Stories by Alex Ruppenthal

Organized by the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, Earth2Trump is a series of rallies aimed at building “resistance to all forms of oppression and all attacks on the environment,” the group states.

After the shooting at a baggage claim in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, can extending the airport security perimeter keep travelers safer?

A Chicago Police Department official confirmed detectives are investigating the shooting death of Jason Goodfriend, 31, who was the business and finance manager at Chicago Tech Academy.

While Illinois’ impasse thus far has been caused by a partisan divide, divergent approaches by the House and Senate to the state’s yearslong political stalemate serve to create a new potential rift, this time between the two Democratic-led chambers.

What can we expect from U.S.-Russia relations under the Trump administration?

Watch the Jan. 9, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

A little more than eight years ago, Barack Obama gave his presidential acceptance speech in Grant Park. Tuesday, he’ll bookend his presidency with a much anticipated farewell address at McCormick Place.

Social media has become a ubiquitous fixture of our daily lives. We discuss the varying effects of such digital communication tools on young people.

The disastrous 2016 season is one the Chicago Bears will want to soon forget. The Bears chairman weighs in on how the team can bounce back.

Donald Trump is no friend of the environment. And based on new energy use data from the city, neither is his trademark Chicago skyscraper.

A Wicker Park elementary parent called out the Chicago Teachers Union in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, claiming the union stopped parents who volunteered to staff their children’s school library after its librarian was laid off.

After nearly two years of budget gridlock, spiraling deficits and political acrimony in Springfield, a grand bargain on the budget is coming together in the Illinois Senate.

Three teenagers and a 24-year-old woman accused in the kidnapping and torture of a mentally disabled man were denied bail Friday afternoon.

Hate crime charges after a disabled man is attacked. The feds plan to release a report on Chicago police. Rauner is skipping Donald Trump’s inauguration. And the Bears won’t commit to Jay Cutler. These stories and more with Joel Weisman and guests.

After failing to receive $18 million in funding from the state’s stopgap budget, state agencies are hopeful the latest grand budget bargain will deliver those funds.

An estimated 54.1 million visitors came to the city in 2016, getting totals closer to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s goal of annually attracting 55 million out-of-towners to Chicago by 2020.

Infants as young as 4 months old should be introduced to peanut-containing foods to prevent the development of peanut allergies, according to new guidelines.

Chicago Tonight correspondent Carol Marin asks the president about his legacy, violence in Chicago and whether he would consider pardoning disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The incoming Trump administration has signaled a different direction with its policies on policing and civil rights. Does that mean Chicago may not have to comply with this report?

What will 300,000 local patients face if Obamacare is repealed? We speak with the CEO of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System.

Watch the Jan. 5, 2017 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

In light of news that both Sears and Macy’s are closing stores across the country, what is the future for these once mighty and iconic brands? 

A new book argues the teachers strike of 2012 did more than just force a contract. A look inside “A Fight for the Soul of Public Education.”

The brains behind a local nonprofit offering after-school help to Chicago students were included this week on a list highlighting the work of some of the rising young entrepreneurs across the country.

A modest but eye-opening new exhibition features practical works of art from the collection of a scholar on American quilts.

We share your thoughts about Paris Schutz’s conversation Wednesday with Gov. Bruce Rauner.