It’s crunch time as state lawmakers have less than a week to pass a budget and close a $6 billion deficit before the end of the current legislative session. We talk with Chicago Tonight Springfield reporter Amanda Vinicky about the likelihood of a budget being passed before the Sunday deadline. 

One way Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed cutting spending is to repeal the so-called “prevailing wage” law. So what is the prevailing wage and why is it on the books? Our experts debate the pros and cons of eliminating the prevailing wage the state pays for public construction projects. 

Some $500 billion is spent each year by governmental entities on information technology. Now so-called “civic hackers” are taking the vast troves of data that cities like Chicago collect, and designing apps to make that data more useful to the public. From apps that track food poisoning to potholes to parking -- the city of Chicago is leading the way in the growing "govtech" sector. We find out more.

Chicago’s technology incubator, 1871, seeks public funding to expand for the second time in a year, following a 25,000 square foot expansion last year. The potential state-backed expansion concerns privately run co-working spaces and offices that rival 1871. We hear the latest from Crain's Chicago Business reporter John Pletz. 

Painter Archibald Motley created a revealing body of work that captured Chicago people and nightlife during the Jazz Age. We revisit our story about the Motley exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Over Memorial Day weekend, a new part of the Chicago Riverwalk opened from State Street to Clark Street. Carol Ross Barney has been leading the Riverwalk design for more than a dozen years. We sit down with her to talk about the project. 

We share what you had to say about the Chicago-based documentary series The School Project's final message, the new Method soap factory in Pullman, the Metropolitan Water District's new holding tank project, and our interview with the Little Rock Nine.

As Illinois' Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan pushes for a three percent millionaire's tax to raise fresh revenue for the cash-strapped state, Republican lawmakers respond with a proposal for term limits to limit the power of long-time legislative leaders like Madigan. Chicago Tonight Springfield reporter Amanda Vinicky rounds up all the latest news.

Kids are almost out of school for the summer, but some long days are ahead for Chicago Public Schools as it tries to close a more than $1 billion budget deficit, most of which is tied to a $700 million pension payment that is due. On top of that, district officials are negotiating with the Chicago Teachers Union over a new teacher contract. Chicago Tonight talks with CTU President Karen Lewis.

In a time of tight budgets, why is the CTA pushing a $570 million 'flyover' project? Paris Schutz reports. 

Rabbi Herman Schaalman turned 99 years old this year. After a life spent studying religious texts and the Torah, he’s starting to doubt the existence of God. We'll talk with the rabbi about his own evolution.

Scott Flansburg is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Fastest Human Calculator.” Flansburg correctly added a randomly selected two-digit number (38) to itself 36 times in 15 seconds without the use of a calculator. Flansburg shares his gift and love of math with children all around the world. He joins Chicago Tonight to put our own calculator to the test.