About 60% of the Midwest and northern Great Plain states are in a drought. Nearly the entire stretch of the Mississippi River — from Minnesota to the river’s mouth in Louisiana — has experienced below average rainfall over the past two months.

The 16-page report was the first action of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability after it finally launched at the end of August, more than eight months behind schedule. A final vote by the Chicago City Council on Lightfoot’s $16.4 billion plan is scheduled for Monday.

Should any further proof be needed that 2022 has lived up to its designation as “The Year of Chicago Dance,” the performances throughout the month of October alone — whether by resident companies or international visitors — serve as evidence the title is fully deserved.

Yaer Shen, 46, was denied bail during a court hearing Thursday following his arrest on charges of first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child and concealing a homicidal death stemming from the killing of 40-year-old Bilian Fang, who was eight months pregnant with Shen’s child, prosecutors said.

Police never announced arrests in the shooting of Zachary Stoner, who drew a national YouTube following filling a media niche with up-close stories about the lives and deaths of gang members and affiliated rappers from places other reporters were afraid to go. But police records obtained by The Associated Press reveal investigators believe they solved his homicide years ago.

In areas that are solidly Democratic or Republican, races were virtually decided over the summer, in the primary contest. But particularly in the suburbs, it's not always as cut and dried.

Election Day is less than a week away and candidates are out making their final pushes. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

The report by Patient Rights Advocate published in August reviewed 2,000 hospitals across the country and found that 319 were complying with the rule.

Stocks tumble after the Fed hikes interest rates again. Tight midterm races you might not be hearing about. An Illinois Republican wants the party to get back to the center. And traditional Irish and Mexican music mix.

Mayor Gary Grasso of Burr Ridge says the Republican Party needs to listen to those more moderate voices if the party is to make an impact going forward in Illinois.

During the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, a group of Irish immigrants deserted the U.S. Army to fight alongside Mexican soldiers. However remarkable the story might be, it’s a chapter of history that’s not especially well known in the U.S.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $170.6 million budget gap in 2023 relies on booming tax revenues that she said proves Chicago’s budget has fully recovered from the economic catastrophe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asks the court to block the payment until the attorneys general have reviewed Albertsons’ proposed merger with Kroger Co.

Scott Lennox bragged to friends about sending the message, according to Cook County prosecutors, which led to Darren Bailey requesting additional security for himself and his family and to a soft lockdown at the school Bailey runs with his wife.

The Fed’s move raised its key short-term rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%, its highest level in 15 years. It was the central bank’s sixth rate hike this year — a streak that has made mortgages and other consumer and business loans increasingly expensive and heightened the risk of a recession.