Longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has an opponent in the upcoming Democratic primary.

A new magazine called The Chicagoan is striving to be The New Yorker for the Midwest. We ask the editor and others whether this might be the dawn of a new era in Chicago's literary scene.

Find out about a long-awaited announcement from Lyric Opera of Chicago and its creative consultant, Renée Fleming. Eddie Arruza talks with the opera superstar, as well as a noted author about a new opera to be written for Chicago.

Artist Matt Lamb died earlier this month. We revisit our profile of the one-time funeral director who talked about his greatest undertaking -- giving life to paintings of a spiritual world.

Debbie Halvorson is facing incumbent Jesse Jackson, Jr. in the race for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 2^nd District. It’s widely considered one of the most hotly contested races of this primary season. Halvorson has been outspoken against Jackson, Jr., citing an Ethics Committee investigation and his efforts to build the long-awaited Peotone Airport. But the numbers speak for themselves—Jackson, Jr.’s has spent 17 years in Congress compared with Halvorson’s two—and she was ousted after only one term by Republican Adam Kinzinger.

Among the most hotly contested races in the congressional primary season is between Jesse Jackson, Jr. and former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, both vying for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 2nd District. Jackson, Jr. has served the South Side and south suburbs for nearly two decades, but recently has encountered “distractions,” as Halvorson likes to call them. There’s his alleged involvement in the Blagojevich scandal, among others, but Jackson, Jr. says he has never been afforded the presumption of innocence.

Today is the first day of early voting for the March 20th primaries in Cook County. County Clerk David Orr is here to talk about that, and much more.

An obscure state law allowed former alderman and Cook County Commissioner William Beavers to more than double his city pension; and he did it legally. Carol Marin and her guests have the details.

ComEd could lose more customers if hundreds of Illinois municipalities change the way residents get electricity. We take a closer look at the Election Day referendums, and what it could mean for you.

Native American children struggle with traditional public education; their dropout rate is close to 40 percent.

Was a North Side building Charlie Chaplin's go-to movie theater? Or just a local auto shop?

We have your thoughts on Gov. Pat Quinn's budget address and your thoughts on barefoot running in tonight's Viewer Mail.

Donald Manzullo touts himself as the true conservative in the race for Congress in the 16^th District. He is running against Adam Kinzinger, a Tea Party freshman in Congress, endorsed last election cycle by former vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. This race presents an interesting dynamic because both Manzullo and Kinzinger are incumbents.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss the week's top headlines.

Need some ideas for what to do this weekend? Chicago Tonight knows what’s going on!