A House Bill regarding stronger punishment for unlawful gun offenses is up for debate in the fall veto session, with Mayor Rahm Emanuel in support. We talk with Ald. Will Burns (4th) and Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) about how to combat gun violence in Chicago, and across the state. Read an article.

Attorney General Eric Holder has announced a major shift in federal sentencing policy, calling on federal prosecutors to sidestep mandatory minimum sentences for low level, non-violent drug offenders. We have analysis on what the change will mean and why Holder is announcing it now. Read the full memorandum.

Sen. Dick Durbin urges all law enforcement agencies to use the federal database resources to track guns found at crime scenes. Elizabeth Brackett has the story. Read Durbin's letter.

With two days left in the legislative session in Springfield, there's a flurry of work to be done on the budget, pension reform, guns and gay marriage. Chicago Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief Dave McKinney joins us with the latest news.

We hear what you had to say about last week's special, Chicago Tonight: Targeting Violence, in tonight's Viewer Feedback.

Since the high-profile murder of her 15-year-old daughter, Hadiya Pendleton’s mother has jumped head first into the national debate on guns. She joins us to explain why.

The city's top cop and the county's prosecutor explore the best ways to control guns on the street and why guns are so easily accessible.

Elizabeth Brackett takes a look at gun violence through the lens of the public health system rather than the criminal justice system.

Gov. Quinn lays out some major proposals in his state of state address, such as raising the minimum wage and banning assault weapons. But it's what he did and didn't say about pension reform that's getting attention today. The governor joins us.

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is here to talk about why the city saw its deadliest January in a decade -- and what he's doing to curb the violence.

Chicago ends its deadliest January in a decade as hundreds more police are deployed to the streets. Elizabeth Brackett and her panel discuss the city's crime rate.

The city's inspector general says the police department could save big if it replaced some sworn officers with civilians. But what does the mayor think? Paris Schutz has the story.

Is a Chicago casino close to reality? Paris Schutz has the latest on that, and how the mayor and police superintendent plan to enact gun control in the absence of action from Springfield or Washington.

Can a revamp of the city's community policing help the beleaguered crime rate? Paris Schutz has the story.

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, Gov. Quinn and Mayor Emanuel call for new gun laws in Illinois. Paris Schutz has more on where the law stands, and how it might change.

“Gang-related” is a label that the Chicago Police Department applies to most murders in the city. Some residents inside Chicago neighborhoods, and even some crime experts, say police are too loose with the term.