Stories by WTTW News

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

Nicknamed “The Kansas Comet” and considered among the best open-field runners the game has ever seen, Gale Sayers died Wednesday, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Illinois’ already-delayed marijuana expansion is on pause, but many of the entrepreneurs trying to be part of the industry are hoping that good things will come to those who wait.

In a sweeping bipartisan vote that takes a government shutdown off the table, the House passed a temporary government-wide funding bill Tuesday night, shortly after President Donald Trump prevailed in a behind-the-scenes fight over his farm bailout.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and other police killings of Black Americans, calls to defund and reform the police have intensified. At the same time, Chicago is grappling with the coronavirus and a drastic increase in shootings.

Votes in hand, Senate Republicans are charging ahead with plans to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s  Supreme Court seat before the Nov. 3 election.

Commonwealth Edison announced Tuesday it will not shut off electricity in homes amid the coronavirus and recession — quickly meeting a key condition set by Mayor Lori Lightfoot if the utility giant is to extend its city contract.

The city’s guidelines for 2020’s unprecedented outdoor fall-to-winter dining season allow for several types of heaters, but fire pits aren’t one of them.

As Chicago gets ready for cooler weather, many parts of the country are being hit by wildfires, hurricanes and the aftermath of last month’s destructive derecho. We learn more with atmospheric scientist Scott Collis.

Maryam Saleh, an entrepreneur and Chicago-based computational neuroscientist, tells us about her new role leading the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Watch the Sept. 22, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The city’s top lawyer bluntly warned aldermen to be careful when demanding that firms do more to meet goals set by city officials designed to encourage them to work with firms owned by female, Black and Latino Chicagoans.

With Dorothy Brown deciding not to run for a fifth term, Cook County will have a new circuit court clerk this fall for the first time in 20 years. And legal advocates have some recommendations for whoever wins that seat in November.

Wisconsin’s infection rate is now averaging 31 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, per day, over seven days. A minimum of 15 cases per 100,000 residents triggers Chicago’s quarantine order.

Despite an overall drop this spring in felony charges like assault and narcotics possession, Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said his jurisdiction saw a 139% increase in the number of child abuse and neglect cases.

“If you’re not registered to vote, it’s not too late,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Tuesday as she urged people to participate in the November election.

During the fall equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west, creating an effect dubbed “Chicagohenge” (in reference to Stonehenge), when the sunset is strikingly framed on east-west streets by the city’s skyscrapers.

The Dreadhead Cowboy, a local celebrity whose real name is Adam Hollingsworth, said he rode down the Dan Ryan Expressway in support of the #KidsLivesMatter movement.

Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic, is a federal appellate judge in Chicago who has established herself as a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues from abortion to gun control. 

Chicago architect Joel Berman is using his love of design to teach the next generation of artists in a new virtual drawing class. We recently joined the students to learn more.

About 200 people took part in a peaceful walk Sunday in Albany Park to bring attention to a recent increase in gun violence in the Northwest Side neighborhood, where last week at least seven people were shot, including two teens.

Chicago’s chief financial officer warned aldermen Monday that taxing big firms and financial transactions would not help dig the city out of a massive budget hole caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A recent poll found that 17% of households in Chicago can’t afford to pay for both their food and bills. How COVID-19 has impacted food security in Chicago six months into the pandemic.

It might not be the day of your Coppertone dreams, but you can get a little sand between your toes by signing up for one or all of this week’s volunteer beach and shoreline cleanups.

Just 44 days before President Donald Trump’s reelection will be decided, Republicans are looking to a Supreme Court nomination fight to unite a deeply fractured party as it faces the very real possibility of losing the White House.

Could the pandemic affect the Old Post Office’s leases with high-profile tenants? Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker joins us with the stories behind the headlines.