As of June 30, nearly half a million 401(k) accounts (497,000) had balances of $1 million or more, up 2.5% from the prior quarter. The average balance hit $1,595,200, up from $1,581,000 at the end of March, according to Fidelity’s data.

The pictures were released Wednesday as FBI officials gave new details around Thomas Matthew Crooks’ internet searches in the days before the shooting and how investigators are using those searches to piece together his mindset that day.

Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers.

The Education Department is seeking to provide a faster path to loan cancellation, and reduce monthly income-based repayments from 10% to 5% of a borrower’s discretionary income. The plan also wouldn’t require borrowers to make payments if they earn less than 225% of the federal poverty line — $32,800 a year for a single person.

For more than a decade, the Illinois and Chicago departments of transportation have been holding public meetings on a proposed redesign of North DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Earlier this month, they held an open house to show off their preferred option — one that doesn’t include a dedicated or shared lane for buses.

Farmers are also planting more acres of corn, in part to meet demand for ethanol, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. It all means more plants working harder to stay cool — pumping out humidity that adds to steamy misery like that blanketing much of the U.S. this week.

To this day, Chicagoans live in a fairly segregated city. And that segregation didn’t happen by coincidence but by design. WTTW News Explains how redlining worked in Chicago.

Crews start demolishing a longtime landmark to make way for Chicago’s permanent casino. And Chicago Public Schools are in session — how teachers are tackling the new year.

The Chicago Teachers Union is still in the midst of public contract negotiations, and the union said CPS leaders aren’t doing enough about the lack of academic resources. This comes amid concerns over district funding.

The permanent casino will be four times as big as the temporary casino now open at the Medinah Temple at Ohio Street and Wabash Avenue.

A man whose body was discovered in Wisconsin near the Illinois border in 1993 was known only as John Doe for more than three decades. He is now confirmed to be Ronald Louis Dodge following nearly a decade of renewed DNA testing and analysis.

For many Chicagoans, visiting Judy and the rest of the small herd at Brookfield represented their sole chance to encounter a bison — the national mammal of the U.S.

“The reality of climate change can be debilitating, it’s hard to know where to even start,” said state Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D- Grayslake), who introduced the bill in the General Assembly. “But now anyone can help restore native habitat right in our own yards.”

Chicago broke the record of 97 degrees set for this day in 1973, according to the weather service.

Will Fletcher, who took over as the school district’s watchdog in 2020, resigned last week with nearly two years left in his term.