An explosion and fire at an Archer Daniels Midland facility in Decatur injured eight employees and sent a tower of smoke into the air Sunday evening, officials said Monday.

That toll is set to grow in the coming weeks, as the Chicago City Council considers paying $25 million to resolve separate lawsuits filed in 2016 by two men who spent a combined 34 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of killing a basketball star in 1993.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 26 people were shot in 21 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

A combination of economic factors, health access and misinformation pushed childhood vaccination figures down to dangerous levels in recent years for many illnesses, including measles, experts said.

This year, Juan Mendoza was named a Freeman Hrabowski Scholar by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which funds efforts to bring more scientists from diverse backgrounds into scientific institutions. Mendoza said he got right to work on recruiting.

A report from the Century Foundation shows that without pandemic-era federal funding, thousands of providers would no longer be able to hire and pay staff, meaning rapid shutdowns in families with small children fending for themselves.

Chicagoans and tourists feeling lucky can play 800 slot games and 56 table games in the century-old Shriner’s temple at 600 N. Wabash Ave., with its distinctive domed ceilings and stained-glass windows.

After photographer Jose Refugio “Fugie” Almanza tragically lost his 12-year-old son, Almanza sought to turn his pain into purpose. He founded the Joseph Jr. Scholarship Foundation, which aims to help Latinos fund their college educations.

The National Black Restaurant Weeks campaign is returning to Chicago with two full weeks of specials and events at 35 Black-owned eateries.

In her book “Homecoming: El Viaje a Mi Hogar,” Margarita Quiñones Peña describes the migrant journey to Chicago through her own eyes as a child coming to her new home of Chicago in 1993.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every facet of our lives and left many people feeling disconnected. At a North Park studio, owner and instructor Ogi Merzier-Emiabata brings people together with candle-making classes.

Since May, organizers with the volunteer collective Todo Para Todos said they’ve hosted 260 residents and have found permanent housing for more than 150 of them. The shelter ended its operations this past weekend.

A community-run shelter for migrants closes its doors. Getting more Latinos in STEM. And the migrant experience from the point of view of a child.

Child care is heading for a cliff as pandemic-era funding dries up. Pull up a seat at the table for Black Restaurant Week. And bringing in the light with a local candle maker.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and his top aides did not identify where they planned to build the massive tents that could shelter and feed as many as 1,000 migrants, or precisely how much it would cost Chicago taxpayers, sources told WTTW News.