jay Cutler as their starting quarterback.

Mayoral candidates Rahm Emanuel and Jesús "Chuy" García released their financial plans for the city today. Read their plans.

The Force is not with George Lucas’ Museum of Narrative Arts. A federal judge ruled today that a lawsuit intended to block construction of the museum on Chicago’s lakefront can move forward.

Celebrate Pi with pie at Adler Planetarium; stop and smell the roses at Navy Pier; and see a softer side of the Vikings at The Field Museum. Chicago Tonight has your weekend picks.

She was known as "The Little Warrior." Short in stature but a towering force in the civil rights movement, the Rev. Willie T. Barrow died early this morning at age 90. We look back at her long and influential life, and the legacy she leaves behind.

The 7th Ward race pitted incumbent Ald. Natashia Holmes against seven challengers. A runoff resulted between Holmes who won 25 percent of the vote and Gregory Mitchell who garnered 20 percent of the vote. We hear from both candidates.

The Swedish National Museum brings Vikings -- an exhibition that challenges stereotypes of the Norsemen who lived, traded, and raided a millennium ago -- to The Field Museum. Take our quiz to test your Vikings knowledge!

The Illinois Supreme Court heard the first round of oral arguments today over the constitutionality of a pension law that cuts state employees' benefits.

Runoff elections will be held April 7. Check out our map of aldermanic winners and runoffs.

Chicago's 2nd Ward has been significantly remapped and includes a diverse array of neighborhoods, from parts of downtown Chicago to Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village. We'll host a conversation between Brian Hopkins and Alyx Pattison, the two candidates for alderman who will face each other in an April 7 runoff election.

With less than a month until the April 7 runoff election in Chicago, the mayoral contenders ratchet up the attack rhetoric. Both candidates have harsh words for the other over who can right the city's financial ship. We have the details.

Mayoral candidate Jesús “Chuy” García is hoping that an influx of support from black leaders will put him ahead of opponent Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the April 7 runoff election for Chicago mayor. 

As schools across the state begin to administer the controversial PARCC test to students, parents and legislators are pushing a movement and legislation to allow parents to let their children opt out of the test.

As ISIS uses bulldozers and sledgehammers to destroy priceless antiquities in Iraq, we talk with an expert from The Oriental Institute at The University of Chicago about what is being lost.

Painter Archibald Motley created a revealing body of work that captured Chicago people and nightlife during the Jazz Age. We visit the new Motley exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center.