Stories by Matt Masterson

The country’s 44th president gave all Chicago public high school students digital access to his new book, “A Promised Land,” during a surprise appearance at a virtual assembly on Monday.

Public health officials are sounding alarms and urging Americans not to travel and limit gatherings this holiday season amid a new surge in coronavirus cases. But that isn’t stopping the White House.

A newly released five-year plan to invest in Chicago’s roads, bridges, bikeways and other infrastructure needs is a welcome shift away from short-term, less comprehensive projects, some analysts and city officials say.

The underutilized Foxconn plant that President Donald Trump once called “the Eighth Wonder of the World” gets a new customer. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker has details.

A quartet of penguins from the Shedd Aquarium paid a visit to Soldier Field. Could this be the secret weapon the Bears need to take down the Packers during Sunday’s showdown?

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective.

Watch the Nov. 23, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, is poised to become the first official “day of observance” in Chicago as part of the agreement that will approve a $12.8 billion spending plan for 2021.

Friends, family members and former students gathered virtually on Sunday to remember longtime Chicago yoga teacher and therapist Catherine Ashton, who died Nov. 14 as a result of pancreatic cancer.

TV host Dr. Ian Smith on the pandemic and his latest book. Making health care anti-racist. A mural brings health care providers closer to their patients. And the last word on Black businesses.

Dr. Ian Smith has been covering the COVID-19 pandemic from just about every angle. He joins us to discuss the pandemic and the importance of equitable distribution of a vaccine.

As 2020 comes to a close, the events of this unprecedented year have devastated Chicago’s small businesses. Why it’s more important than ever to support neighborhood shops.

A new mural on the city’s Northwest Side bridges the gap between health care providers and the community they serve.

The doors of Chicago’s Symphony Center may be closed to its audiences until the pandemic has been conquered. But its stage is still very much alive.

Since January, more than 656,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Illinois and 11,506 people have died as a result of the virus, according to state health officials.

Typically, Thanksgiving is deemed the beginning of the celebratory holiday season. But this year will be different amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. Will Mother Nature cooperate with your plans?

Since Election Day, President Donald Trump and his allies have sought to expose voter fraud that simply does not exist in overwhelmingly Black population centers like Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Making COVID-19 vaccine distribution equitable. Hurricanes rip through Central America. Living with and preventing diabetes. How the monarch butterfly builds bridges between the U.S. and Mexico.

In a year filled with twists and turns, news outlets are more important than ever. We discuss the role of advocacy journalism in effecting positive change for marginalized communities.

In the past three weeks, back-to-back hurricanes landed a double blow on Central American countries. Gonzalo Chavez, consulate general of Honduras, says the situation is dire. Find out how you can help.

Election officials in Wisconsin’s largest county accused observers for President Donald Trump on Saturday of seeking to obstruct a recount of the presidential results.

“Feeding hunger is also feeding the spirit, that’s what events like this do,” said Ron Manderschied, president of Northwestern Settlement. “It provides the food for sustenance but also feeds the soul.” 

An Illinois 17-year-old accused of killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin was seen smiling in a photo with his lawyer and “Silver Spoons” actor Ricky Schroder after being released from custody by posting a $2 million bond.

Police searched Friday evening for the suspect in a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall that left seven adults and a teenager injured.

More Democrats announce they won’t support Speaker Michael Madigan, who vows to run again. As the coronavirus surges, officials urge residents to stay home while CPS announces reopening plans.

Carmita Coleman was charged Friday with four counts of wire fraud following a five-year scheme in which she allegedly took $651,272 and used the funds on, among other things, “clothing, food, and trips.”