Stories by Matt Masterson

Attorneys for the man charged with the kidnapping and death of a Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois are demanding access to mental health treatment records from his girlfriend, who wore a wire for federal investigators.

The annual Grant Park Music Festival kicks off Wednesday. The free concert series is just one way to see music under the stars in Pritzker Pavilion. See the full summer 2019 concert lineup.

For the sixth year, O’Hare International Airport is using a herd of wild animals to manage the airport’s vegetation in an environmentally friendly way.

The titles of the four pieces provide a telling suggestion of the psychologically probing works being performed with the company’s trademark blend of uncanny fluidity, plasticity, control and ensemble perfection.

Even if you rely more on sight and smell to size up foods, you might be surprised by the risks and practices around food spoilage.

Free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel has agreed to a three-year contract with the Cubs in a big move to strengthen Chicago’s bullpen.

Paris Schutz and guests discuss more of the week’s news: Mayor Lori Lightfoot appoints a new board to oversee Chicago Public Schools, and a dramatic “Jeopardy!” run draws to a close.

Ald. Ed Burke gets his day in court. Gov. J.B. Pritzker gets his budget priorities passed. Chicago grapples with a spike in violence. And the Cubs get some much-needed pitching help.

How do you deep-fry giardiniera? We find out in the first installment of our weekly summer series Deep Frydays, where we go deep on an iconic Chicago food and then sacrifice it to sizzling oil.

Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of Yingying Zhang’s disappearance. Her kidnapping has left a mark on the University of Illinois campus as the trial of the man accused of her killing gets underway.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to set some restrictions on outside employment for aldermen. We analyze the latest batch of financial disclosure forms to find out who could be impacted.

In some ways, “For Services Rendered” is an old-fashioned play, but it is a beauty. And coming at a moment when Britain is undergoing a different sort of social and economic upheaval, it seems ideally timed for a revival.

In light of the charges against Ald. Ed Burke, what can Mayor Lori Lightfoot and aldermen do to clean up City Hall?

Recently passed legislation to expand gambling in Illinois is so massive, not many people know everything that’s in it. That includes at least two of the state’s legislative leaders who helped negotiate the bill.

An analysis of 500 U.S. cities by NYU School of Medicine offers a startling view of Chicago, but a local physician says the city’s health inequities have been known for years. What’s causing that gap, and how can it be addressed? 

A bicyclist was struck by a CTA bus in the 400 block of North Wells Street on Thursday morning, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Watch the June 6, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The R&B superstar pleaded not guilty to several new criminal charges relating to a 16-year-old victim he allegedly sexually abused between 2009 and 2010.

The auction would recover money owed secured creditors filmmaker George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, whose Capital V Holdings loaned $12 million to Johnson Publishing.

The city of Chicago has released two 911 calls made after “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack.

“You are the pride of our nation, you are the glory of our republic and we thank you from the bottom of our heart,” President Trump said, of the “warriors” of an “epic battle” engaged in the ultimate fight of good against evil.

Medical marijuana is legal in Arizona, but dispensaries are struggling with banking systems. Arizona PBS producer Allysa Adams has this report as part of our series on legalization.

Animal Recovery Mission says an investigator for the animal rights group secretly recorded footage that shows the “daily mistreatment of the resident farm animals” at Indiana’s Fair Oaks Farms.

Passing and managing a budget is one of government’s most basic functions, but as he signed a new $40 billion spending plan into law Wednesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called it a “watershed moment.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is out with a new round of ethics proposals. Our politics team tackles that and more in our weekly roundtable.

This unabashedly flamboyant fantasia by Tina Landau and Tarell Alvin McCraney spins the true story of Joan Jett Blakk, who helped found the Chicago branch of the Queer Nation Party and ran for Chicago mayor in 1991.