Stories by Brandis Friedman

Weathering the cold is especially hard on people who live outside. What’s being done to help the homeless.

Watch the Dec. 19, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

More than half of Chicago-area pharmacies tested failed to alert their customers about serious drug interactions. That’s the finding of a new Chicago Tribune investigation.

Unemployment is down, the stock market is up and the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. Just how strong is the American economy? Two Chicago economists take stock of what’s in store for 2017. 

We take a look at city, state and national political news with Chicago Tonight correspondent Paris Schutz, WBBM’s Craig Dellimore and Univision’s Mariano Gielis.

Local lawmakers and activists are pushing for Chicago to join a rapidly growing list of cities worldwide that have committed to the fossil fuel divestment movement.

Last week, Chicago pianist and singer Charles Goering, known as Barrelhouse Chuck, lost his battle with cancer. He was 58 years old. We revisit our November profile of the longtime bluesman.

Days after Rahm Emanuel and President-elect Donald Trump met in New York, The Washington Post ran an op-ed Friday penned by Chicago’s mayor in which he called on state and federal partners to focus on boosting school excellence over school choice.

Seven in 10 crime victims surveyed in Illinois prefer a “more balanced approach to public safety,” including shorter sentences and a greater focus on prevention, rehabilitation and trauma recovery.

A Chicago alderman is indicted. Jesse Jackson Jr. files for divorce. Joel Weisman and guests discuss these stories and look back at the biggest of the year, from soaring gun violence to the Lucas Museum and the World Champion Cubs. 

A new study reveals a possible link between African-American women who live in impoverished neighborhoods and the chances of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

The author of “Where the Wild Things Are” upended expectations by depicting menace, anxiety and “wild” behavior in picture books devoured by young people. We visit an exhibition highlighting his long career.

Could Republicans and some Democrats actually plot to dethrone longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan?

Abuse of opioid-based prescription pain killers, heroin and synthetic substitutes are killing more Americans than ever before. 

Watch the Dec. 15, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Chicago’s air traffic controllers and the pilots they guide have a new way of communicating that officials say will improve speed and safety. We explain how it works.

Presidential libraries from FDR and Hoover to Reagan, Clinton and Bush. How they tell a president’s story, and the relationship they create with visitors.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for word nerds! We take a look at the candidates for 2016’s word of the year.

Fewer people are smoking in Illinois than other states but more are drinking excessively, according to a report released Thursday that ranks Illinois as the 26th healthiest in the nation. 

More than 170 schools in the greater Chicago area were closed or delayed their starting times Thursday due to subzero temperatures and bitter wind chills. But even as temperatures plunge below zero this week, Chicago Public School students probably shouldn’t count on any extra time off leading up to their holiday break.

Viewers were nearly unanimous in their disapproval for the six state lawmakers suing Illinois for their paychecks. 

Taiko drummers, holiday cheer, bird watchers and Beethoven usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.

Watch the Dec. 14, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

For 83 years, the famous and not-so famous fell in love with the Cape Cod Room. But the iconic Chicago restaurant will soon serve its last meals. We tell you why.

A new DePaul University study suggests that it may be safer for bicyclists to roll through stop signs and red lights rather than coming to a full stop. The practice, legal in Idaho, is known as an “Idaho stop.”

Days away from the 40th anniversary of his death, UIC announced it will offer a new honors course next semester on Chicago and its late mayor’s role in local, national and international politics in the late 1960s.