The 223-page report memorializes the work of 11 subcommittees that began meeting in mid-April, and dovetails with much of progressive agenda laid out by Johnson and echoes his call for new investment on Chicago’s South and West sides. 

Chicago’s pension problem getting worse. How roller-coaster weather is affecting crops. And reviewing the one-two punch of the Fourth of July and NASCAR in Spotlight Politics.

In the pantheon of Chicago disc jockeys, Dick Biondi was a superstar. In a 2003 appearance on “Chicago Tonight,” he recounts his meeting with The Beatles.  

June is expected to go down as one of the 10 driest months in the state’s history. Farmers are already seeing an impact on their crops and consumers are likely to see an impact soon.

Brandon Johnson announced that Jianan Shi, the executive director of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education since 2019, will serve as the board’s president after former president Miguel del Valle stepped down after his term expired last week.

In all, Chicago owes $35.4 billion to its four employee pension funds representing police officers, firefighters, municipal employees and laborers, according to the 2022 Certified Annual Financial Report. 

According to police figures, there were nine people killed across Chicago between Friday at 6 p.m. and Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. during a busy holiday weekend. In total, 57 people were shot in 45 separate shooting incidents during that time.

The Fourth of July holiday has accounted for the most mass shootings of any other days of the year in nearly a decade, according to a CNN analysis of the Gun Violence Archive’s mass shooting data since 2014.

Federalism — allowing each state to chart its own course within boundaries set by Congress and the Constitution — is at the core of the U.S. system. Now, some wonder whether that’s driving Americans apart.

Cities across the U.S. from Medford, Oregon to Tampa, Florida have been hovering at all-time highs, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Beijing reported nine straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 95 F.

This July 4 in Highland Park, one year after seven people were killed and dozens more wounded in a mass shooting, the sounds of marching bands and cheers were replaced by a much more solemn gathering.

Since the mass shooting at last year’s Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois has moved swiftly on gun control measures. The most controversial has been the ban on so-called assault weapons.

We launch WTTW News: A Safer City. The new series will examine the region’s struggle with crime and violence. Today, a live report from Highland Park on the mass shooting’s impact a year later.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering was marching in last year’s Fourth of July parade when gun shots began to ring out. In the year since, she has seen the town come together in its time of need.

Highland Park’s community emergency response team, or CERT, made up of residents from all walks of life — doctors, businesspeople, scientists — had a vital role to play in response to the mass shooting.