A bombshell indictment: former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan facing federal charges. We’re live at the courthouse with the latest, and our Spotlight Politics team has an analysis.

Michael Madigan, who served as speaker of the Illinois House for 36 years, led a criminal enterprise disguised as a political organization that was devoted to enriching himself and his associates, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.

A carnivale celebration, polar plunge, neighborhood photographs and concerts usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago this weekend.

Russia reported its military casualties for the first time since the invasion began last week, saying nearly 500 of its troops had been killed and almost 1,600 wounded. Ukraine insisted Russia’s losses were far higher but did not immediately disclose its own casualties.

A rare patch of 8,000-year-old remnant Illinois prairie has been granted a new three-month lease on life, as the Greater Rockford Airport Authority has again delayed demolition of the natural area, pending additional environmental review.

Field studies over the past few weeks — a collective effort known as the “Winter Grab” — were intended to boost knowledge of what happens in the five lakes when they’re covered partially or completely with ice.

“Another child has become the victim of senseless gun violence and it must stop,” the Chicago Police Department said in a tweet Wednesday.

Previewing President Biden’s State of the Union during an international crisis. Plus, the latest from Ukraine, Chicago’s history storing Nike missiles on the lakefront, celebrating paczki day and more.

Russian forces stepped up their attacks on crowded urban areas Tuesday, bombarding the central square in Ukraine’s second-biggest city and Kyiv’s main TV tower in what the country’s president called a blatant campaign of terror.

Geoffrey Baer joined “Chicago Tonight” for this week’s Ask Geoffrey, about old Nike missile bases in Chicago.

A library filled with collections of people’s stories is coming to life in a new podcast series called “Unboxing Queer History.”

Cook County is now at the lowest level of COVID-19 risk, under new guidance set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Both locally and nationally, carjackings are on the rise. In Chicago, they have tripled over the last decade, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. Other cities including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have also seen similar upticks.

Dennis Haggerty, 45, of Burr Ridge, pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Chicago to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering after taking millions from an Iowa hospital in exchange for personal protective equipment he never provided.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Tuesday that he would not run for mayor of Chicago in 2023, removing Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s most prominent potential challenger from the growing field of prospective candidates.