Stories by Paul Caine

An investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Better Government Association finds that pension funds for government workers are continuing to pay benefits to some retirees long after the retiree and their spouse have died. One of the lead investigators on the story breaks it down for us.

Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is in town to work with veterans of his choreographic style at the Joffrey Ballet and some new kids on the block – the Joffrey recently added 10 dancers to the company. Wheeldon joins us in advance of the Joffrey's 60th anniversary season, kicking off Wednesday with the program Millennials.

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.

Chicago Tonight has learned that the new head of the Chicago Public Schools, Forrest Claypool, sends his child to Francis W. Parker, an exclusive, private school in Lincoln Park.

The Chicago Bears kick off the 2015 NFL season at noon this Sunday against division rivals the Green Bay Packers. After a dismal 5-11 outing in 2014, new head coach John Fox and general manager Ryan Pace were brought in to pick up the pieces and the Bears will take the field with a lot to prove.

Chicago director Kimberly Senior talks about her experiences directing – for the fourth time – playwright Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced. 

Joel Weisman and guests discuss the first day of school for CPS students and teachers, the enduring state budget stalemate and more on local business news, crime and sports.

From a tiny extinct fish to a possible property tax hike, here are the five stories Chicago Tonight readers were most interested in during the past seven days.

Take advantage of the still warm weather and go for a kayak, sample over 300 wines at Buckingham Fountain, and listen to free music from around the world. It'll be boot weather soon enough.  

The Chicago Police Department, with assistance from the Cook County Sheriff's Office, has released a composite sketch of the dismembered child found in the Garfield Park lagoon last weekend, and authorities are asking residents for assistance in identifying the remains.

After last week’s legislative victory over Democrats on a union arbitration bill, Gov. Bruce Rauner has a new message for the General Assembly. This comes as Illinois' budget deficit escalates each day. Paris Schutz has the story.

The Iran Nuclear Deal: To its proponents it's a comprehensive agreement that will keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, to its detractors it's a naive and flawed deal that undermines the United States' closest ally in the region. Tonight, Israeli Consul General Roey Gilad and Loyola University professor of political science and national security specialist John Allen Williams debate the merits of the deal.

Chicago began demolishing its crime-ridden, dilapidated public housing high-rises in the mid-1990s. By 2000, the city had launched the ambitious Plan for Transformation, aiming to replace 38,000 public housing units with new or rehabbed mixed-income units in 10 years. But 15 years later, the Chicago Housing Authority is still working to complete that goal.

After spending months combing through nearly 100 years of archival photographs and newspaper articles, the Chicago Tribune is releasing a comprehensive look at the Chicago Bears.

Chicago's Alfonso Iannelli was a prolific artist whose work adorns local landmarks such as the Adler Planetarium. He also devoted creative energy toward designing ingenious household appliances such as coffee makers. A new book titled Everyday Modern: The Industrial Design of Alfonso Iannelli documents those efforts. Joining us tonight are the book’s author David Jameson and Chicago cultural historian Tim Samuelson.

Art, dance, music and theater: Get the best of everything in our guide to fall arts in Chicago.

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.

Were you watching this week? Test your knowledge with these eight questions.

Last Thursday, Robert Schuffler, the original owner of Robert’s Fish Market, died at age 97. In 2011, Jay Shefsky visited the West Rogers Park market. Chicago Tonight revisits that story.

Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger says the state of Illinois’ finances is bleak, given the months-long stalemate without a state budget. Just how bleak has it gotten, and is there even a way out anymore? Paris Schutz has the story.

Since news leaked last week that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is considering a record high property tax increase of $500 million, the mayor says he’s confident the City Council will stand with him and his plan to overcome the city’s massive financial hurdles. Tonight we’ll ask aldermen to sound off on the property tax increase and other tax proposals.

Crain's Chicago Business deputy managing editor Ann Dwyer joins Chicago Tonight to discuss leadership changes at United Airlines, a major sale for local brewing company Lagunitas, a fast-food giant's switch to cage-fee eggs, and other top business stories of the week.

Cuba and the United States have reestablished diplomatic ties but is the Caribbean nation ready for more changes? On Chicago Tonight, we hear from Cuban activist Dr. Alberto Roque Guerra on one way the communist government seems to be shifting.

It has been a busy season in the world of architecture, from new libraries to new landscapes. Chicago Tribune's Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin joins us to discuss the opening of Northerly Island’s new nature park and the cutting-edge design of the new Chinatown library. He'll also update us on the status of a global search for architects competing to work on the Obama Presidential Center.