Stories by Brandis Friedman

The secret got out last week, but the Obama Foundation made it official at a news conference on Wednesday: Jackson Park will be the main home of the 44th U.S. president's library.

Illinois may become the ninth state since 2000 to adopt a new education funding system, and state leaders are hoping a new reform commission can figure out how its current formula can be fixed.

Watch the August 3, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Important research is happening locally and across the country in an attempt to control the Zika virus.

The singer-songwriter and two-time Grammy award-winner joins us in performance and conversation.

Students across the political spectrum are angry with DePaul University's decision not to allow a conservative writer and commentator to speak at an on-campus event.

Despite a spate of recent reports, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources says that reintroducing alligator gar into Illinois' waterways will not prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan.

The smartphone game has taken Chicago by storm. We hunt down and follow some of the area’s most dedicated players, including one who hopes to turn his hobby into a career.

President Barack Obama reiterates his support for the Trans Pacific Partnership. But the trade deal has strong opposition. What's at the core of the agreement that could shape U.S. trade relations in the 21st century?

After years of waiting, Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood gets a spectacular and much needed arts and recreation center.

The building that thousands of cars drive under every day will be turned into commercial office space. Looking at the future of a building that's been empty since 1997. 

Watch the August 2, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Can state lawmakers craft a constitutional fix for the Illinois public pension problem? We talk with one man who has a plan.

The Chicago Sun-Times theater critic reviews a Pulitzer prize-winning play at Steppenwolf Theatre, a pair of one-man shows and two Tony award-winning actresses.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago rank among the top hospitals in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of hospitals.

Dozens of teenage girls from the Chicago area are getting a unique, hands-on STEM experience as they transform recycled refrigerators into solar-powered race cars in the ComED Icebox Derby.

Just days before the two-year anniversary of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, that sparked protests nationwide, the Movement for Black Lives has released an official platform that outlines its demands.

The fallout continues from the political conventions. We hear from several reporters who spent two weeks on the ground at both the Republican and Democratic conventions.

In a phone call late Monday afternoon, Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo spoke about the recent police-involved shooting of Paul O’Neal and the union’s call for police officers to reject Labor Day weekend overtime.

Watch the August 1, 2016 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

The site for the Obama Presidential library has been chosen and now community activists tell us what they expect as the project moves forward.

As of Monday, chain stores that are 10,000 square feet or less must comply with the city's plastic bag ban originally enacted a year ago.

Revisit the wry cartoons of the turn of the century satirical magazine, Puck.

Superintendent Eddie Johnson says his department has so far made 1,900 gun arrests in 2016, a 7-percent increase over the first seven months of 2015.

Inspiration Kitchens had been a fixture of the Uptown neighborhood for 11 years. But owners of the restaurant say a loss of federal funding and the state's historic budget impasse made it difficult to maintain a financial foothold.

The WTTW organic garden is growing at an astonishing pace, with sweet corn towering over the plot and many vegetables ready for the grill. But if your own garden–like ours–is looking a little too lush, not to worry: There are easy ways to tame it, says Jeanne Nolan, the Organic Gardener.