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.

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.

Hundreds of thousands of Chicago Public Schools students return to the classroom amid massive financial woes for the district: an expired teacher contract and a $480 million budget hole. On Chicago Tonight, we'll hear from students and principals at some schools experiencing the deepest cuts, and from CPS administrators visiting schools on their first day. 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is reportedly considering a $500 million property tax hike—one of the largest in the city’s history—to help pay police and fire pensions and construction projects for Chicago Public Schools. The tax increase is expected to be included in the mayor’s 2016 budget. We examine what’s reportedly in Emanuel’s budget and what it means for city residents.

The fight to reopen a South Side high school has caused 12 parents and activists to go on a hunger strike to get Chicago Public Schools to hear their concerns. We look at the history of the closure and what the new proposals are.

On this edition of Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review with Joel Weisman, our panel of guests discuss state and local politics, education, traffic, sports, and more.

The Chicago Public Schools budget that is short half a billion dollars is officially enacted. The fate of that $500 million assistance is in the hands of the Illinois House, where support is currently tenuous at best. Thursday, some House lawmakers sent a message to the city and Chicago Public Schools: certain things have to happen before that chamber gets on board. What are they?

Still no budget in Springfield and now the state's comptroller says Illinois is starting to fall far behind in paying its bills. We have the latest on this and other news out of Springfield on Chicago Tonight with Amanda Vinicky.

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.

The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over Chicago's pension reforms in November. Attorney John Schmidt says the city's pension reforms are fundamentally different than the state's reforms that were struck down earlier this year. Schmidt joins us on Chicago Tonight.

A plan to provide nearly $500 million in relief to the cash-starved CPS is locked up in an ideological battle over collective bargaining. Paris Schutz joins us with more on the story.

Should downstate and suburban school districts pay the hundreds of millions in costs to fund their teacher pensions? A group of Chicago area state lawmakers say yes. They say it’s a better way to level the playing field between Chicago and other school districts. But not everyone is on board.

A new proposal from state lawmakers to help out Chicago Public Schools with a $200 million windfall, as the CEO announces an end to the pension pickup for non-union employees. Paris Schutz explains.

The House today passed a bill freeing up nearly $5 billion in federal money. But Democrats failed to get enough support for an amendment to spend state dollars on some human services. After the vote, House Speaker Michael Madigan expressed frustration over the failed effort, but Republicans weren't buying it. We'll get the latest from Springfield with Chicago Tonight's Amanda Vinicky.

CPS on Monday unveiled a $5.7 billion operating budget that calls for more than 400 teacher layoffs and banks on $480 million in state aid. Tonight, we'll discuss the district's budget proposal and ongoing teacher contract negotiations with Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis.

Chicago Public Schools unveiled Monday a $5.7 billion operating budget proposal that includes laying off 1,491 employees (479 of which are teachers), raising property taxes by $19 million, and banking on $480 million in pension relief from state lawmakers. Chicago Tonight’s Brandis Friedman walks us through the proposal.