The city’s watchdog on Chicago cops who lied while on the job. Toxic lead paint threatening kids’ health in suburban Cook County. And closing loopholes in property tax sales.

An audit by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg reveals the Chicago Police Department has allowed more than 100 officers who filed false reports to stay on the job. Some were even promoted after being found to have lied.

Backers of a new state budget say they've passed a balanced plan crafted in cooperation. Many Republicans, however, say the measure largely ignores their input and sets the state up for obligations it won’t be able to meet.

Toxic lead-based paint was banned in 1978, but the threat of poisoning persists. In suburban Cook County, officials say as many as half a million homes have lead paint hazards that present enormous health threats for young children.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas called the legislation “the most significant property tax reform legislation the General Assembly has approved in decades.”

A newly announced $21 million gift will help the Chicago Botanic Garden further its conservation and research projects, like the development of a studbook for plants.

The Chicago Police Department said 53 people were shot in 42 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday. One person was also fatally stabbed during the holiday weekend.

“This was one of the silver linings to come out of the pandemic,” Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) said.

A recent Chicago Symphony Orchestra program juxtaposed works by three masterful yet radically different composers of classical music: Wolfgang Mozart, William Kraft and Ottorino Respighi.

Get ready for fun with this guide to neighborhood street fests, art shows, outdoor concerts and cultural celebrations of all sizes across Chicago and the suburbs.

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have been working the phones in an intense push to sell Congress on the 99-page bill that would suspend the nation's debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending.

Illinois’ legislative session is wrapping up in earnest, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker will soon face the task of deciding whether to crystalize legislators’ ideas by signing them into law. 

Restaurants, bars and cafes would be allowed to serve customers outdoors permanently under a plan backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. The plan would make the rules designed to help restaurants stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic an enduring part of Chicago’s food scene.

Helping veterans address mental health challenges. The professor who literally wrote the book on the country’s trillion-dollar fraud industry. And bringing basketball back to city parks.

Helping U.S. military veterans who’ve been deported. Pushback against a plan to expand I-55. And inside the big tent at Circus Vazquez.