Alternative music, jazz music, taco festivals, block parties and more fun surprises usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Dozens of migrants are temporarily sheltering in Burr Ridge after being bused to Chicago from Texas. We have a live report. Plus, the impact of the R. Kelly verdict and how a smaller Chicago City Council might work.

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso has criticized Chicago and Illinois officials for not informing the village of the migrants’ arrival ahead of time, and said that at this point, his office is actively working with businesses and the school district to assist the families staying at the hotel.

Chicago City Council has 50 alderpeople, representing around 54,000 people each. That’s compared to 51 council members in New York City, each representing 173,000 people. Los Angeles has 15 council members with each member representing about 257,000 people.

The near-total ban on abortion that took effect Thursday in Indiana will force more people to travel to already-overwhelmed Illinois clinics for reproductive health care and seek help from groups that have already reached their capacity, reproductive health care advocates told WTTW News.

For survivors of sexual assault and their advocates, it has been a long road as a federal jury yesterday convicted singer R. Kelly of six counts of producing child pornography and enticing girls for sex. The conviction comes more than two decades after the crimes took place.

The first show back for one of the last museums in Chicago to reopen following the COVID-19 shutdown has a royal pedigree.

Audubon's new digital platform, Explorer, brings together puzzle pieces from different elements of migratory science and provides the clearest picture yet of species' epic journeys.

The decision adds to the uncertainty facing the legislation, as it gives interest groups and other lawmakers opposing the bill more time to rally Republicans against it. But supporters hope that by pushing the vote back, they will relieve election-year pressure from some conservative voters and persuade more Republicans to support the legislation.

Railroads and union representatives had been in negotiations for 20 hours at the Labor Department on Wednesday to hammer out a deal, as there was a risk of a strike starting on Friday that could have shut down rail lines across the country.

R. Kelly convicted in Chicago child porn trial. What’s true and what’s false about the Illinois SAFE-T Act, now a huge issue in the campaign. New rules for festivals in Chicago parks and Spotlight Politics.

The countdown is on for railroad companies and unions to reach a deal. If one isn’t reached by late Thursday night, workers could strike. That would have a big impact, most immediately for commuters. 

House lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on barriers workers say they face to organizing, and what pro-business groups and Republicans in Congress call Democratic overreach.

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity Today Act — better known as the SAFE-T Act — was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2021. It has now become a campaign talking point. 

During the monthlong trial, jurors heard from R. Kelly’s goddaughter “Jane” and three other accusers — each of whom testified using a pseudonym — who described being sexually abused at the hands of the singer while they were underage.