Stories by WTTW News

Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin joins us to talk about his new stand-up comedy show in town—and his efforts to curb some of his own appetites.

We hear what you had to say about recent stories when we read some of our viewer mail. Send Chicago Tonight your comments

This week on Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review, Mayor Rahm Emanuel ushers in a new era of ethics reforms in city government. A vicious beating and stabbing in Lakeview brings renewed fear to the city. Former top cop Jody Weis is hired by the Chicago Crime Commission. State workers lose their raises as Gov. Pat Quinn cuts nearly $400 million from the state budget. City Council approves gun ranges in Chicago. Summer travel costs you more as airlines raise rates. And in sports, bypassed Paul Konerko is finally voted an all-star as the Sox struggle to reach .500.

Reform is coming to Cook County in the form of quarterly performance reports. We sit down with County Board President Toni Preckwinkle about the unveiling of the new initiative.

Chicago's demographics have changed considerably over the last 10 years and now the City Council is deciding how to remap the city's wards. Eddie Arruza and his panel of aldermen look at what's at stake and who's battling for control.

We hear from Dr. David Ansell, the author of a new book about the history of Cook County Hospital.

It has been stalled for years by financial troubles and political upheaval. But there actually may soon be a Museum of Broadcast Communications. Paris Schutz shows us some of the hidden TV and radio relics already on display in the museum's new building.

He looks right at home in the jungle. But Tarzan is really from Oak Park, and the man who played him in the movies went to Lane Tech. Geoffrey Baer takes a look at what's born and made in Chicago.

We hear what you had to say about recent stories when we read some of our viewer mail. Send Chicago Tonight your comments

Gun ranges will now be legal in Chicago. The Chicago City Council passed the ordinance today, keeping Chicago one step ahead of a federal court decision that could mandate the ranges. Elizabeth Brackett has the story.

While the president held the first ever Twitter Town Hall today, Republican candidates are lining up to face Obama in the 2012 presidential race. Our Carol Marin and her panel of political analysts will discuss the growing field and more.

Summer is in full swing. And along with sun, swimming and street festivals, mosquitoes are also a reality of the season. How much of a concern are West Nile-infected mosquitoes? Illinois' Director of Public Health talks about that and other public health concerns.

The Adler Planetarium takes you into deep space for an immersive new exhibit. We speak with the president of this Chicago institution about the science behind their latest venture.

The "Spider-Man" musical has been in the news for months now. But will it have legs beyond Broadway? Hedy Weiss reviews the show for us, along with three new shows a little closer to home. More on the Story: Read about the shows More on Weiss

We meet a Chicago man who wants to change the way America thinks about table tennis. Places to play ping pong/table tennis in Chicago

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduces new ethics reforms to Chicago's City Council. Paris Schutz has more on what it means for taxpayers.

Gov. Pat Quinn whacks an additional $376 million from the state's budget, signing it hours before the deadline. Eddie Arruza and his panel examine whether the cuts to Medicaid and school spending are enough to help ease Illinois' fiscal crisis.

WBBM Newsradio 780's Kris Kridel joins us to discuss Chicago's push to boost sagging tourism figures, new plans to renovate Navy Pier and other top business headlines.

He's one of the top high school runners in American history, and he hails from right here in the Chicago area. Ash-har Quraishi reports on the latest phenom in American distance running. More on the Story: Web article, videos & photos Chicago Tribune article

It was once one of the most powerful media conglomerates in the U.S. -- then came a new buyer, bankruptcy and an $8 billion buyout. So what really happened to the Tribune Company? Former Chicago Tribune managing editor James O'Shea discusses his tell-all book: The Deal From Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers.

Geoffrey Baer takes us to a vegetable farm on the roof of a North Side restaurant and other gardens high above the streets of Chicago. Chicago Botanic Garden Plant Conservation Science Center Gary Comer Youth Center Uncommon Ground Chicago Specialty Gardens

This week on Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review, former governor Rod Blagojevich is found guilty on 17 counts, including trying to sell President Obama's Senate seat. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says union work rule changes are needed -- or layoffs will come. Controversy continues over Alderman Ed Burke's security detail. Governor Quinn signs a workers compensation reform bill and tightens seat belt laws. Former first lady Lura Lynn Ryan dies with former governor Ryan out of prison and at her side. And in sports, the dismantling of the champion Blackhawks continues.

From slashing the City Council in half to cutting the Fire Department's budget, a new report outlines 40 tough-love measures to get the city's budget back in shape. Our panel discusses the cost-cutting ideas, and what it will take to implement them.

We talk to the Chicago Tribune's political cartoonist Scott Stantis about covering the Blagojevich trial, and he gives us tips on how to draw the new mayor. Chicago Tribune cartoons Stantis' blog: Taking a Stantis Chicago Tonight's Blagojevich Retrial page

Amelia Earhart is just one of many famous names on a quilt with ties to Evanston history. Eddie Arruza tells us about the "curious patchwork" of artifacts currently on display at the Evanston History Center.

Writer and Chicagoan Wendy McClure traveled the country to rediscover her favorite childhood series in her new book, The WILDER LIFE: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie.