Stories by Erica Gunderson

For about 70 years, Chicago boys who were chronic school-skippers were sent to a residential facility in a bucolic setting that was once WTTW’s neighbor. Our own history teacher Geoffrey Baer explains.

Chicago is the last stop on PBS’ four-part career exploration documentary series: “Roadtrip Nation: To Be Determined.” We talk with one of the road trippers, who’s a Chicago native, and a CEO of a workforce development program.

Aldermen raked officials from Commonwealth Edison over the coals Thursday, demanding answers about the firm’s admission that it engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme even as officials warned the city would have no choice but to extend the utility’s lucrative city contract.

While deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. are mounting rapidly, public health experts are seeing a flicker of good news: The second surge of confirmed cases appears to be leveling off.

A largemouth bass fished from the Skokie River provided proof of the success of a 2018 dam removal on the Chicago River.

President Donald Trump, lagging in the polls and grappling with deepening economic and public health crises, on Thursday floated the startling idea of delaying the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Watch the July 30, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Three Chicago Police officers were shot, including one who was struck in the neck, outside a Northwest side police station Thursday by an offender who had been arrested as a suspect in a June carjacking.

The three firms will scatter 10,000 scooters across much of the city — four times as many allowed during the summer of 2019 — but the scooters will not be allowed downtown or along the Lakefront or 606 trails, according to the city’s rules.

To some, #challengeaccepted represents a clear example of “slacktivism” — campaigns based on social platforms that require little effort of participants. There’s no donation requested, no volunteer shift required, just a few minutes to post a message or image that people are unlikely to fight over.

On Tuesday, a high-ranking chief in the Chicago Police Department is believed to have committed suicide — and research shows the suicide rate for Chicago officers is higher than the national average.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker releases new guidelines for recreational sports, and a war of words unfolds at the ComEd hearing at the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Lou Henson, the plain-spoken coach who took New Mexico State and Illinois to the Final Four during a 21-year career that included nearly 800 victories and a feud with fellow Big Ten coach Bob Knight, has died. He was 88.

The Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards has shifted to a video format for 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Submissions are open through Sept. 30, so get those cameras rolling.

The new documentary “A Most Beautiful Thing” tells the story of Manley High School’s rowing team on Chicago’s West Side. We speak with some of the men featured in the film.

With the number of new coronavirus cases rising in Illinois and a handful of outbreaks linked to youth sports, the governor announced new guidance restricting youth and adults sports in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Watch the July 29, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

During the day, Dr. Wendy Goodall McDonald sees patients at her obstetric and gynecological practice in Chicago. But after work, she entertains and educates the public through song parodies.

The “greatest lake of all time” has a Twitter account to match its swagger, run by a human who speaks not on behalf of the lake but as the lake in a brash, anthropomorphic way. And we can’t get enough of it.

After nearly 100 days at the helm of the Chicago Police Department, the superintendent’s tenure has been anything but average, as he faces an ongoing pandemic, protests and a surge in gun violence. 

In order for schools to move to fully remote instruction this fall, the city of Chicago must hit a rolling average of 400 new COVID-19 cases per day, according to new guidance from Chicago Public Schools.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered a full-throated defense of American democracy Wednesday before urging Chicagoans to safeguard the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights by responding to the 2020 census.

Having endured what was surely a record-shattering slump last quarter, the U.S. economy faces a dim outlook as a resurgent coronavirus intensifies doubts about any sustained recovery the rest of the year.

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will reject new applications and shorten renewal periods for an Obama-era program that shields young people from deportation.

Commonwealth Edison must pay a $200 million fine to the federal government as part of its deal with the U.S. attorney’s office. That fine will go to federal coffers — not ComEd customers. But a lawsuit is seeking to change that.

It’s home to a massive art collection that includes a Monet and a passel of Paschkes. The latest in our series of virtual tours: a private club with a public focus — and an eye for artwork.