Stories by WTTW News

Toni Preckwinkle is telling county officials to slash their budgets by 16 percent -- or else she'll do it for them. We talk with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to see just how safe Chicago would be with a drastically reduced sheriff's department -- and if he plans to cooperate with cuts.

January in Chicago means frigid temperatures and high heating costs. But at least one family may not be dreading the heating bill. In fact, they don't have a furnace at all. Ash-har Quraishi explores the principles of Passive House, a green building plan. Passive House Institute U.S. Passivhaus Institut (International) Four Thick Walls blog

It's Roger Ebert's latest foray into film criticism. We talk with Ebert Presents At The Movies executive producer Chaz Ebert, and a co-host of the new show that has the film criticism scene buzzing.

Could new apps make textbooks obsolete? We talk to the Chicago developer, a student himself, about this potential game-changer. Watermelon Express Apps

Bill Clinton today touted Rahm Emanuel's credentials for mayor. But the other candidates are highlighting Emanuel's ties to troubled mortgage company, Freddie Mac. Elizabeth Brackett and her panel have the latest.

The Bears are headed to the NFC Championship game against their ultimate division rival: Green Bay Packers. It's sure to be an instant classic. Our Bears Alumni Club -- Mike Adamle, Revie Sorey and Emery Moorehead -- preview the match-up.

Some eight million people in the U.S. suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A new study from Northwestern University offers hope in the form of a drug that could prevent this debilitating condition. Jay Shefsky has more in our Scientific Chicago segment. Abstract of the study Northwestern's Dunbar Lab for Research on Fear and Memory

Today, Boeing announced it is pushing back delivery of its 787 Dreamliner for the seventh time. Find out why when Newsradio 780's Kris Kridel joins us to look at the week in business.

We take a look at a new, high-tech approach to sex education with the Chief of Family Planning at The University of Chicago Medical Center.

Four of the mayoral candidates -- Carol Moseley Braun, Gery Chico, Miguel Del Valle and Rahm Emanuel -- answer questions from Chicago high school students on a Chicago Tonight Election Special on WTTW11 at 7:00 pm. The students hail from the Mikva Challenge, a non-partisan group that helps low-income Chicago youth become involved in politics and public service. More on Mikva Challenge Dear Mayor... Letters from Chicago's Youth

After the Election Special, our cameras kept rolling. Watch web-exclusive video for more on the candidate forum.

See what the candidates had to say after the Election Special.

This week on Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review: Joel Weisman and his panel analyze the state's 67 percent income tax hike. How were Democrats able to corral enough votes to pass it? Will legislative leaders have to borrow and make more cuts to bring the fiscal house back in order? Will businesses really flee for neighboring states like Wisconsin and Indiana? We'll also catch up on the mayoral race. Candidate Gery Chico unveiled his first advertisement this week, while Rahm Emanuel took a strong tack against the unions. And how about those Metra quiet cars?

And then there were six. That's the number of candidates remaining in the race for mayor of Chicago. Eddie Arruza and his panel discuss the latest in the fight for City Hall.

The amazing story of Vivian Maier, a Chicago nanny who took more than 100,000 photos during her lifetime but never showed them to anyone. Now that she's gone and her photos have been discovered, some say she may rank among the top street photographers of the 20th century. Jay Shefsky brings us tonight's "Cultural Connection."

The story behind the extravagant Hollywood spectacles of a legendary director. We hear from Jeffrey Spivak, local author of a new book on the life and art of Busby Berkeley. Jeffrey Spivak's website

Did Frank Lloyd Wright design a CTA el station? We learn about the past, present and future of the bustling Wilson Red Line stop in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey. History of the Wilson train station Chicago Tribune article about the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway

As we get ready for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we take a look at Dr. King's days in Chicago as recalled in WTTW's award-winning documentary, "DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis." More on the documentary

We asked if you support a state income tax increase without further spending cuts. Here are some of your responses.

It's been a historic week for the Illinois General Assembly. Springfield lawmakers managed to pass the new 67 percent state income tax hike mere hours before the legislative inauguration. Gov. Quinn has also been sent legislation that would ban the death penalty in Illinois. Carol Marin has the latest.

Critics are already predicting a massive business exodus now that the state income tax increase passed, but some say this could be just the budget savior Illinois has been waiting for.

He's a perennial candidate for mayor and governor. So why does he think he has a shot at City Hall this time? We speak with William "Dock" Walls. Walls' mayoral page

We find out why zoo officials and primate lovers across the country have gone "ape" over Lincoln Park Zoo's newborn baby gibbon. Read about the white-cheeked gibbon

Newly inaugurated Illinois governor Pat Quinn is backing the 67 percent tax increase plan. But will it pass the general assembly? We have the latest on a very busy day in Springfield.

Elizabeth Brackett and her panel debate whether the tax proposal is good enough to solve the state's long-term budget problems.

One year after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, life is still far from normal on the island nation. We hear from a Chicago area relief worker in Haiti on what he's seeing on the ground there. Partners with Sassier in Haiti