Stories by Jay Shefsky

Jay Shefsky goes kayaking where paddlers rarely go – the busy and industrial Calumet River. See what he discovered while tagging along with a couple of local kayakers who regularly venture into the hard working river.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joins "Chicago Tonight" on Thursday to discuss his proposed $7.8 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. We’ll ask him about the tax and fee hikes he’s pitching. What questions do you have for the mayor?

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday unveiled his proposed 2016 budget. Included is a $543 million property tax increase that would be phased in, beginning with a $318 million hike this year. Fees on garbage collection and ride-sharing services – including taxis – and a new tax on e-cigarettes aim to plug the city's budget hole.

How do we make decisions? Can we learn better reasoning skills? Those are questions University of Michigan psychologist Richard Nisbett has spent his life studying. He joins us tonight to discuss his new book, "Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking.”

The arrival of Pope Francis on Tuesday marks the fourth time a pope has visited the U.S., and the first time a pope addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Pilgrims are flocking to the East Coast for a chance to see Francis, but what some see as his progressive stances are drawing criticism from other corners of American Catholicism.

Judy Collins recounts her long music career and her political activism, which included testifying in Chicago in 1969 in support of the Chicago Seven. 

With fall right around the corner, The Organic Gardener founder Jeanne Nolan visits the WTTW organic garden to check on our summer crops.

The festival, from Pilsen-based Redmoon Theater, will take place at Northerly Island on Saturday. Find out what other changes are in store this year.

The Chicago Teachers Union is calling on Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner to prevent as many as 5,000 teachers from being laid off later this year. 

Illinois is coming up on almost three months with no state budget, and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic legislative leaders don't appear to be any closer to a solution. Two lawmakers known for sometimes bucking their party leaders discuss whether there's a bipartisan path out of the state's current mess.

Tickets to see the two comedians go on sale Friday. Find out what the duo has in store.

The Carson Palmer-led Cardinals marched convincingly through Soldier Field on Sunday, with the Bears defense hardly able to break their stride. The Bears had never given up as many as 48 points in a home game – until now. Former Bear James "Big Cat" Williams joins Ann Kreiter to give us his take on the second game of the season.

Football columnist Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He gives us his take on the Seahawks in advance of next Sunday’s game against the Bears.

According to a recent report by Swiss financial services company UBS, Chicago joins New York City, Zurich, Geneva, Oslo, London and Hong Kong in an exclusive group of the most-expensive cities in the world. As an antidote to what may seem depressing news, we scoured the web for something everyone can feel good about: free stuff.

Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune walks us through the new designs for the Lucas Museum. Learn about the details of Chinese architect Ma Yansong's revised plan for the potential lakefront museum – and what is missing.

Chicago-based business writer Bethany McLean makes the case that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in a precarious state in her new book, "Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants." She'll explain what failure could mean for American mortgage holders when she joins us Monday on "Chicago Tonight."

A U.S. Supreme Court Justice becomes a classical music radio announcer for a day – and it happened at our sister station WFMT. We hear what Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the justice who's become "notorious," had to say.

We share what you had to say about some of our recent stories when we read viewer feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Victory Gardens announces the launch of a new program aimed at diversifying Chicago's stage directors. 

On this edition of Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review with Joel Weisman, our panel of guests discuss the mayor’s proposed property tax hike, the Independent Police Review Authority’s recommendation to fire an officer, and more on local business news, crime, and sports.

Craig Morgan, a Chicago native and Arizona sports reporter, covers the Cardinals for arizonasports.com. He gives Chicago Tonight his take on what Bears fans can expect from the Cardinals Sunday at Soldier Field, after their season-opening win over the Saints.

From affordable housing to a Chicago native's return to work the AC/DC show at Wrigley Field, here are the five stories Chicago Tonight readers were most interested in over the past seven days.

The powerful Democratic House leader has a message for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools — all of which are asking for big-ticket items from Springfield. Paris Schutz has the details on what Michael Madigan has to say.