With Antonin Scalia's death leaving an unexpected opening on the Supreme Court, we talk with a judge who was once considered for the high court on how she was vetted and why she thinks it's bad to have a long vacancy.

Gov. Bruce Rauner says there are bills he supports that would fund higher education institutions in Illinois, but he says powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan is making sure they do not go anywhere. Paris Schutz has the latest.

Watch the February 29, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Best known for his 1993 novel "Trainspotting," which chronicled a group of unemployed drug addicts in Scotland, author Irvine Welsh has been called the best storyteller in Britain. But for about 10 years now, he's lived in Chicago. We'll hear about his new book, “A Decent Ride.”

A half-century old, much traveled viaduct in Chicago is about to be torn down. But will the plan to replace it really improve traffic conditions?

Hear what viewers had to say about Chicago Public Schools’ mariachi music program, Geoffrey Baer’s tour of Chicago’s rapid transit system and Ald. Ed Burke’s workers’ compensation program when we read feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Like a planet drifting into a black hole, the state’s unprecedented political stalemate over the budget is increasingly sucking public education into financial uncertainty. State lawmakers discuss the fight over public education and Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget ultimatum.

Watch the February 25, 2016 full episode of Chicago Tonight.

Should powerful Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward) be able to run the city's $100 million workers' compensation program? A pair of whistle-blowers say no and want an investigation into alleged patronage abuses. Paris Schutz has the story.

Earlier this month, a judge denied the city of Chicago's motion to let Lucas Museum construction begin on its proposed lakefront site. We speak with the head of Friends of the Parks, the nonprofit which filed the lawsuit.

Hear what viewers had to say about Carol Marin’s conversation with Arne Duncan and the latest developments in the battle over the Lucas Museum when we read feedback from the "Chicago Tonight" website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Crain’s Chicago Business managing editor Ann Dwyer takes a closer look at why the Old Main Post Office may be the target of a city of Chicago eminent domain takeover and other business headlines.