The cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools is spiraling closer and closer to a financial doomsday that could see as many as 5,00 teachers laid off to help plug a $480 million budget hole. The CPS CEO joins us to talk about the district's finances and the new four-year contract being offered to the Chicago Teachers Union.

Last night's GOP presidential debate hosted by CNN set off some fireworks as candidates did all they could to make an impression in a crowded field. Political communications specialist Jason DeSanto joins "Chicago Tonight" to give his take on the heated discourse.

One of the most significant transit initiatives to launch in Chicago begins service this weekend. We take a preview spin around the city's first bus rapid transit line, called Loop Link.

A small, windowless building on Block 37 is dwarfed by glassy new high-rises. A viewer wonders how it managed to escape the wrecking ball. Geoffrey Baer shares the story behind this unusual building, plus the history of the Marshall Field’s holiday windows and Kermit the Frog’s commercials for milk in this week’s edition of Ask Geoffrey.

A day after teachers voted overwhelming to go on strike, Chicago Public Schools is offering teachers a new contract that it says will prevent thousands of teacher layoffs. Jesse Sharkey joins us for a discussion.

While fatal police-involved shootings have been at the center of many recent news stories, it seems the voices of officers connected to these incidents aren’t always the loudest.

The risk of a Great Lakes oil spill has grown as the region becomes a hub for refining and transporting heavy tar sands oil. Oil that the Coast Guard says it does not have a method to clean up.

Simulating the evolution of the cosmos. A local physicist is here to talk about using supercomputers to delve into the mysteries of the universe.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is calling for the resignation of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez in the wake of the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. Carol Marin talks with Preckwinkle about the crisis surrounding the Chicago Police Department and the sweeping probe of police patterns and practices by the DOJ.

The Laquan McDonald shooting has brought the police union under fire. Is there a culture of cover-up among cops? Dean Angelo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, joins us.

Another missed kick by Robbie Gold, another missed opportunity for the Bears. James "Big Cat" Williams is here to break down the Bears eighth loss of the season. 

State-approved medical marijuana has arrived in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. We get a look inside the first—and so far the only—dispensary to open in the city. 

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