Stories by

Are Chicagoans getting the information they need to stay safe at the beach – and in the lake? A new task force has some recommendations for Chicago beaches.

Four Chicago aldermen weigh in on the new power dynamics at City Hall as Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes control – and a longtime alderman is indicted.

A new trove of documents is shedding light on the Chicago Police Department’s investigation into “Empire” star Jussie Smollett’s “false report” that he was the victim of a hate crime.

From the wives of Henry VIII to Frankenstein’s monster, there is plenty to see on local stages right now. Theater critic Hedy Weiss shares her take on five shows currently on stage.

The R&B superstar is facing 11 new charges, three months after he was initially hit with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse for allegedly assaulting multiple women between the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Watch the May 30, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The 17-story, curved-glass structure opened in May 1985 to house state offices. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a measure in April authorizing the sale of the building, which has been hailed for its architecture but derided for its functionality. 

Zachary Stoner was killed on May 30, 2018 in a drive-by shooting. A year later his death remains unsolved and no arrests have been made. Around 80% of homicides in Chicago go unsolved within the year they occur.

Since 2001, dozens of women have been strangled or suffocated and their bodies discarded in some of Chicago’s most derelict places. Now a national nonprofit group and a computer algorithm are helping detectives review the cases.

St. Louis will be the home team for both games, according to a draft of the 2020 preliminary schedule obtained by The Associated Press.

The Illinois Senate approves a newly revised measure that would allow anyone age 21 or older to buy and use marijuana starting in January. But supporters shouldn’t break out the champagne – or bongs – just yet.

Music festivals, German beer, an art fair and alternative comics usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.

Behind the scenes at Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first City Council meeting and the flurry of activity in Springfield. Our politics team tackles those headlines and more in our weekly roundtable.

Organic gardener Jeanne Nolan shares tips and advice for growing warm-weather crops like jalapeno and serrano peppers, green tomatillo and tomatoes.

Special counsel Robert Mueller says his team did not determine whether President Donald Trump committed a crime or not. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel weighs in.

David Maraniss has written acclaimed biographies of Roberto Clemente, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. In a new book, he turns his biographer’s eye to his father’s experiences during the Red Scare.

Ald. Ed Burke on Wednesday tried to throw new Mayor Lori Lightfoot a curveball and badly missed the strike zone in advance of Lightfoot’s first major legislative test. 

Jury selection in the capital trial of Brendt Christensen is set to begin Monday in Peoria. Christensen is charged with kidnapping resulting in the death of 26-year-old Yingying Zhang, who went missing in 2017.

Watch the May 29, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Special counsel Robert Mueller said Wednesday he believed he was constitutionally barred from charging President Donald Trump with a crime but pointedly emphasized that his Russia report did not exonerate the president.

The university said Tuesday the tuition offer is an effort to increase representation of American Indian and Alaska Native students at UIC.

As other states, including neighboring Missouri, have passed laws that are tantamount to abortion bans, Illinois is moving in the opposite direction.

In spite of heavy rainfall that kept many indoors and 1,200 additional police officers on the streets of Chicago, 43 people were shot, seven fatally, over the Memorial Day weekend.

Two years after Massachusetts voters approved recreational marijuana, the first pot shops have opened. As part of our series on legalization, WGBH reporter Arun Rath gives us a look at what it takes to cash in on cannabis.

The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering will become the university’s first new school in three decades, thanks to a $100 million commitment from the Pritzker Foundation.

Children have a better chance at reaching their full potential now than at any other time in history, according to a new report released by Save the Children. But there’s more work ahead – particularly in the U.S.