Just a day after Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican leaders in the General Assembly proposed a state takeover of the financially distressed Chicago Public Schools, lawmakers propose altering the TIF legislation to allow a surplus to be spent on the district. 

Thousands of birds in southwest Indiana were killed after a new strain of bird flu, the H7N8 virus, was found at 10 poultry farms late last week, according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health.

Gov. Bruce Rauner says he and Senate President John Cullerton have a deal on major pension reform, but it fell apart as the day went on. What happened? Paris Schutz has details.

We watch older performers in theater and musicals – why then do we see them less frequently represented in dance? That was the question dancer/choreographer Michelle Kranicke set out to answer with the aMID festival – a showcase of dancers and choreographers ranging in age from 25 to 75.   

A nonpartisan coalition aims to wrestle political mapmaking out of the hands of lawmakers and into the hands of the people. Cindi Canary, the organization’s executive director, joins us to discuss the citizen initiative Independent Maps.

Hear what viewers had to say about the Republican proposal to take over Chicago Public Schools when we read feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Turkish singer Aysenur Kolivar was recently in Chicago for a fellowship program with the Old Town School of Folk Music. She collects and performs music from the Black Sea region. During her stay she performed at WTTW. We bring you that performance from our studio.

An exhibition at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston looks at the "haute couture" that has long existed in Native American communities. We revisit that story.

Evidence of a distant ninth planet in our solar system, electronic implants that can monitor brain injury then melt away, and how more sleep may reduce diabetes risk. Rabiah Mayas of the Museum of Science and Industry is back to review some of the hottest stories in the world of science.

Eat, dance and watch your way through the weekend. 

Teachers, parents and the Chicago Public Schools district may not always agree, but on this point they do: leave the management of CPS in Chicago. We hear from education leaders on the GOP plan for a state takeover of the nation's third-largest school district.

Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican leaders officially announced on Wednesday their ambitious agenda to allow for an emergency financial authority appointed by the Illinois State Board of Education superintendent to take over Chicago Public Schools in the wake of a $500 million funding shortfall.

Republican state leaders want to take away mayoral control of the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools. Instead, they want the nation's third largest school district under the purview of a state emergency board. Democratic legislative leaders in Springfield immediately opposed the plan, with some calling it "dead on arrival." We speak with state legislators from both parties.