Stories by Taurean Small

We talk with Charisse Conanan Johnson of Smarteys and Martin Dasko of Studenomics to find out the financial woes that are facing today’s young people. View a graphic of data on credit card debt, student loans and unemployment for millennials in Illinois.

Geoffrey Baer tells us what's at the end of the line for old "L" cars and more in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey. Read an article and view a slideshow.

Seth Goldberg has profound hearing loss and is developmentally disabled. When he was a baby, doctors said he might never speak or even sit up. But he performed with Josh Groban this summer at Ravinia. We revisit Jay Shefsky's inspiring profile. Watch video performances.

We share what you had to say about the mayor's proposed pension plan, the passing of Chicago house DJ Frankie Knuckles, the technology behind Star Trek, and our story about Puerto Rican soldiers in tonight's viewer feedback.

Is Chicago pension reform primed for passage? And will unions try to scuttle it? Paris Schutz has the details from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's news conference where teachers union officials attempted to disrupt the presser to state their opposition to pension reform. Watch a web extra video and read the city's proposed solution to pension funds.

Former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband joins us to discuss his life in politics and his new job as chief of the International Rescue Committee. View a timeline of Miliband's political career.

Frankie Knuckles, Chicago's "godfather" of house music, died at age 59. Brandis Friedman has the story of his impact on Chicago's music culture. Watch a 2004 Artbeat special about Knuckles, and read thoughts and reflections from Chicagoans about the legendary DJ.

Howard Brown President and CEO David Ernesto Munar joins us. Read his bio.

An innovative training program in suburban Chicago helps individuals with developmental disabilities enter the workforce. We visit Aspire of Illinois to get a firsthand look at its Career Link program. Read an interview with an Aspire candidate's mother about how the program has changed her son's life.

For the last 50 years, Star Trek has captivated audiences as the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explored the galaxy using technological advances – warp drive, wormholes, beaming technology, holodecks – in order to do so. Dirk K. Morr, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, joins us to discuss the scientific ideas behind Star Trek technologies. View a graphic and read an interview.

BP says all the oil  from last week's spill is now cleaned up. But activists worry about the possibility of future spills. Elizabeth Brackett has the latest details. View a graphic on the Lake Michigan oil spill compared to the 10 biggest U.S. oil spills by volume.

A new report from Gov. Pat Quinn's transit task force is recommending a shake-up to the structure of the RTA, Metra, CTA and Pace systems to streamline operations and budget woes. The blue-ribbon transit study commission is also recommending ethics reforms. Carol Marin gets the details of the report from the co-chairs of the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task Force, George Ranney Jr.  and Ann Schneider, and the Task Force’s Ethics chairman, Patrick Fitzgerald. Read the full report, and view a graphic of the current structure of the RTA, Metra, CTA and Pace.

The clouds have cleared, the weather is warm, and anything is possible. Does that include a winning season on the south side? Paris Schutz has the details on the White Sox' home opener against the Minnesota Twins. Watch a web extra interview with White Sox Executive Vice President Kenny Williams.

A major campaign is gaining steam in the effort to award the so-called Borinqueneers the Congressional Gold Medal. During the Korean war, the 65th Infantry Regiment made up of soldiers from Puerto Rico displayed valiant and often heroic service all the while facing the challenges of discrimination and prejudice. We speak with one of the last surviving Borinqueneers living in Chicago and a member of the Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance, which is pushing for the commendation to happen this year. View a timeline about the 65th Infantry Regiment.

In 1975, she became the first woman to cover the Super Bowl, and now she’ll be the first woman to receive a Ring Lardner Award. Jeannie Morris stops by to discuss women in sports, and how she was the woman who paved the way. Read what local female sports reporters had to say about Morris's impact on sports journalism.

We share what you had to say about the NLRB ruling on unionized football at Northwestern University and our conversation with Gov. Pat Quinn about his 2015 budget when we read some of our viewer feedback. 

Transit riders beware: the head of the CTA’s rail union says dozing off while driving a train is not all that uncommon. Read an article and watch a web extra video.

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

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists talk more about Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s complaints about local news coverage. Do journalists try too hard to show another side to a story that only has one side? Watch the web extra video.

A nature exhibit, a World's Fair Show and an iconic musical; Chicago Tonight knows what’s going on this weekend.

One day after telling Springfield legislators they face a stark choice between making the “temporary” income tax hikes permanent or slashing spending on education and social services, Gov. Pat Quinn joins us to discuss the tough choices facing the state, and how he plans to defeat Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner in the November election. Watch Quinn's budget address, view graphics of his budget breakdown, and read an article about how the state budget would be impacted if the income tax increase were allowed to expire as scheduled in 2015.

One of the most famous home runs in baseball history is also one of the most controversial. In the 1932 World Series between the Cubs and the Yankees, Babe Ruth came to bat with the score tied. As Cubs players and fans taunted him, Ruth is said to have pointed to centerfield and then hit a 500-foot home run to that very spot. Did he call his shot? If not, how did the story get going? Chicago sportswriter Ed Sherman has written a new book on the legendary baseball moment. He joins us. Read an interview with Sherman, an excerpt from the book, and watch a Chicago Stories episode about "The Called Shot."

Geoffrey Baer's newest program -- A Taste for the Past: Architect Pier Carlo Bontempi -- is a profile of a little-known Italian architect who is this year's winner of the Driehaus Prize, a prestigious, Chicago-based award for architects who design classical and traditional buildings. It debuts on WTTW11 at 8:00 pm Thursday. Geoffrey joins us to tell us about his adventures in Italy. Watch an anecdote from Bontempi's childhood, read an interview with the documentary's producer and co-writer, and see behind-the-scenes photos from Ialy.

A Lakeview restaurant has the recipe for being green. Find out how Justin Vrany’s restaurant, Sandwich Me In, produced less than eight gallons of trash during two years of being in business. Brandis Friedman has the story of this eco-friendly eatery. Read an article, check out one of Vrany's recipes, and view a slideshow.

We revisit a conversation with Sting about his riskiest project to date – writing the upcoming musical The Last Ship, inspired by the shipyard in his hometown of Wallsend, England. Read a blog, watch a web extra video, and view a photo gallery.