Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Chicago residents should expect to pay about 10 percent more in property taxes. 

Watch the June 13, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

A leaky roof, rotting walls and crumbling stairs – that was the condition of the Illinois executive mansion in 2015. Now a renovation of the 161-year-old mansion is underway.

What does it take to adapt a classic Disney musical for a live audience? We sit down with the award-winning composer to talk about remaking “Aladdin,” and the “keys” to his success.

Since ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft hit the Chicago market in 2013, overall taxi ridership in the city has taken a plunge. We discuss the future of Chicago’s cab industry.

New details on the Russian cyberattack before the 2016 election, and how Illinois was affected. 

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise the benchmark interest rate again. What that means about the U.S. economy.

Customized activity monitoring devices are helping Brookfield Zoo staff study sleeping patterns and other behaviors in giraffes. 

Jeffrey Gettleman was born and raised in Evanston, but a trip to Kenya when he was 18 years old changed the trajectory of his life.

When two local comedians launched the Chicago Women’s Funny Festival in 2012, they were regularly asked: “What’s it like to be a woman in comedy?” Find out what’s in store for this year’s fest—and how the business of comedy is evolving.

Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios is pushing back on a series of reports by the Chicago Tribune questioning the accuracy and fairness of his office.

The state owes nearly $15 billion in unpaid bills, and if a budget isn’t passed, the backlog could swell to $24 billion. Can a deal be made? We discuss the budget crisis.

Watch the June 12, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

On the road to reform, which path should the Chicago Police Department take: one with or without federal oversight?

A new $450,000 federal grant program partners CPS students with university professors to study the impact of toxic metals on Chicago neighborhoods. 

Educators in the nation’s largest charter school union voted last week in favor of joining the Chicago Teachers Union in a move both sides hope will help expand their “collective power” to advocate for public education in the city.

Researchers at UIC will focus on understanding tissue regeneration and spearheading future developments in stem cell biology as a means to repair diseased organs and tissues.

If you want to know what Chicago looked like 200 years ago, head to the city’s southeast corner, where native wetlands, forests and prairies all come together.

The Lincoln biographer and Clinton family adviser discusses his newest book, “Westling With His Angel.”

Students at Roger C. Sullivan High School will share stories of community and identity from local and international perspectives this week, in collaboration with Lifeline Theatre.

The museum is turning to the public for help in telling the story of African-Americans who served as combat soldiers during World War 1.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet would have celebrated her 100th birthday this week. We take some poetic license ourselves with the Jazz June, a gin-based cocktail with a spring of fragrant lavender. 

Citizen scientists can help researchers discover new distant galaxies as part of the Adler-led Zooniverse project. 

Inspired by a popular cinder track relay race at Indiana University Bloomington, and the 1979 dramedy “Breaking Away,” the Chicago Cinder Classic will set wheels spinning in Chicago this summer.

Chicago Public Schools says it's making its most significant investment in Englewood in decades, announcing plans Friday to construct a “state-of-the-art” high school that will take in students from four other area schools the district plans to shutter.

Comey says Trump lied about his firing. More candidates jump into the governor’s race. And the MLB investigates an abuse claim against the Cubs’ Addison Russell. These stories and more with Joel Weisman and guests.