Stories by Matt Masterson

WBEZ reporter Linda Lutton spent the 2014-15 school year examining the impacts of poverty on a fourth-grade class in North Lawndale for a new story published this week. She spoke with Chicago Tonight to discuss that process.

Before automobiles, Chicago basically ran on horsepower. Find out how the city kept its streets free of manure in this encore edition of Ask Geoffrey.

Explore the hot new sport of drone racing and meet the suburban man who is one of the best in the world.

As tens of thousands of individuals gear up for the Women’s March on Chicago, a report released by NARAL Pro-Choice America offers insight into one of the event’s focal points: where the country and state stand in terms of reproductive rights.

Chicago Tonight sits in on a training class that aims to teach Chicago police officers how to better engage with the community.

One of the dance captains of “Hamilton” taught a master class at a Chicago school for the arts. We were there to witness the cultural exchange.

Dean Angelo, president of the Chicago chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, gives us his take on the U.S. Department of Justice report on the Chicago Police Department.

Watch the Jan. 17, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas on his new appointment to the board of beleaguered Chicago State University.

Thousands of teachers miss class time within Illinois each week, and thanks to a shortage of substitute teachers, an average of 600 K-12 classrooms are left without an educator each school day, according to a new statewide study.

Over the course of its history, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum has amassed a collection of about 390,000 animal specimens and artifacts. We get a close look at five of these rarely seen items.

Pollution causes 10 million deaths per year, according to an upcoming report written by 50 researchers and policymakers, including Chicago-based energy experts.

From San Francisco to Stockholm, stories of people who started small and ended up solving problems in their community.

Can an app reduce a person’s depression or anxiety? Or predict when someone might have a manic episode? Researchers from two local universities say yes.

The Chicago native died Monday afternoon at the age of 82.

Watch the Jan. 16, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

There’s no guarantee Illinois government employees will strike, but the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 has taken initial steps toward the unprecedented action.

In a damning report, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed what many in minority communities had been saying for years. We discuss the findings with Lori Lightfoot, Craig Futterman and Shari Runner.

We talk with experts about which stocks will win and lose in a Trump administration.

Like many of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet selections, his education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and GOP mega-donor, has been met with controversy.

He has become one of the world’s top operatic tenors: Matthew Polenzani is back for a return engagement on Chicago Tonight. 

Thanks to a new state law, officers partnered with a police dog are first in line to keep the dog once it is deemed no longer fit for service.

Once a neighborhood unwelcoming to families of color, Marquette Park is not only a more diverse community today, but one that's now home to a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.

We heard from you about the Chicago Police Department’s struggle with low morale. 

The prolonged standoff between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois’ largest public employees’ union may lead to an unprecedented strike of state government employees.

CPS teachers, staff and central office employees will not work four separate school days spread throughout the rest of the school year as the district continues looking for cost-cutting measures to balance its 2017 budget.