The race for mayor grows by another candidate. Springfield lawmakers tackle budget and crime. Some city council members barely show up for work. And hundreds of police officers forgo vaccine mandate.

Two high-ranking police officials interfered with the investigation of the shooting death of a Chicago Police sergeant, according to a report released Friday by the city’s interim watchdog.

If you needed to be reminded of the genius of two groundbreaking early 20th century composers or hoped for an introduction to a fascinating contemporary composer, Thursday’s concert of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra unquestionably lived up to expectations.

Pretice Phillips, 46, was held without bail following a hearing Friday after he was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the March shooting death of 32-year-old Kevin Change.

The wrongdoing was detailed in the first — and likely only — quarterly report issued by interim Inspector General William Marbeck, who is set to be replaced with a permanent watchdog later this month.

The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the FDA said, and can be used in doctor’s offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites. 

The deaths occurred at the Baker’ s Lake forest preserve, the Forest Preserves of Cook County said in a statement on Thursday.

The University of Illinois Extension in Cook County is teaming up with the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance and Plant Chicago on a pair of compost collection events in Chicago on Saturday.

Some lesser-known bills passed in Springfield. The city’s three casino finalists for this week’s In Your Neighborhood series. Revisiting mandatory masking. And three major religious holidays at once.

Chicago has three finalists for potential casino sites, but residents of those communities have mixed feelings. Some fear a rise in crime and the impact a casino could have on neighboring small businesses. Others are hopeful it could provide good paying jobs.

This week, three major religious holidays are coinciding for the first time in over 30 years: Ramadan, Easter and Passover. And many people are choosing to observe their holiday traditions in person for the first time in two years. 

Officials granted nearly double the number of COVID-19 vaccine exemptions to members of the Chicago Police Department than to members of any other city department, according to data provided by the mayor’s office.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is warning about a slow rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the state. It comes amid rising cases nationwide, and after Philadelphia announces it will reinstate its indoor mask mandate.

Controversial public safety measures took priority in Springfield. And we know that Illinois has a budget. But a whole lot of other changes are coming, thanks to state lawmakers’ recent rush of activity. 

Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Elon Musk, currently the company’s biggest individual shareholder, has proposed buying the remaining shares of Twitter that he doesn’t already own at $54.20 per share, an offer worth more than $43 billion.