Politics

Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard want teachers to spend more time in the classroom -- but not to get scheduled 4 percent raises. Paris Schutz has the story.

• More on the Story: Read what local moms had to say
• Are you for or against longer days in Chicago Public Schools?
• Mayor Emanuel, CPS CEO Tout Benefits of Longer School Day
• Visit our Mayor Emanuel Page

Arts & Entertainment

Erik Larson

In Erik Larson's new book, In the Garden of Beasts, he tells the true story of a Chicago family that unexpectedly finds itself in a position of prominence in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power.

• More on the book

Arts & Entertainment

Poetry Foundation

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We tour the Poetry Foundation's bold new downtown building. Eddie Arruza has the story.

Politics

Ald. Ed Burke's Security Detail

Finance Committee chairman Alderman Ed Burke has a security detail of multiple bodyguards and one Chicago police car; a measure Rahm Emanuel spoke up against during his campaign. Burke has the backing of a judge when the detail was contested in 1986. Elizabeth Brackett has the story.

• Burke Lawsuit: 1986 Injunction
• 1986 Chicago Tribune article
• Chicago Tribune article: Burke's bodyguards

Business

School Board Meeting

Hundreds of teachers and union members took to the streets this morning to protest the Chicago Board of Education's decision to rescind a contractual pay raise for teachers. Ash-har Quraishi tells us what happened inside the school board meeting that followed.

• Collective bargaining agreement: See pg 117, item 47-2.2 for pay raise clause

Politics

Panel on President Obama's Speech

President Obama announces the beginning of troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, amid bipartisan calls to end the conflict entirely. We carry his speech live, and then Carol Marin and her panel debate the repercussions of the president's decision at home and abroad.

• Did President Obama make the right move regarding troops in Afghanistan?

Arts & Entertainment

Jeffrey Lyons "Stories My Father Told Me"

Jeffrey Lyons is best known as a movie reviewer and long-time host of Sneak Previews. He also had one of the most extraordinary childhoods imaginable, and was surrounded by celebrities from an early age. His father, Leonard Lyons, was the celebrity columnist for the New York Post. Jeffrey Lyons talks about his new book, Stories My Father Told Me: Notes From "The Lyons Den".

• More on the Story: Anecdotes and Photos
• More on the book

Terra Foundation Artbeat Special

Artist Joseph Cornell | Terra Foundation Artbeat Special

An artist who thinks "inside the box." Chicago Tonight sheds light on the shadow boxes created by Joseph Cornell on today's Artbeat.

• More on the Story: Photo Gallery
• MCA Chicago: Cornell exhibit

Scientific Chicago

Scientific Chicago: DNA to Treat Cancer

A new form of DNA may help treat cancer, new understandings about ancient civilizations, and the important role of happiness in health. Chicago Tonight's science guy Neil Shubin talks about those stories, and his own upcoming research in the Arctic.

• Are you surpised to learn that happiness leads to a longer life?
• Watch more Scientific Chicago segments
• Northwestern University: A New Form of DNA
• Oriental Institute: Origins of Egyptian Civilization
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Happiness and Health
• University of Chicago and Field Museum: Emerging Pathogens Project
• More on the Emerging Pathogens Project

Business

Cook County Debt Disclosure

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas says the average Chicago household now owes a whopping $63,525 to cover local government debt. Phil Ponce sits down with her to ask how she came up with the staggering $108 billion total amount.

• Pappas Details Impact of Local Government Debt
• Pappas' speech before the Civic Federation
• Taxing Districts' Financial Statements
• PR Newswire article