Meet the new chairman of the Illinois Republican Party Timothy Schneider, a Cook County commissioner from Bartlett. Schneider hopes the struggling GOP will have a successful election night this November, especially behind gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner. 

Eddie Arruza and his guests continue this week’s conversation, discussing  new details about Jesse Jackson Jr.’s life in prison.  

The battle between Chicago Cubs and rooftop owners has hit the boiling point. Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts announced plans to go forward with more scoreboards and an expanded renovation project as rooftop owners prepare to take them to court. Take our poll.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan presses for an income tax surcharge on millionaires, Toni Preckwinkle lobbies hard for her proposed Cook County budget. Chicago Sun-Times’ Springfield bureau chief Dave McKinney joins us with an update on these topics and more. 

A plan to rescue the pension system of Cook County workers could be on the fast track in pension-weary Springfield. So much so that County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is putting her reputation on the line to lobby state lawmakers and the governor to get it done in the waning days of the general assembly spring session. Will it happen? 

Illinois celebrates its bicentennial in 2018, and two authors have suggestions on how to fix the funk in Illinois just in time for the celebration. Read an excerpt from Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State.

Springfield legislators enter the final stretch for the spring session and Chicago Sun-Times’ Springfield bureau chief Dave McKinney joins us with an update on where Gov. Quinn’s efforts to make his “temporary” income tax extension permanent stand, more general assembly news.

The original January 2002 airing of Attorney Michael Shakman on Chicago Tonight.

The legal battle that started in 1969 over Chicago patronage hiring is ending. Attorney Michael Shakman filed a motion to stop the federal hiring oversight because he says the city has reached "substantial compliance." We’ll talk to the man behind the “Shakman Decree," hear why he thinks the city no longer needs a hiring watchdog. 

Last week House Speaker Michael Madigan advanced a proposal to ask voters whether the state’s minimum wage should be increased to $10 an hour. Despite countless reports and research, the argument over the minimum wage still remains contentious. We debate the issue with our panel.

Chicago Tonight’s Phil Ponce interviews Mayor Rahm Emanuel on the three-year anniversary of Emanuel’s time in office. 

The Republican candidate for governor is seeking to beef up his credentials with an important constituency that helped decide the last gubernatorial election: suburban women. Today, Bruce Rauner appeared at a town hall in the North Shore in front of an all-female crowd. 

Tonight we look back at Rahm Emanuel’s first three years as Chicago’s first mayor post Richard M. Daley. We address Emanuel’s future challenges, including his re-election bid. View timeline of key events during Emanuel’s term.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss weekly headlines. 

There are more court developments today in the on-going Illinois pension reform case. A Sangamon County judge stopped the reform overhaul by issuing a stay on the implementation of the law. 

A Cook County pension reform bill may be headed to Springfield. County officials say they are nearing a deal to solve the county's pension problem. Will it mean higher property taxes as well?