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Lost in the hoopla of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s homecoming speech Wednesday was a nod he gave to the mild-mannered man standing nearby. So, who is Mark A. Vargas? Our politics team digs into that and more.

The days of watching the Cubs on TV for free are long gone. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker tells us about the Marquee Sports Network – and what it means for Cubs fans in Chicago.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich celebrated his homecoming Wednesday with a media spectacle at his North Side home. But public sentiment about his early release from prison is divided.

A free public event Friday will focus on food inequality across Chicago’s 77 community areas. We discuss the event with Rodger Cooley, executive director of the Chicago Food Policy Action Council.

Chicagoans have long taken pride in the city’s history and architecture, but as areas of the city are redeveloped, some of that is lost. Jimmy Nuter is doing all he can to rescue treasures from the city’s earliest days.

City Council approved a climate emergency resolution Wednesday, but no specific actions are on the horizon.

Boeing is inspecting more than 400 stored 737 Max jets after discovering tools, rags and other debris left in the fuel tanks of newly built planes.

A Carnivale celebration, late-night art show, chocolate and bicycles usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Watch the Feb. 19, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

An inmate at Illinois’ largest women’s prison says she was raped by a transgender inmate and claims Illinois Department of Corrections officials conducted a “sham investigation” to help cover up the incident.

Early voting is underway at 50 neighborhood sites and the city’s downtown “super site.” Here’s everything you need to know.

Speaking to a throng of reporters from his North Side home, the impeached former governor expressed his appreciation for President Trump and his efforts to fix “a broken criminal justice system.”

With the acknowledgement that “our choices remain hard, our fiscal situation challenging,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday delivered his proposal for a $42 billion state spending plan for the coming fiscal year.

Rod Blagojevich returned home to Chicago early Wednesday, shaking hands and signing autographs after President Donald Trump cut short his 14-year prison sentence.

Even as cities like Rockford and Waukegan move forward with their fresh authority to host casinos, Chicago is at a standstill.

Details on how a proposed Trump administration order could limit the design of future federal buildings.

Hundreds of thousands of black Chicagoans have fled the city since 1980, according to a recent report. What’s driving that exodus, and what can be done to reverse the trend?

The latest selection for the citywide reading program is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book from New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert, who joins us in discussion.

President Donald Trump has gone on a clemency blitz, commuting what he called a “ridiculous” 14-year prison sentence for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and pardoning former New York Police Department commissioner, among a long list of others.

President Donald Trump’s commutation of Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence ends a corruption saga that has been both notorious and bizarre.

Two Chicago nonprofits that offer training and support to local tech firms have struck a deal to create a one-stop shop for them.

In a small study, pregnant women diagnosed with the novel coronavirus during their third trimester didn’t spread the virus to their newborns. While a local researcher called those results exciting, he said they can’t be generalized to all pregnant women. 

A coming change of venue for the Joffrey Ballet is a major shift, and its initial opening season will be of great importance, especially since it also will mark the 25th anniversary of the Joffrey as a formidable Chicago cultural institution. 

Beijing’s Winter Games – and that singular sport, curling – won’t awe and inspire spectators for another two years. But there’s plenty of curling happening now in Chicago’s western suburbs.

In the war against plastic pollution, Illinois legislators just announced a new battle plan that would tackle the problem from multiple angles.

Watch the Feb. 18, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”