Toronzo Cannon is just your typical CTA bus driver who moonlights as a sought-after Chicago blues musician. As a guitarist, singer and songwriter, he drives the sound of Chicago blues from the city to blues clubs and festivals around the world.

Chicago Public Schools students could see their teachers on the picket lines sooner than expected, as the district announces how many employees are being laid off today.

Geoffrey Baer tackles three questions about Chicago's beloved rapid transit system, including the various spellings of the system, old downtown entrances between elevated stations and Loop stores and a mysterious tunnel a viewer spotted while riding the Blue Line.

Would you pay a toll to zoom past traffic in an express lane on the Stevenson? That's one of the big ideas the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has for the Chicago region. Geoffrey Baer has an exclusive look at their newest plan.

It sounds simple: slow down and make better choices. Most of us don't do that as well as we could, but researchers are studying how the simple act of slowing down can reduce crime. Brandis Friedman has the story.

The disaster in Flint has spotlighted the dangers and adverse health outcomes of lead seeping into communities’ drinking water. Elizabeth Brackett reports on the lead pipes carrying water into Chicago and suburban homes. 

A close former associate of Justice Antonin Scalia from the University of Chicago reflects on their deep ideological divide and unlikely friendship. Paris Schutz has the story.

The Citizens Utility Board and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan have accused Peoples Gas of deliberately misleading regulators about the ballooning cost of a huge program to upgrade gas lines around Chicago. Tonight, we discuss the safety upgrades, the program's estimated cost and the claims about the company's actions with representatives from CUB and Peoples Gas.

The long and delicious history of the company is told in a new book, “The Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook: Remarkable Recipes from a Chicago Legend.” Maureen Schulman, one of the book’s authors, shares this sweet tale and tips for making the perfect cheesecake.

City Council today proved that it is ready for reform – just not very much reform. It was a tense debate over which reform measure to support: one that would give Inspector General Joe Ferguson broad, sweeping powers to investigate and audit aldermen, or a more hands-off approach favored by powerful Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward). Paris Schutz has the story.

Sears writes down the value of its trade name and the Sun-Times owner buys a stake in Tribune Publishing. We get the latest on these stories and more business headlines with Crain's Chicago Business deputy managing editor Ann Dwyer.

As aldermen debate who should be allowed to investigate them, former City Council watchdog Faisal Khan talks about his time at City Hall and why he billed the city for a flat-screen TV.

Today, Chicago Public Schools principals are learning just how deep their budgets will be cut after last week's announcement that the district was slashing more than $100 million from annual school budgets.

A marathon last month in Antarctica was the first of seven on seven continents ... in seven days. Two of the competitors are back in Chicago to tell the story–including the winner.    

In a surprising setback, City Council aldermen came out against the mayor’s proposed ordinance for a $6 million tax on tobacco products. Why did City Council go against him?

The City Council is expected to vote this week on whether to extend the powers of city Inspector General Joe Ferguson to cover the activities of the City Council itself. More than 30 aldermen are said to be supportive of the measure, but key alderman are trying to dilute the powers that Ferguson may be given. A panel of aldermen tells us what they think will happen.