PreK-12 education spending currently makes up about one-fifth of the state’s entire General Revenue Fund budget. The proposed increase, if approved, would bring the state’s total GRF spending on public education to just over $11 billion.

CBS News reported a federal judge in Washington D.C. sentenced Karol and Agnieszka Chwiesiuk each to three months home detention and three years probation after they were found guilty last year on multiple misdemeanor charges.

Chicago education officials this week could vote to approve more than $800,000 in payments to settle a pair of lawsuits filed in response to a 2015 carbon monoxide leak at a Northwest Side elementary school that left several dozen students and staff members hospitalized.

“If we didn’t take it, it would’ve gone to the scrap heap,” Gary Marine, Melrose Park’s director of public works, said of the historic Kiddieland sign that now lives in the Melrose Park Public Library parking lot.

Police in the city of Joliet and Will County said they did not know of a motive for the killings, but said the man knew the victims. The FBI’s fugitive task force was assisting local police in the search for the suspect, Joliet Police Chief William Evans said.

The result was a setback for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who finished second despite investing significant time and financial resources in a state famous for its independent streak. She’s the last major challenger after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ended his presidential bid over the weekend.

Concerns over whether Chicago bet too big on casino revenue. An escalating spat between local officials over shelters for migrants. And we take you inside a call center connecting Chicagoans to local resources.

Have you heard of 211? It’s a free hotline connecting Chicago and suburban Cook County residents to everyday services — from housing resources to utility payment assistance.

While similar measures are already in place in New York City, Los Angeles and dozens of smaller cities, it is unclear whether the push for Chicago to join those cities will succeed, even with the backing of Mayor Brandon Johnson.

The temporary Bally’s casino in River North’s Medinah Temple brought in just over $3 million in tax revenue last year. That’s almost $10 million short of what former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration projected.

Maher Kassem, 63, was detained in jail following a hearing Tuesday after he was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

A group of Illinois lawmakers have a proposal that would ban a handful of common additives in food made and sold in Illinois starting in 2027. California last year became the first state to ban the substances that are common in mass-produced and ultra-processed cereals, candies, salad dressings and sodas.

On Tuesday, the clock was again set at 90 seconds to midnight — the closest to the hour it has ever been, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which created the clock in 1947.

Christopher Nolan’s three-hour opus, viewed as the best picture frontrunner, received nods for best picture; Nolan’s direction; acting nominations for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt; and multiple honors for the sweeping craft of the J. Robert Oppenheimer drama. 

With Ron DeSantis ending his 2024 campaign and endorsing Donald Trump on Sunday, the Tuesday primary becomes the first one-on-one matchup between Trump and Nikki Haley.