Costumes, bugs, barbecued meats and Italian fare usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Republican U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski was killed Wednesday in a car accident in her northern Indiana District, according to her office.

The native swamp rose mallow has hit full bloom, its super-sized six-inch blossoms bursting forth in seemingly every shade of pink from the palest blush to saturated fuschia

The climate deal reached last week by Senate Democrats could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that American farmers produce by expanding programs that help accumulate carbon in soil, fund climate-focused research and lower the abundant methane emissions that come from cows.

The alleged Highland Park shooter pleads not guilty. The president of the CTA is here to address issues of safety and service across the system. Why police are stopping more Black drivers during traffic stops, and more.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is facing a deluge of criticism. How some tenants are responding to rapidly rising rents. The governor declares monkeypox a state health emergency. And a local artist re-envisions famous disasters.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office is seeing a degree of turnover that’s raising alarms among the criminal justice community. One recent high-profile departure has only added to the outcry. 

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night despite threats from Beijing of serious consequences, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China.

There are now 533 confirmed monkeypox cases in Illinois. And one of those cases was confirmed last week in Cook County Jail. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office said the individual is believed to have contracted the virus in the community prior to being ordered into custody.

Painter Eric Edward Esper creates accurate historical depictions of terrifying tragedies – fires, tornadoes and nautical disasters that took place in Chicago and elsewhere.

Rent prices rose 9.4% in 2022, according to data firm CoStar Group. In response, groups of local tenants are unionizing in hopes of pushing for an end to a rent control ban that was passed in 1997.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11. It now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Biden described the legislation as the biggest expansion of benefits for service-connected health issues in 30 years and the largest single bill ever to address exposure to burn pits.

Funding for the CityArts Program increased by 280% in 2022, climbing from $1.7 million in 2021 to $6.5 million, according to a news release. The awards follow the announcement that $26 million will be provided in new arts and culture investments as part of the city’s 2022 budget.

The findings come days after Democrats hammered out a 725-page climate, health care and tax deal that would extend generous federal subsidies for people who buy private health insurance that are credited with driving down the uninsured rates. Democrats have proposed spending $64 billion to extend those price breaks for three more years.

Cooper Roberts’ family said the boy was moved Sunday to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab from the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. The family’s statement released Monday said Cooper’s medical team will focus on physical and occupational therapy along with other rehabilitation and mental health services.