Is Gov. Bruce Rauner's newest pension proposal constitutional? How will it impact city and state employees? John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, and Ralph Martire, executive director for the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, analyze the plan.

Experts from the American Security Project are in Chicago to sound the alarm that inaction on climate change weakens the United States' national security position. We'll talk with retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Lee Gunn and Andrew Holland, senior fellow with the American Security Project and a former aide to ex-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during Hagel's time in the Senate.

In April, Chicago Tonight got a behind-the-scenes look at a school of comic book and sequential art that started in Italy in 1979. When Italy's International School of Comics opened its first North American location, they chose a quiet block of Hubbard Street on the near West Side.  We revisit that story.

Chicago-based rock critic Jessica Hopper has earned a reputation as a sharp observer and a fearless firebrand of the form. She joins us to discuss her newest book, The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic.

Illinois House lawmakers are back in session in Springfield a week after representatives failed to pass a one-month spending plan. The Democrat-controlled House led by Speaker Michael Madigan is scheduled to take up the temporary spending plan again despite opposition from Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican lawmakers. We talk with Chicago Tonight's Springfield reporter Amanda Vinicky about the status of the budget and more.

Chicago school principals are faced with the unenviable task of trying to plan for the new school year amid massive financial uncertainty. At a time when most would be hoping to finalize hiring decisions, they have no idea what their budget will be and how many teachers and other support staff they can afford. We learn what it's like to try and plan for the new school year with so many unknown factors.

According to a Crain's Chicago Business analysis, Chicago police and fire pensions could drive up property taxes by more than 30 percent. Crain’s senior reporter Thomas A. Corfman joins us to explain the analysis.

Construction gets underway this week on the Argyle Streetscape project in Uptown, which will create a first-of-its-kind Chicago street that's shared among bikes, cars, and pedestrians.

We take a look at a local organization that helps transgender people improve their work skills, find jobs, and overcome social stigmas facing the trans community. 

The Chicago Botanic Garden's Eliza Fournier joins Chicago Tonight with tips and demonstrations on how to make the most of your garden in July.

Several mothers of young men killed by gun violence in Chicago are named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against three suburban Chicago communities: Lyons, Riverdale, and Lincolnwood. Attorneys who filed the suit Tuesday morning explain that those towns have lax or insufficient methods of licensing and regulating their gun dealers, and are therefore disproportionately impacting poor and minority communities in Chicago.