The appointment of Natalie Toro to represent a wide swath of Chicago’s Northwest Side in the Illinois Senate sets up a fierce battle next spring as the progressive political organizations and labor unions that helped elect Mayor Brandon Johnson push to consolidate their power.

For the first time in eight years, there’s a rockhopper penguin chick at the Shedd Aquarium.

People with developmental disabilities living in Illinois’ publicly run institutions have been punched, slapped, hosed down, thrown about and dragged across rooms; in other cases, staff failures contributed to patient harm and death, state police and internal investigative records show.

Allegations of patient abuse, cover-ups and misconduct continue to proliferate at a beleaguered facility for people with developmental disabilities, despite promises of reform from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and officials in his administration.

Days after sexual misconduct accusations were made against Chicago police officers in the 10th District involving migrants, interim Police Superintendent Fred Waller said migrants who remain housed at various police stations need more permanent accommodations.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating since shortly after Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early 2021 and suggested the state’s top elections official could help him “find 11,780 votes.” 

The latest in our series WTTW News: A Safer City takes a look behind the data that shows a decrease in violent crime this year. Reimagining violence as a public health issue. And exploring the impact violence has on mental health.

The program pushes $250 million in funds to the state’s hardest hit communities. Designed to interrupt and prevent gun violence, it’s a three-year investment that started at the end of 2021.

Exposure to violence is traumatic for everyone involved and can cause both immediate and long-term psychological damage. That damage can lead to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep and substance abuse disorders and even suicide.

Chicago CRED aims to approach violence reduction by engaging with those most at risk of being shot. The nonprofit organization, which has nine locations, provides young men in the city with opportunities to change their lives through services like life coaching and education.

On Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the state’s legislative leadership and representatives of the hospitality industry announced that hotels in Illinois saw record revenues in fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30.

No one was ever charged in the deaths of seven people who took drugs laced with cyanide. Lewis served more than 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Johnson & Johnson, demanding $1 million to “stop the killing.”

“This can set a model for the rest of the city,” Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) said, envisioning a similar shelter in each of Chicago’s 50 wards.

The actor has been recovering since April, when he experienced an undisclosed medical complication, according to his daughter, Corinne Foxx. The star was in Atlanta filming at the time.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability is scheduled to announce the finalists at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Kennedy-King College, one day before the deadline imposed by city ordinance for it to act.