Stories by Nick Blumberg

Learn more about the new CEO and the unlikely group that just purchased the beleaguered Chicago Sun-Times.

The disgraced former U.S. House speaker, sentenced last year to 15 months in prison, returns to Chicago to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Contemporary art with Mexican roots: Celebrating 30 years at Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art.

Efficiency plans filed by Ameren Illinois fail to comply with the state’s new energy law and could prevent the creation of additional jobs, according to a new report. 

In his new PBS special, Geoffrey Baer is immersed in the city’s vibrant culture—architecture, music, dance and history—with three native Cubans as his guides.

With one in 10 women reporting drinking during pregnancy and no cure for the disorder, researchers are hopeful two treatments that reversed memory and learning deficits in rats can do the same in humans.

In 1917, Woodrow Wilson was president. Telegrams were a popular way to communicate across long distances. World War I began. And a Chicago company got its rolling start.

Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson says emails distributed among employees at the city Water Department suggest a culture of overtly racist and sexist behavior.

The exodus continues in Gov. Bruce Rauner's office as old staff members leave and new ones come in. A look at who’s out, and who’s in.

Watch the July 17, 2017 episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Lincoln Park Zoo recently launched a web series to chronicle the latest crushes, power struggles and other dramatic twists and turns surrounding the lives of its 15 African penguins.

Gov. Bruce Rauner insists on removing what he calls a Chicago “bailout” from a state school funding plan.

Without an agreement, school superintendents across the state are tasked with figuring out how long their schools can stay open this school year. We speak with superintendents from two suburban districts.

As districts across the state face the possibility of a delayed start to the school year this fall, Gov. Bruce Rauner and Chicago Public Schools are squaring off over what to do with a potential fix for the state’s broken education funding formula.

Cardinal Blase Cupich talks about a new anti-violence initiative and other issues facing the Catholic Church.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek was a highly respected scientist for decades before he received a credit as a technical adviser on Steven Spielberg’s 1977 movie. His life and legacy are explored in a new biography.

Young adults from Chicago’s Austin community are learning about fire safety as part of a pilot program aiming to address high crime rates, unemployment and other issues facing residents.

Women are the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population in the U.S., but data on pregnancies and births in prisons is either outdated or nonexistent. Illinois is now among 22 states participating in the first large-scale, comprehensive study of pregnancy in American prisons.

In a letter sent Friday to principals, CPS officials admit the budget distribution process is taking place “later than anyone can remember.” They put blame for the setback on Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Elevated lead levels have been found in hundreds of water fixtures in Illinois’ second largest public school district following an initial round of testing earlier this year.

Law enforcement agencies have a new set of guidelines for responding to reports of sexual assault and sexual abuse.

Visitors can expect snow flurries on their next trip to the zoo, even in the middle of summer. Four snowy owl chicks hatched last month are already flapping their wings and will soon attempt to fly. 

We raise a glass to one of the first female architects in the U.S. with a rum-based sipper that creates beauty from the sour, the bitter and the strange.

A staff shakeup in the Rauner administration. Big layoffs predicted after Cook County’s soda tax is blocked in court. New owners at the Chicago Sun-Times. Big changes ahead for Lake Shore Drive. And in sports, a major crosstown trade.

The Sun-Times publisher and editor-in-chief talks about the newspaper’s new owner and what’s ahead for the 69-year-old paper.

A stunning Windy City Swap: Sox ace pitcher Jose Quintana is being sent about 8 miles north.