Stories by Elizabeth Brackett

Peeling lead paint, a broken fire alarm system and a $310,000 budget cut, a Rogers Park Chicago Public School struggles to survive. The school's requests for basic maintenance, repairs had gone unanswered until school activists resorted to taking videos.   

Joel Weisman and his guests continue the CWIR conversation, discussing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to require videotaping of all city gun sales and more. 

A street festival, a tribute show and a food truck show; Chicago Tonight knows what’s going on this weekend.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss this week's headlines. 

Cardinal Francis George is questioned under oath today in a civil case involving defrocked priest and convicted sex offender Daniel McCormack. 

After decades of scientists basically using male laboratory animals for medical research, the National Institutes of Health is ending the gender bias practice in research. The shift, as published in the journal Nature, should help minimize side effects and dosage miscalculations not discovered until after products hit the market. 

When Deborah Hersman was appointed to chair the National Transportation Safety Board by President Obama she became, at 39, the youngest person to ever fill that position. She recently left her job at the NTSB to head the Chicago-based National Safety Council. 

Chicago's Divvy bike-sharing program may be peddling to success on the streets and lakefront of the city - but it's losing money. The company recorded an operating loss for 2013. 

Tarell Alvin McCraney, an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre, was the recipient of a $625,000 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation this year. We revisit our conversation with him. Read an interview.

At 30, Monifa Thomas was a health and medicine reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times. Not long after she passed a complete physical, Monifa had a stroke and was paralyzed on her right side and had great difficulty speaking. We have the story of her recovery, return to her medical beat. 

We share what you had to say about recent stories when we read some of our viewer feedback. 

Chicago's Cardinal Francis George is set to give a deposition tomorrow in a group of lawsuits involving the former priest and convicted sex offender Daniel McCormack.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago City Council tackle minimum wage, Wrigley Field renovations and more at today's meeting. 

Seven months into his new post as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, we sit down with Zach Fardon. We'll see what the attorney, best known for his role in prosecuting former Gov. George Ryan, has to say about gang violence, public corruption. 

Poet and writer Maya Angelou died on May 28, at the age of 86 in her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. Read what local leaders and artists recall about her impact and presence on the world's stage. 

Geoffrey tracks down a missing fountain, a stockyards priest and mysterious sand dunes in tonight’s edition of "Ask Geoffrey."

When you think of something having a "sell by" date, it's often food. But most grocery stores apply similar dates to their flowers. Tonight we meet a local resident who finds a new use for those flowers before grocery stores throw them out. 

The late, great actor Jack Lemmon returns in a stage tribute by his son, Chris Lemmon, who recounts growing up in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The end of the legislative session in Springfield looms. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan declared an extension of the 2011 income tax increase dead and as a result, Democrats are crafting a "middle-of-the-road" budget with less austere spending cuts. Chicago Sun-Times’ Springfield bureau chief Dave McKinney joins us with an update. 

The Chicago Cubs formally unveil their latest designs for the now larger Wrigley renovation project. Two top executives from the Cubs organization weigh in and we'll have neighborhood reaction as well. See slideshow of Cubs newest plans for Wrigley. 

Not everyone is happy with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal that the Lucas Museum of Cultural Arts be built on a parking lot near Solider Field in the very popular Museum Campus area. Tonight, we have a panel discussion on the pros and cons of Chicago being the museum’s home and what are more suitable locations that could serve other well-deserving neighborhoods.

Meet the new chairman of the Illinois Republican Party Timothy Schneider, a Cook County commissioner from Bartlett. Schneider hopes the struggling GOP will have a successful election night this November, especially behind gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner. 

A team of cave-diving scientists recently announced the discovery of a near-complete skeleton of a teenage girl in an underwater cave on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Northwestern professor Patricia A. Beddows was a member of the team and joins us to discuss the find. 

Meet the first group of Fellows in Second City’s new Bob Curry Fellowship. Named after the first African-American Second City performer, the fellowship offers intense training to help these funny people find their voices.

Eddie Arruza and his guests continue this week’s conversation, discussing  new details about Jesse Jackson Jr.’s life in prison.  

A comedy show, a tavern tour and a pirate-themed circus ; Chicago Tonight knows what’s going on this weekend.