A Chilean flamingo died Jan. 8 and a harbor seal died Jan. 9, with testing confirming highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as the cause, Lincoln Park Zoo officials said.

City Council votes on an effort to weaken protections for undocumented immigrants. Why Black Illinoisans are experiencing homelessness at a high rate. And a push to wipe medical debt from credit reports.

The report from the University of Illinois Chicago showed a number of structural issues contributing to this disparity — a lack of affordable housing and sufficient income chief among them.

While advocates argue the change will provide great financial relief to millions struggling with high health care costs, critics contend it could harm financial systems and incentivize delinquency.

After days of increasing alarm among advocates for immigrant rights, the showdown over whether to amend Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance, was anti-climactic.

Outgoing Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter capped his nearly 10-year run leading the massive agency at a board meeting Wednesday, saying he’d be “forever grateful for this opportunity to serve our customers (and) the people of the city of Chicago.”

Allie, one of Brookfield Zoo’s bottlenose dolphins, is expecting a calf in late spring/early summer.

The Transportation Department said its investigation found that Southwest operated two chronically delayed flights — one between Chicago Midway International Airport and Oakland, California, and another between Baltimore, Maryland, and Cleveland, Ohio.

The City Council voted 49-1 to create a working group to come up with ways Chicago can change its traffic ticketing system so Black, Latino and low-income residents are no longer disproportionately hit with fines.

The move comes nearly 35 years after the dye known as Red 3 was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.

As a new General Assembly begins, it remains unclear how lawmakers and the governor plan to plug the projected deficit. Republicans’ main concern is Democrats will resort to tax increases to boost revenue and avoid spending cuts.

In all, the settlements approved Wednesday account for nearly half of the city’s annual $82 million budget to cover the cost of police misconduct lawsuits.

Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg's probe found the department members offered the deputy chief inappropriate “professional courtesy.”

“This moment is no doubt historic," elected member Ellen Rosenfeld said, "not just for me but for all of us, because this body reflects the voices and values of the majority of the people of our district.”