Stories by Kristen Thometz

How would Illinois residents be notified of a nuclear threat – and where should they seek shelter if an alert was issued? We speak with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. 

Watch the Jan. 18, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Chicago has made it to the second round of cities for Amazon’s HQ2. The question now: What will it take for the city to make it to the final four?

Vivid colors bring to life messages of hope, and resistance. A pair of new art shows on the campus of DePaul University look at the power of the people through the power of printmaking.

She is taking the opera world by storm, and she’s here to show us why. Janai Brugger of Darien joins us in conversation and performance.

President Donald Trump could begin his second year in office with a government shutdown. An assessment of his first year, and a look ahead.

Should Chicago follow the lead of New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. to enact rent control? We hear from both sides of the debate.

The award-winning journalist talks about his astonishing four decades at the helm of his groundbreaking show on WTTW.

Chicago Public Schools’ plan to build a new $85 million high school in Englewood, and shutter four existing schools, is proving to be a hard sell for several area residents.

Watch the Jan. 17, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

An environmental nonprofit represented by University of Chicago lawyers filed a suit Wednesday against U.S. Steel over Lake Michigan pollution.

Tensions flared Wednesday at a City Council meeting over a government subsidy to a Catholic hospital that opposes abortion and contraception, causing a rift along social and racial lines before a close vote. 

Understanding a federal court’s decision to keep the much-debated DACA program that protects young immigrants.

How independently can adults with intellectual disabilities live as they age? We visit a group of men who have shared a home for decades. 

How evidence-based health care policy can get more value out of the health care system. A discussion with Katherine Baicker, dean of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

The political debate over immigration has come to the fore yet again as a government shutdown looms, with the standoff due in large part to failed immigration reform negotiations.

Approving a new evidence-based funding model for public education last year was the first step in improving Illinois’ long-broken formula. Now the state has to find a way to pay for it.

A fireball streaked across the Midwestern sky Tuesday night, creating a sonic boom. An Adler Planetarium astronomer tells us more about this rare celestial fireworks display.

An icy dip in the lake, a massive gathering in the Loop, personal stories and Mexican pastries usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.

Watch the Jan. 16, 2018 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."

Nearly a year to the day that an estimated quarter of a million people gathered in the Loop for the Women’s March on Chicago, activists are set to fill downtown streets again for a March to the Polls this Saturday.

As Chicago property owners pay more money toward teacher pensions, a look at where exactly the money is going.

After many meetings with the community and a lot of pushback, the Obama Presidential Center design has undergone a number of changes. But do the plan revisions make it better? 

Deaths from distracted driving are rising sharply. We talk with a transportation safety expert about what can be done to bring the number of fatalities down.

International speaker Taylor Gerring explains how Bitcoin’s blockchain technology could revolutionize multiple industries.

Roughly 20 percent of the produce grown in this country is never eaten, and a lot of it never even makes it off the farm because it doesn’t look right. Now, Chicagoans can buy that perfectly good (but unattractive) produce.