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Carol Marin and her panel of journalists take a look at some of the biggest political stories, including the state budget and the election.

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and actor Tracy Letts joins us to talk shop and to tell us about his play Killer Joe, which is playing at the Royal George Theatre through the first week in June.

We find out how -- in only a decade -- Chinese has rapidly become one of the top languages taught in the Chicago Public Schools.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Cuerdas Clasicas performs live in studio. For information about Chicago's summer programs for kids and teens

Police Superintendent Jody Weis After this weekend's failed bombing in New York's Times Square, Chicago's top cop says there are no indications of similar threats here. We talk with Police Superintendent Jody Weis about the level of Chicago's terror preparedness, and how he plans to combat the uptick in violent crime as summer approaches.

We find out how Swedish Covenant Hospital took an unusual approach to dealing with the recession, and its employees.

From Billy Sunday to Al Capone, Chicago's role in the rise and fall of Prohibition is notorious. A new book takes an even deeper look at how and why America went dry for 13 years. Eddie Arruza talks to Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call.

The working class meets the ballet class in Billy Elliot. Hedy Weiss reviews Elton John's hit musical, and two more colorful productions on the Chicago stage. Billy Elliot Eclectica The Farnsworth Invention

Lawmakers expect to pass a budget this week in Springfield. Just how will they make up the budget shortfall and what agencies will feel the pinch? Carol Marin and her panel discuss this and more. For more on the story...

United and Continental are officially birds of a feather. We talk to WBBM Newsradio's Kris Kridel about the big merger that makes Chicago-based United the largest airline company in the world.

Big news out of Argonne National Laboratory today. The U.S. Department of Energy will spend $300 million dollars to upgrade Argonne's photon source facility. We talk to the director of the facility about the new scientific discoveries being made there. Advanced Photon Source

One of Illinois' most impressive birds is making a comeback in Lake County: Blue Herons, which are once again nesting at one forest preserve. But it wouldn't have happened without local residents building the structures that attract them. Eddie Arruza tells us what some bird fanciers did to bring back the big birds. Lake County Audubon Society

What's in store for the future of fashion? The School of the Art Institute's Fashion Show is this Friday. We get a preview from the department chairman. SAIC Fashion Show 2010

We hear what you have to say about some of our recent stories when we read our viewer mail.

Joel and his panel discuss the week's top headlines: President Obama gives a boost to the Giannoulias campaign during a visit to Illinois this week; Mayor Daley balks at the suggestion of sending in the National Guard to help police Chicago's deadly streets; United and Continental Airlines are reportedly close to striking a mega-merger deal; immigration protests are planned in Chicago and across the country this weekend; Walmart is going to meet face to face with organized labor about its proposed Chicago expansion plans; and the Blackhawks advance to the conference semifinals against the V

Joel sits down with Craig Robinson, brother of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Protesters descended on Wrigley Field today calling for a baseball boycott. Ash-har Quraishi tells us how the immigration reform debate took to the field.

State legislators are just a few votes away from legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois. But how would authorities control it, and could medical pot be the first step in making the drug completely legal? Eddie Arruza and his panel take up the debate. Read the bill

Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez had some harsh words recently for Governor Quinn and President Obama. A reporter from the Chicago News Cooperative is here with more on a growing rift within the Democratic Party.

We preview Joel Weisman's Friday Night Show interview with First Lady Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson.

Looking back on a life in cartoons. Jules Feiffer joins us to talk about his career -- and some early memories of Chicago. Jean Albano Gallery Artropolis Chicago

Where was the ballpark when the Cubs actually won two World Series? Geoffrey Baer has the surprising answer in tonight's edition of Ask Geoffrey. Historic Pullman Foundation The Pullman State Historic Site "Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. : A Chronological History"--Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society, Inc.

Seventy years ago, more than 20,000 Polish POWs were executed by the Soviet military during World War II. We preview a documentary about the Katyn massacre airing Friday night at 9 pm on WTTW.

We hear what you have to say about some of our recent stories when we read our viewer mail.

Chicago is already the most watched city in the country, thanks to thousands of security cameras. Now Mayor Daley wants cameras linking Chicago and the Mexican border. Elizabeth Brackett and her panel take a look at the pros and cons of such a plan.