Business

Mortgage Meltdown Origin

How did the mortgage crisis begin, and who's to blame? Bethany McLean, Vanity Fair writer and author of the book All the Devils Are Here, answers this question and many more.

• The book on the publisher's website
• New York Times book review
• Huffington Post review of the book

Business

Sweet Senate Desk

The Senate candy desk is being occupied by Sen. Mark Kirk. We hear how Illinois candy companies are benefiting when Kris Kridel of WBBM Newsradio 780 joins us with a look at the week in business.

• Story on Kirk's candy desk

Business

The Cost of Foreclosures

Banks and mortgage servicers are walking away from thousands of homes caught in the foreclosure pipeline. What does that do to neighborhoods, and the city itself? Elizabeth Brackett has the story.

• More on the story
• Woodstock Institute
• Story on lender 'walkaways'

Arts & Entertainment

Man vs. Machine

IBM's Watson super computer serves up stiff competition to its human challengers on Jeopardy. Ash-har Quraishi speaks with a computer scientist from Northwestern University about what the contest means for Artificial Intelligence.

• Learn about Watson

Politics

Analyzing the Budget

President Obama's proposed budget is disappointing fellow Democrats for going too far. And the Republicans say it doesn't go far enough. Elizabeth Brackett and her panel examines the spending -- and the cuts.

Politics

Chicago Tonight: Live Mayoral Forum

Chicago Tonight: Live Forum, Live Streaming, Live Chat... it all starts at 7:00 pm

Tonight at 7:00 pm, just 8 days before the election, the gloves come off as mayoral candidates Carol Moseley Braun, Gery Chico, Miguel del Valle and Rahm Emanuel answer tough questions, in a forum hosted by Carol Marin.

Talk back:

Log on to wttw.com during the show for a live web chat. Chicago Tonight correspondents Phil Ponce, Eddie Arruza and Elizabeth Brackett, along with other political panelists, will discuss the race with you from 7:00 pm to 8:15 pm.

Go behind-the-scenes:

For a behind-the-scenes look at the mayoral candidates arriving and gearing up for our forum just 8 days before the election, check out our More on the Story blog tonight after the forum.

The Week in Review

The Week in Review with Joel Weisman

This week on Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review, the latest polls are showing mayoral frontrunner Rahm Emanuel pulling away. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is victorious with both State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and Tom Dart's budget battles. The Washington, D.C. meeting at Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's office between airline officials and Mayor Richard M. Daley didn't get very far. There's a controversy brewing over the city's blizzard clean-up priorities. And to a chorus of boos, the Bulls' Carlos Boozer returns victorious to Utah.

Guests:

• Craig Dellimore, WBBM Newsradio 780
• Jon Hilkevitch, Chicago Tribune
• Kristen McQueary, Southtown Star
• Mike Mulligan, Chicago Sun-Times, WSCR-670 The Score

Politics

Tom Brokaw

Former NBC Nightly News anchor and best-selling author Tom Brokaw stopped by to talk about the crisis in Egypt, domestic politics, and social media's effect on journalism.

Politics

Interview with Miguel del Valle

The most recent poll in the Chicago mayoral contest places City Clerk Miguel del Valle at a distant third. Eddie Arruza talks to the self-proclaimed "poorest candidate" on his plans for the final 12 days of the race.

• del Valle on Chicago Tonight's 'Meet the Candidates' page
• del Valle's mayoral campaign

Politics

Cook County State's Attorney Talks Budget

Layoffs are coming to the Cook County State's Attorney's office; this, on top of 100 pink slips that have already been issued. We talk to State's Attorney Anita Alvarez about who is getting cut and whether it helps solve the county's budget deficit.

• Cook County State's Attorney