(WTTW News)

The district’s overall budget, which was $9.4 billion in 2023, will be essentially unchanged in 2024, with officials planning to spend an additional $150 million next year, mostly to add instructors in special education classes.

Have decades of budgetary tricks and rising pension costs made bankruptcy inevitable for the city of Chicago as well as its public school system? We debate the issue.

The first full day of summer also marks the last day of the school year for Chicago Public School students. How stormy will their summers be as the district tries to weather its financial crisis?

Illinois is about to enter a staggering second year without an agreed-upon state budget. We talk with lawmakers about what happens next.

The day after Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool warned that schools may not open in September, the Chicago Teachers Union weighed in, calling Claypool's leadership a failure. We hear arguments from both sides.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner blasts Democrats for failing to pass a budget before the end of the spring legislative session. Where does Illinois go from here?

As Chicago Public Schools brace for additional budget cuts, some principals find out exactly how much the current financial climate could impact their budgets for the next school year.

CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey

Chicago Public Schools students could see their teachers on the picket lines sooner than expected, as the district announces how many employees are being laid off today.

Blaine Elementary Principal Troy LaRaviere

Today, Chicago Public Schools principals are learning just how deep their budgets will be cut after last week's announcement that the district was slashing more than $100 million from annual school budgets.

Gov. Bruce Rauner says he believes the General Assembly will pass his proposed legislation to have a state takeover of Chicago Public Schools and to enable them to declare bankruptcy. This, as CPS finally completes its delayed $875 million borrowing deal. Paris Schutz has more.

Forrest Claypool

Chicago Public Schools today gave layoff notices to some administrative employees as part of efforts to reduce its $480 million budget shortfall. "There’s no doubt that these cuts are painful," CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement. "However, with limited resources and a budget crisis not just this year but into the foreseeable future, we had no choice."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joins “Chicago Tonight” on Thursday, Jan. 28 to discuss Chicago Public Schools’ financial collapse, the city’s search for a new Chicago police superintendent and the increasingly bitter state budget standoff. What are your questions for the mayor? Share them with us.

Teachers, parents and the Chicago Public Schools district may not always agree, but on this point they do: leave the management of CPS in Chicago. We hear from education leaders on the GOP plan for a state takeover of the nation's third-largest school district.

Christine Radogno

Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican leaders officially announced on Wednesday their ambitious agenda to allow for an emergency financial authority appointed by the Illinois State Board of Education superintendent to take over Chicago Public Schools in the wake of a $500 million funding shortfall.

Republican state leaders want to take away mayoral control of the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools. Instead, they want the nation's third largest school district under the purview of a state emergency board. Democratic legislative leaders in Springfield immediately opposed the plan, with some calling it "dead on arrival." We speak with state legislators from both parties.

"Chicago Tonight” has learned that Gov. Bruce Rauner and top Republican leaders are planning to introduce legislation aimed at an emergency financial takeover of the city of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools. Paris Schutz has details.