Stories by WTTW News

Legislators gather in Springfield today to hash out plans for moving the state forward. Budget proposals, tax hike remedies and the ever-present pension reform issue hang in the balance as the Republican primary draws near. Is progress being made on these issues in the state capital? Do Illinois governor hopefuls have new ideas for state reform, and will we hear about them before the March 18 primary? We have analysis.

Ice now covers 81 percent of the Great Lakes, the largest amount of ice coverage in the last 35 years. While the ice is bad news for Great Lakes shipping, it’s good news for raising the lakes' recently low water levels. Elizabeth Brackett has the story. Read an article.

We talk with Former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu about climate change, fracking and the future of energy policy. Watch a web extra, extended interview with Chu.

Is too much sitting linked to disabilities later in life? We chat with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine professor Dorothy Dunlop, who is researching the issue. Read the full study.

Terra-cotta shields and emblems dot the exterior of a historic Chicago factory. Geoffrey Baer reveals the meaning of these marks in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey.

UIC professors cancel classes and take to the picket lines. Paris Schutz has more on what they hope a strike will accomplish.

Has the War on Drugs failed? Diane Wood, the Chief Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, will discuss the topic at the "Rethinking the War on Drugs" Symposium on Feb. 20-21 in Chicago. She joins us to talk about the issue. Read an interview with another participant in the event, Angela Caputo of The Chicago Reporter.

As prosecutors wrap up their case against former Chicago cop Steve Mandell, accused in a murder plot, Eddie Arruza brings us up to date on the grizzly details of the case.

We meet a man from the west side of Chicago who is trying to combat the gun violence in his community with a series of short films on YouTube called "Think Before You Shoot." Watch the short films.

We revisit Jay Shefsky's profile of Norma Gatto, a suburban woman who has turned her house into a glass mosaic masterpiece. Watch web extra videos and view a slideshow of artwork.

One of the world’s foremost interpreters of Stephen Sondheim’s work joins us to talk about his latest projects. Director Gary Griffin details his unprecedented plans to stage two musicals at Chicago Shakespeare Theater – Gypsy and Road Show. Read an interview with the theater's creative producer.

This Train Wreck isn’t really a disaster – quite the opposite – but it’s about a disaster: the tragedy that occurred in 1918 near Hammond, Indiana when an empty U.S. Army troop train crashed into a fully-loaded circus train stopped on the tracks.

WGN's Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling gives us the latest news on the snow and when our weather woes might end. Send us your severe weather photos here and we'll use them in our online slideshow.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton is projecting a $3 billion shortfall in the next state budget, and he's asking the Republican gubernatorial candidates to step up with ideas to close it. We break down some of the challenges faced by lawmakers.

Unions representing city employees announce a coalition to protect pensions called We Are One Chicago. We discuss the details with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and AFSCME's Anders Lindall.

The world’s largest scientific society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, held its annual conference in Chicago this past weekend. Rabiah Mayas, Director of Science and Integrated Strategies at the Museum of Science and Industry, joins us to talk about some of the breaking news in science discussed at the conference.

A new book details the life of one of the most enduring artists in popular music: Mavis Staples. We revisit a conversation with author and Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot about his biography, I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, The Staple Singers, and the March Up Freedom’s Highway. Read an excerpt.

We revisit a story about the newly reopened Block Museum on the campus of Northwestern University, including a show of photographs by master photographer Edward Steichen and Polaroids by Andy Warhol. Watch a web extra video.

We share what some of you had to say about a potential faculty strike at the University of Illinois at Chicago when we read some of your viewer feedback.

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

Eddie Arruza and his panel of journalists discuss whether State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is being treated fairly by the media in the wake of the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him. Watch the web extra video.

In one of the biggest acquisitions in American history, Comcast has agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion in stock. The deal would give Comcast approximately a third of the national cable market. So what would it mean for customers when the United States' number one cable operator buys the number two company? And will both the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department approve the massive deal?

The University of Illinois at Chicago’s faculty union says it is set to strike February 18-19 if a bargain cannot be reached between union negotiators and school administration. We talk with union president Joe Persky and Chicago Tribune reporter Jodi S. Cohen about the matter, and what can be expected in the coming weeks. Read an interview.

Remember the mess at the Cook County Morgue? Board President Toni Preckwinkle says it's been completely turned around. How'd they do it? Paris Schutz has the details.

As President Barack Obama gears up to select the location for his Presidential Library, the bids to host the prestigious institution are flooding in. With Chicago being the president's adopted home town, does it have the inside track? View a map of all 15 presidential library locations.   

We go behind-the-scenes at the Joffrey Ballet to find out what it takes to prepare a world premiere dance.