Stories by Alex Ruppenthal

The Clean Energy Jobs Act aims to move Illinois to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 while modernizing the state’s transportation sector and creating thousands of new jobs.

Eddie Arruza and guests discuss whether the dozens of mayoral forums hurt or helped voters make decisions.

Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle will face off in a historic mayoral runoff. Surprises in several aldermanic races. And what role will identity politics play in the election?

Two brothers who told police that “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett paid them $3,500 to help stage an attack on himself in Chicago say they regret their involvement in the incident.

From flamenco to contemporary to ballet, dance takes over Chicago area stages this month. 

Mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle joins us as her campaign goes after the progressive bona fides of her challenger, Lori Lightfoot.

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

As Gov. J.B. Pritzker moves full steam ahead on a graduated income tax, he says he’s unfazed by warnings that Illinois’ credit could be downgraded.

From clothing to digital art to painting, Chicago artist Edo sees color in all forms. “Color is my thing,” he says. “I want it to light up a room.”

Erin Brockovich’s efforts to expose a utility company's contamination of California groundwater were made famous in a 2000 film bearing her name. She joins us to discuss Chicago’s environmental issues.

What is ranked-choice voting? And how could it have impacted Chicago’s Feb. 26 election?

Chicago police have spent nearly $1.5 million on a social media monitoring software called Dunami since 2014, records show. The ACLU of Illinois has called on CPD to end its use of the "spying software." 

Richard J. Daley’s long climb up the Democratic Party ladder began in the 1930s and was fueled by unfailing loyalty to the party – and an extraordinary series of well-timed deaths.

President Donald Trump’s former lawyer returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday for hours of closed-door questioning after publicly branding his former boss a racist and a con man.

Luis Castejon faces a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting Monday of Emanuel Gallegos, a 17-year-old junior at one of the city’s elite public high schools.

Soft, flexible sensors developed by Northwestern University researchers measure an infant’s vital signs and allow physical bonding between baby and parent.

The Joliet Police Department says in a statement that the four were found dead shortly after 10:15 p.m. Wednesday after officers responded to a report of a shooting.

Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot, a political outsider, will be matched up against the ultimate insider, Toni Preckwinkle – a longtime member of the Chicago City Council who now holds the top job in Cook County. 

Preservation Chicago has released its annual list of Chicago’s most threatened historic buildings – and this year, it includes two return entries and an entire category of buildings that dot Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot tells Carol Marin on “Chicago Tonight” that the Preckwinkle campaign had previously tried to “take her out” by spreading a rumor that she would quit the race.

We meet three political newcomers who upset longtime aldermen – plus a fourth candidate who won an open seat in Tuesday’s election.

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

Just how did the vote break down Tuesday, and why was turnout so much lower than expected? Our politics team digs into the numbers in this week's political roundtable. 

Just how did Chicago wind up with 50 wards and 50 aldermen? Geoffrey Baer does the math in this edition of Ask Geoffrey. And: five fast facts about Chicago mayors past.

This feverishly verbal play, now receiving its world premiere at Lookingglass Theatre, poses some epic, cosmic questions while capturing the more familiar aspects of family relationships and identity crises. But it supplies no answers. 

An icy dip in the lake, film festivals, Mardi Gras pastries and a shopping cart race usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.