We check in with Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam about the ongoing government shutdown.

After appealing to the Supreme Court for help, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle hopes the system is one step closer to resolving the massive backlog of Cook County criminal cases resulting in some inmates waiting years for their cases to be adjudicated. Carol Marin and her guests take a closer look at the effort to improve criminal courts operations. Read letters from President Preckwinkle and Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Kilbride.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and local leaders are scrambling to make a deal to privatize Chicago’s ports. Paris Schutz has the story.

It's day one of the government shutdown. We assess the local impact.

Just how serious is the government shutdown? Federal employees missing paychecks will feel it, but what about the economy as a whole? And who is really to blame? We have analysis.

He was a polarizing and enigmatic president, not unlike the man who would succeed him 100 years later. We talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a new biography of President Woodrow Wilson.

With the government hours away from a possible shutdown, we take a look at the impact on Chicago. Paris Schutz has the details.

The clock is ticking down on a midnight deadline for a government shutdown. What would a shutdown mean for the country and can it be avoided with a delayed implementation of ObamaCare? Carol Marin and her guests have analysis.

We share what you had to say about sand mining near a state park and the state of the economy in tonight’s viewer feedback.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss the week's top headlines.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss the possibility of an African American candidate running against Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the prospect of ADM moving to Chicago. Watch the web extra video.

Illinois lawmakers must be paid, a Cook County judge ruled on Thursday, in response to Gov. Pat Quinn's decision to suspend lawmakers' salaries because of their failure to solve the state's pension crisis. Judge Neil Cohen ruled the move to withhold pay unconstitutional. Chicago Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief Dave McKinney gives us the details. Read the full order, along with statements from Quinn and Cullerton.

The fiscal year ends on Monday and the federal government still does not have a solution on how to fund the upcoming year. We break down the chances of a shutdown and the effects it would have.

We share what you had to say about violence in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to build or expand Chicago schools, and tougher Illinois gun laws in tonight’s viewer feedback.

Will the Cornell Square Park shooting be the catalyst for Springfield to toughen Illinois gun laws? Paris Schutz has the latest on what Mayor Rahm Emanuel had to say.

Alan Dixon talks about 40 years of public service in his new book, The Gentleman from Illinois. Read an excerpt and watch web extra interviews with Dixon from WTTW's archives.