Stories by Patty Wetli

The Newberry’s collection of vintage valentines is spreading old-fashioned romance across the internet.

Previous attempts to end gerrymandering in Illinois have come up short, but a coalition of advocacy groups are at it once again.

Following journalism jobs in Indiana, Arkansas, New York and Chicago, Kate Sullivan was hungry to blaze her own trail. Now, she’s the host and executive producer of “To Dine For,” a show combining Sullivan’s two passions: food and conversation.

They are making music with a mission. A rousing Chicago gospel group brings a modern approach to traditional spirituals as they work toward social justice. We catch up with the Adrian Dunn Singers.

A look back at the words of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose latest book has been decades in the making.

Active shooter drills are as common as reading, writing and arithmetic in American schools. But a new report says they are traumatizing students.

At a press conference Thursday in Chinatown, state and local health officials sought to reassure the public that the risk of contracting the deadly virus is low, and that Chicagoans should go about their daily lives.

The NBA’s All-Star Game is in Chicago for the first time since 1988 and the city is bouncing with NBA events all weekend. Here’s a preview.

A fast-growing construction and design firm is buying almost a full city block near the eastern end of the Fulton Market District.

A viewer’s photo of her mother at a glamorous restaurant in 1940s Chicago left her wondering where the photo was taken. And we finally address an elephant in the room at Marshall Field’s.

Watch the Feb. 13, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Flushing unused or expired prescription drugs down the toilet is “neither safe nor responsible,” says one local official. A new bill would establish convenient statewide locations for their collection instead.

Students inside a North Side high school staged a sit-in Wednesday following allegations that a school staffer told a female student to “go back to (your) country” after she refused to stand for the pledge of allegiance.

A local scientist talks about his work to help capture the most detailed images ever of the sun’s bubbling surface.

The 78 megadevelopment gets a big boost as Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces $500 million in funding for the University of Illinois tech hub that will make its home on the Near South Side.

Actor Jussie Smollett is facing a fresh set of charges for allegedly staging a hate crime on himself. Our politics team digs into that and more in our weekly roundtable.

You may have heard of Bessie Coleman, the pioneering African American pilot from Chicago. But there is much more to the history of black aviation in this town. And though that story has been largely forgotten, it’s now inspiring a new generation of aviators.

The father of a Lincoln Park High School student is suing the Chicago Board of Education for allegedly not protecting his daughter from sexual assault. It’s the latest twist in a story for which few details have been released.

There’s more political fallout related to the Jussie Smollett case after a special prosecutor announced a new six-count indictment against the “Empire” actor.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was center stage in the House impeachment hearings. Now she is on stage, in a sense: a new play about Pelosi is receiving its world premiere in Chicago. We drop by an early rehearsal.

Amazon’s push to build a massive network of warehouses to store and distribute goods may be moving into Bolingbrook, but the town’s mayor isn’t thrilled about it.

If you’ve ever tried to order a bloody mary with your eggs benedict on a Sunday morning, you might have run into one of the many quirks of Chicago’s liquor laws. But that could soon change.

“If the Armslist Defendants had acted with reasonable care – instead of callous and willful disregard of human life – Commander Bauer would still be alive,” a federal complaint states.

Watch the Feb. 12, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

For the fourth weekend in a row, three CTA Red Line stations in Edgewater will be closed from Friday night through Monday morning.

The flaws and fancies, and triumphs and comeuppances of Jane Austen’s characters continue to ring true two centuries after the publication of her books. The latest proof can be found in this utterly charming production at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.