Stories by WTTW News

One-third of students who attend Chicago Public Schools began the new school year today. The school day is longer this year, but how is the time being spent? And is there any progress on teacher contract negotiations? CPS and CTU heads join us with updates.

Should the media be allowed inside Illinois prisons to authenticate claims of inhumane conditions? We have some of your thoughts in Viewer Mail.

Eddie Arruza and his panel of journalists discuss the week's top headlines.

Watch a web-exclusive conversation with Eddie Arruza and his panel of journalists.

Need some ideas for what to do this weekend? Chicago Tonight knows what is going on!

Speculation is at fevered pitch as Mitt Romney gets closer to announcing his running mate. We break down the possibilities.

As the price of college tuition rises, students are taking out more debt than ever before to pay for an education. Is the next generation of taxpayers biting off more than it can chew? We hear both sides.

We find out what the city is doing to fight the spread of mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus.

It's a big expansion for Roosevelt University, as a new vertical campus opens in the Loop. But it's left the college with some big financial challenges. We hear how the university is trying to get back on track.

We meet trailblazing journalist and Chicago native, Carole Simpson, who made history as the first woman to moderate a presidential debate.

We asked if you thought the old Prentice Women's Hospital should be saved or torn down. We read what some of you had to say in Viewer Mail.

Former Illinois Governor George Ryan is one step closer to getting out of prison.  Paris Schutz has more on today's decision.

A new study shows Chicago has more police officers per resident than other major U.S. cities.  So why is the city making national headlines with its crime rate?  We take a closer look.

Funeral services were held today for pediatric surgeon Donald Liu.  Liu drowned on Sunday trying to rescue two children caught in a rip current.  We have a profile.  

A Chicago Public Radio report says Illinois' prison system is in a state of crisis, with overcrowding and new allegations of inhumane conditions. We have the latest.

One pension system in Illinois has been reformed-- it's the one at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Could the plan be a blueprint for the other state pensions in trouble?

See how the Illinois House voted on the Metropolitan Reclamation Water District's pension amendments in our interactive graphic.

If you get sweet cravings at strange times, help is on hand. Kris Kridel of WBBM Newsradio 780 and 105.9FM has that story, and more top business headlines.

We revisit a story about how small, pop-up, organic community gardens are challenging people's perceptions about life in Chicago.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney makes his pitch in President Obama's backyard. Paris Schutz has more on why Romney is in Chicago, and the local business that snagged him.

Who would work for $1? Well, that's the salary for Chicago's deputy mayor. The present and future men who hold the position share insights on the city's fiscal outlook.

A dozen drownings this year from rip currents in the Great Lakes. We learn more about the deadly currents.

The battle lines have been drawn over Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital. Eddie Arruza reports on the fight between preservationists and the building's owner: Northwestern University.

How does life go on after devastating trauma? A Bosnian concentration camp survivor and a journalist discuss their new book on trauma and healing.

Composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at age 68. We revisit a 1997 Artbeat story where Hamlisch visits The People's Music School in Chicago.

We get praise and taken to the woodshed in tonight's Viewer Mail.