Ratings agency S&P on Thursday moved Illinois’ bond rating up a notch, from BBB+ to A- on general obligation bonds. It’s the agency’s third upgrade since the summer of 2021.

The Bipartisan Policy Center, which forecasts the approximate “X-date” when the government will no longer be able to meet its financial obligations on time, said the U.S. will reach its statutory debt limit as soon as the summer or early fall of 2023.

The first installment of property owners’ 2022 tax bills will be due approximately a month later than usual because of delays last year, officials said.

The Chicago Bears are on the verge of leaving its home of 51 years, despite efforts by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to keep the team in Chicago.

The administration is linking with additional partners like car rental company Hertz and BP gas stations to bring EV fast charging infrastructure to locations across America, including major cities such as Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

“As you look across the country, there’s no other place that’s been able to secure as much funding as we have for the energy and equity project,” says Skyler Larrimore, chief of policy at the city of Chicago.

The Greektown workers’ announcement comes on the heels of Starbucks workers at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie and the location near Main Street and Chicago Avenue in Evanston voting last month in favor of joining Starbucks Workers United, an SEIU affiliate.

Consumer prices climbed 6.4% in January from a year earlier, down from 6.5% in December. It was the seventh straight year-over-year slowdown and well below a recent peak of 9.1% in June. Yet it remains far above the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual inflation target.

Improvements to the mall are planned, including new roofs and facades, parking lot resurfacing, new landscaping, new lighting and an underground storm water detention system. 

Some South Shore residents have been without heat and hot water. Organizers said the situation highlights concerns over possible displacement and rising housing costs caused by the coming Obama Presidential Center, just blocks away.

Teresa Fraga of the Pilsen Neighbors Community Council has been a homeowner in Pilsen for the last 43 years. She said she was expecting a $2,500 bill in December but instead received one for $14,279.

Illinois is among 21 states that issued relief checks to residents last year. The IRS provided 11th hour guidance Friday, announcing those checks aren’t subject to federal taxes.

Since the 1980s, it’s been illegal for car dealerships to operate on Sundays in Illinois. WTTW News explains why.

A new report from the Cook County Treasurer's Office said property tax collection rates are historically low in low-income and mostly minority south suburbs.

Oak Street runs care centers mostly for lower-to-middle income people with Medicare Advantage plans. Those are privately run versions of the federal government’s program for people aged 65 and older.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) recently hosted a meeting Tuesday with vendors to reassure them he will be fighting to keep the retail hub open. Novak Construction, the mall’s owner, extended vendors’ leases until the end of March.