Critics complain the independent agency, funded by the Federal Reserve System, lacks sufficient supervision and regularly exceeds its regulatory authority. Defenders argue the bureau’s watchdog mission has strong bipartisan support.

The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling R&B songwriter was convicted in 2021 in Brooklyn federal court of multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking.

A 20-second video released Wednesday by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office of a small City Hall room crammed with gifts his office accepted on behalf of the city is “not a substitute for public access to public property,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said.

Nora Leerhsen, who has worked at the CTA for more than 10 years, took over as its leader on Feb. 1.

“By applying the sales tax only to goods and a small number of services, Illinois is missing the ability to tax much of the spending within its borders,” the nonpartisan Civic Federation said in its latest report.

President Donald Trump pardons former Gov. Rod Blagojevich — how local politicians are reacting. And a project aimed at keeping invasive carp out of the Great Lakes is on hold.

“I support President Trump in many ways,” state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said, “but I don’t think he understands that this just signals that the corruption in Illinois is just accepted, rather than it has to stop.”

Housing and shelter, utility assistance, access to food and employment and income assistance were the most common needs for residents, according to 211 Metro Chicago program leaders.

No longer will gifts accepted by Chicago’s mayor on behalf of the city be covered by an “unwritten arrangement” dating back to the late 1980s during the administration of former Mayor Eugene Sawyer, Board President William Conlon said.

The state of Illinois has pressed pause on a barrier designed to keep invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes, saying it can no longer count on the federal government to honor its funding obligation to the $1.15 billion project.

Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.

Eight-hundred people who have filed complaints since May against juvenile detention centers in Illinois alleging they were sexually abused by employees. The Illinois lawsuits are part of a wave of complaints against juvenile detention centers nationwide including in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Hampshire.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Chicago area and much of northern Illinois from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 3 a.m. Thursday.

The jury of eight women and four men began deliberations late on Jan. 29. They have now completed 10 days of discussions without yet reaching a verdict.

Sonya Massey was killed July 6 after two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies responded to her 911 call about a possible prowler at her home. She was shot and killed following a dispute with one of the responding deputies involving a pot of boiling water in her kitchen, body camera footage showed.