Stories by Paris Schutz

A long shot presidential candidate from Illinois. Our politics team takes on the 2020 presidential election and more in our weekly roundtable.

Since Chicago’s early days, anarchists, labor agitators and political radicals of all stripes have passed through the city. In the early 20th century, that included a legendary songwriter – and the subject of one of his most famous songs.

One of Chicago’s leading organizations aimed at addressing the needs of the African American community is about to get a new leader. We speak with outgoing Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson.

Food insecurity is a nationwide problem, but studies show it’s even more acute in Chicago. How one food pantry is trying to tackle the problem.

In 2017, Daniel Johnson donated a kidney to his father, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. In 2018, Daniel was sworn in as a Chicago police officer. The two join us to discuss the successful transplant and Chicago’s policing challenges.

Just how big is the city’s budget deficit? And will Mayor Lori Lightfoot propose new taxes to close it? Lightfoot will likely spell out some of that in a much-anticipated “State of the City” address Thursday evening. Here’s a preview.

On Chicago’s Northwest Side, a gently sloping riverbed occupies the former site of a small but historically important dam. We visit a popular fishing spot – for humans and birds alike – at River Park.

Street festivals, live jazz, handmade gifts, global foods and a football season preview usher in the long weekend. Here are a dozen things to do in and around Chicago.

A new installation combining art, architecture and technology provides an immersive look at the underwater world of reefs.

Sgt. James Prah Jr. claims he’s being “intimidated into silence” by Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and his wife because he reported their alleged involvement in a purported cheating scheme during a departmental exam.

Watch the Aug. 28, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The changes include a tightened verification process that will require anyone wanting to run ads pertaining to elections, politics or big social issues like guns and immigration to confirm their identity and prove they are in the U.S. 

More than 200 of the world’s top female hockey players will play a series of tournaments as part of an effort to establish a single professional league with a sustainable economic model, featuring the world’s top talent, and pay a livable wage and include health care.

State attorneys general and lawyers representing local governments said Tuesday they are in active settlement talks with Purdue Pharma, the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin that is facing billions of dollars in potential liability for its role in the nation’s opioid crisis.

Chicago and the world is on the brink of a transportation revolution – and activists for racial equity want to ensure the benefits of that revolution reach communities of color.

Federal authorities have repeatedly warned about foreign influence in U.S. elections, but a core federal agency that keeps watch on elections is suddenly without any enforcement ability. We speak with Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub.

People commonly adopt dog and cats from the pound, but there’s a new phenomenon in Chicago: stray chickens and roosters are being rounded up in an effort to find them their forever homes.

New rules for a scrap metal yard on the city’s North Side require the facility to reduce emissions of potentially cancer-causing compounds after it violated federal air pollution standards last summer.

Watch the Aug. 27, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Illinois attorney general’s office has been so inundated with payment requests stemming from its consent decree with a former Champaign-based bus operator that they’ve asked a federal judge to amend the agreement itself.

The Justice Department said Monday it would move forward to expand the number of marijuana growers for federally authorized cannabis research.

Al Haynes was hailed for his skill when a jet lost all hydraulic power after the rear engine exploded during a flight from Denver to Chicago on July 19, 1989. Haynes saved nearly 200 lives by guiding the damaged jet into a crash landing in Iowa. Haynes, 87, died Sunday.

“Never Trump” Republicans are eager to see the president confront a credible primary adversary. But the party will likely erect structural barriers that make that kind of challenge exceedingly difficult.

For decades, the southern border of the U.S. has been a flash point for conflicting points of view. Now, artists from both sides of the border – including Chicago – are navigating the rocky road of migration in “The Border Crossed Us.”

U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia has had a foot in both local and national politics for decades. Now representing Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, Garcia has become an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. He joins us in discussion.

News of a spike in wildfires in the Amazon led to an international outcry aimed at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who responded over the weekend by authorizing the deployment of 44,000 military troops to put out the fires.