As spring in Chicago gets underway, so do the building projects. We talk with Chicago Tribune’s Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin about the most recent building projects in the news and what will be coming down the pipeline. Read an article.

Veteran politician Rep. Tom Cross faces DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan in the GOP Primary for Illinois State Treasurer. The winner will face Democrat Mike Frerichs, who is running unopposed. Cross and Grogan join us. Read an article.

The Centers for Disease Control says there may be as many as 48 million cases of foodborne illnesses every year in the United States, costing the economy more than $150 billion and resulting in around 3,000 deaths. We talk with two food safety experts about the impact new technologies are having in keeping our food safe. Read an article.

We share what you had to say about The Civic Federation's proposal to balance the state's budget by taxing retirees when we read some of our viewer feedback.

For the first time in Illinois, the Lieutenant Governor candidates are running with a candidate for governor. We meet the four Republican candidates and hear their vision for their jobs, and for Illinois. Read an article and a recap of our live online chat.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ordinance in today's Chicago City Council meeting banning new petroleum coke facilities and blocking expansion of existing facilities. The ordinance is co-sponsored by Ald. Edward Burke (14th) and Ald. John Pope (10th). Elizabeth Brackett has the details on that, and other City Council news.

Downers Grove businessman Doug Truax and entrepreneur Jim Oberweis are competing in the Republican Primary for the opportunity to take on incumbent U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Truax joins us. Oberweis has declined our invitation to participate. Read an article, and view bios and career timelines of the candidates.

The CNN series Chicagoland debuts this week. We talk with series producer Yoav Attias and Pulitzer prize-winning Chicago journalist and co-writer, co-producer and series narrator, Mark Konkol, about the dichotomy of Chicago, and the picture it paints of the city on a national stage. Read an article about the Chicago premiere.

As Russian troops tighten their grip on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and Western powers scramble to respond, we talk with Chicagoan and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder.

Just weeks before Gov. Pat Quinn is set to make his budget address, government watchdog group The Civic Federation releases a proposal it says will balance the state’s budget. The plan would pay down the state’s backlog, but would impose a tax on pension and social security income. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall and State Director for AARP Illinois Bob Gallo discuss how the proposal could affect retirees. Read the full report.

The majority of Chicago Public Schools students in 3rd-8th grade are taking the ISAT test this week, though parent groups who oppose the test say the number of students who have opted out of the test continues to rise. Elizabeth Brackett reports. Watch a web extra video interview with Sarah Chambers, a teacher at Saucedo Scholastic Academy.

The first wave of concealed carry licenses in Illinois are ready to be printed and sent to their new owners. Brandis Friedman has an update on the process.

As the March 31st deadline for Affordable Care Act enrollment draws closer, we check in with Illinois Deputy Governor Cristal Thomas and director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, about the number of state residents enrolled and the final month of the program. Read an article.