Stories by Alexandra Silets

Chicago and Cook County home prices are up nearly 12 percent in the second quarter of 2013. We get the latest on the housing recovery from Geoff Smith, the Executive Director of the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, and Loretta Alonzo, the 2012 president of the Illinois Association of Realtors.

We hear the latest on the big rollout of the CTA’s new Ventra card fare payment system, the status of the CTA’s Ashland Avenue Bus Rapid Transit proposal, and the CTA’s push to keep riders away from the dangerous third rail and oncoming trains.

The horrors of the meatpacking industry are well-documented in history but the current state of meat production may be equally as grim. We talk with the “conscience of the food movement,” vegan activist Gene Baur. See before-and-after photos and read stories of Farm Sanctuary’s successful rescues.

Chicago Sun-Times Theater Critic Hedy Weiss joins us to review shows currently on Chicago area stages, including Other People’s Money by Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit, The Mountaintop at Court Theatre, and In the Heights at The Paramount Theatre. For our online audience, Weiss will also review A Raisin in the Sun at TimeLine Theatre. Learn more about the plays, and watch Hedy's web extra video review.

We revisit a story about a pair of artists who met, married and lived at Jane Addams’ Hull House during the Depression era. Their works are currently on view at the Koehnline Museum on the campus of Oakton Community College in Des Plaines. Read an interview and view a slideshow.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed houses, churches and museums, but the great Prairie architect also designed a book or two. The most significant was called The House Beautiful. Only 90 copies of The House Beautiful were printed, and fewer than 30 are accounted for. Read the Artbeat blog.

What are some of the finest story songs by Chicago songwriters? Read the Artbeat blog.

Bill Daley faces the public after announcing that he is dropping out of the race for Illinois governor. Paris Schutz has the details. View a timeline of Daley's political career.

Bill Daley shocks the political arena and drops his candidacy from the race for Illinois governor. What does this mean for Gov. Pat Quinn and for the Republican field? We have analysis.

Will the U.S. government run out of money and shut down within the month? We take a look at how the country got back to fighting against the debt limit clock.

Veteran sportswriter Ron Rapoport releases his new book this week, From Black Sox to Three-Peats: A Century of Chicago’s Best Sportswriting from the Tribune, Sun-Times, & Other Newspapers. Read an excerpt.

It’s both a center for environmental studies and an environmentally friendly building. We go inside Loyola University’s new Institute of Environmental Sustainability. Read an article.

With the temperature dropping, it’s time to take care of your garden and do some fall planting. Chicago Botanic Garden’s Eliza Fournier has some great tips about dividing perennials, taking care of your lawn, and finding the right plants for your fall containers. Read fall gardening tips.

In a stunning development, Bill Daley has decided he will not run for Illinois governor. Daley, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, says that his political experience might not have prepared him for the enormity of running for governor.

Jesse Jackson Jr.'s stash could become your treasure. Thirtheen luxury items onced owned by the former congressman are going up for auction online. 

At an appearance at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Monday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham from South Carolina said President Obama should have pushed ahead with military strikes in Syria to send President Bashar al-Assad and other dictators an important signal. Paris Schutz has the details.

1969 was a pivotal point in Eric Clapton's career. Cream had broken up the previous year, and the 24-year-old Clapton was now part of the super-group Blind Faith, which would dissolve within months. But not before Clapton did a surprise show in Skokie, Illinois.

Carol Marin and her panel of political reporters and observers discuss the Illinois governor's race, pensions, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's relationship with the black community, and more.

A fired-up Chicago Bears team takes down the Minnesota Vikings. James "Big Cat" Williams gives us his perspective on yet another fourth quarter comeback. Watch a web extra video.

Mark your calendars for October 17 to witness a painting that is as gruesome as it is great.

With two weeks to go before the October launch of the online health insurance marketplace, confusion abounds over the realities of ObamaCare. Julie Hamos, director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and Cristal Thomas, Deputy Governor for Public Policy, explain the new health care law and the state's insurance marketplace exchange.

Northwestern University launches its first Massive Online Training Course, or MOOC. Professor Owen Youngman's course -- Understanding Media by Understanding Google -- kicks off on Sept. 16. He joins us to talk about the MOOC, and about this controversial trend in higher education.

Welcome to Artbeat, Chicago Tonight’s blog on arts & culture. It’s a privilege to be the curator and share my enthusiasms, but this is a two-way street: help me out, and I’ll return the favor.

We share what you had to say about Russian President Vladimir Putin's open letter to American readers in The New York Times urging "caution" in Syria in tonight’s viewer feedback.

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

In this week’s web extra segment, Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists dive deeper into the Jon Burge police torture case. How did Burge’s actions increase mistrust of the police? And what about the “no-snitch” culture both on the street and on the police force? Charles Thomas says that while there aren’t necessarily more bad cops than bad journalists, the “no-snitch” culture has to change. Watch the web extra video.