Food scraps can be composted into nutrients for soil. (herb007 / Pixabay)

Six community gardens will test the logistics of a compost program that could be expanded if it proves successful and scaleable.

(WTTW News)

As of Jan. 1, any city employee who’s worked for at least one year will receive 12 weeks of paid parental time off. In a country that has zero guaranteed paid parental leave, Chicago is one of a handful of cities expanding this benefit.

(WTTW News)

Chicago is releasing its first citywide plan in more than 50 years. The draft plan, called We Will Chicago, will lay out a 10-year vision for how the city can address systemic inequities by first acknowledging the policies that created them, then creating goals for the city’s future.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks at the April 27, 2022, Chicago City Council meeting. (WTTW News)

Eligible applicants will be entered into a lottery to determine who will get $500 a month for one year. Ultimately, 5,000 households will receive checks in one of the largest tests of guaranteed income across the country.

Friends of the Parks has made some powerful enemies in maintaining its opposition to any lakefront site for the Lucas Museum. Is it worth losing the museum in order to maintain the sanctity of the lakefront?

After Friends of the Parks declared its opposition to any lakefront site for the Lucas Museum, Mellody Hobson, wife of movie mogul George Lucas and board member of the Lucas Museum, said they were “seriously pursuing locations outside of Chicago.” 

Friends of the Parks pauses lawsuit, opposes any lakefront site

“We are now seriously pursuing locations outside of Chicago,” Mellody Hobson, wife of movie mogul George Lucas and board member of the Lucas Museum, said in a statement. “If the museum is forced to leave, it will be because of the Friends of the Parks and that is no victory for anyone.”

McCormick Place East is being proposed as an alternative location for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.  (TonyTheTiger at English Wikipedia)

A new lakefront location for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is being proposed in Chicago. Mellody Hobson, wife of movie mogul George Lucas and board member of the Lucas Museum, calls it a “good idea.”

A half-century old, much traveled viaduct in Chicago is about to be torn down. But will the plan to replace it really improve traffic conditions?

With the city's finances in a dire state and Mayor Rahm Emanuel looking to borrow billions, “Chicago Tonight” sits down with the head of the City Council's independent budget office, Ben Winick.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joins “Chicago Tonight” on Thursday, Jan. 28 to discuss Chicago Public Schools’ financial collapse, the city’s search for a new Chicago police superintendent and the increasingly bitter state budget standoff. What are your questions for the mayor? Share them with us.

Improvements to Start in February, Wrap Up Summer 2017

After several years of delays, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) says it will demolish the viaduct at the intersection of Western, Belmont and Clybourn avenues and create a new street-grade roadway. But will the new plan to replace it improve traffic conditions? Eddie Arruza has the story.

The drones are coming, and on Thursday the City Council debated new rules on where and when they can fly in Chicago. Paris Schutz has the details.

After a year of delays, the Array of Things urban data sensor project is back on track and prepping to collect all sorts of information on Chicago's streets by early next year. Joining us to discuss the initiative are the project’s lead scientist Charlie Catlett and author Lori Andrews.

Mayor: ‘We have to right our financial ship’

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday unveiled his proposed 2016 budget. Included is a $543 million property tax increase that would be phased in, beginning with a $318 million hike this year. Fees on garbage collection and ride-sharing services – including taxis – and a new tax on e-cigarettes aim to plug the city's budget hole.

The mayor and top city officials are speaking to the public at this hour in the first of a series of town hall meetings on the city budget. That budget could be as much as $754 million out of whack thanks to escalating pension costs. Higher taxes and fees are almost certainly inevitable, the question is which? How are residents responding to the shortfall? Paris Schultz joins us live from Malcolm X College.