It’s a new front as the U.S. attempts from afar to influence what’s happening in Ukraine. President Biden Tuesday announced a ban on all imports of oil from Russia. What consequences that may have abroad and here at home.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on your gas tank and your wallet. CTU responds to the district’s change in mask policy. A wave of anti-LGBTQ laws nationwide. And going green in Englewood.

Actor Lesley Nicol earned accolades for portraying the head cook Mrs. Patmore on six seasons of the television show “Downton Abbey” and in two movies. Now, she’s ready to premiere her new stage show in Chicago.

Residents and community leaders gathered in Englewood on Tuesday for the opening of the new Go Green Community Fresh Market. It’s designed to be as convenient as a neighborhood corner store but with fresh produce, a variety of healthy options, and meals cooked on site. 

Chicago Public Schools students will have the option of whether to wear masks, starting next week. The district’s mandate was originally maintained under a contract agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union — despite Illinois dropping masks for schools statewide last week. But Monday, the district announced it’s dropping that mandate.

Conservatives have argued that the bill is needed in order to give parents greater oversight over what students learn and discuss at school, stressing that LGBTQ-related topics should be left for families to discuss at home. Opponents, however, have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, arguing the ban it creates would negatively impact an already marginalized community. 

Back in the 1980s, the number of fish species found in the Chicago River could be counted on a single hand. Today, that number is up to 60 species, an increase in diversity that can be directly attributed to a decrease in wastewater pollutants, according to a new study from the Shedd Aquarium.

Johnny Clark, chef and owner at Chicago restaurant Wherewithall, is using his culinary skills to help keep Ukrainian culture alive while at the same time raising funds for the country. 

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs turns 100 this year. The organization was created in 1922 amid isolationist sentiment in the U.S. following World War I. In the years since, it has brought a long list of global leaders and experts to Chicago. 

A previous effort to renovate the Congress Theater sputtered out in 2020, even after the City Council agreed to give the project a $9.7 million subsidy.

“I don’t anticipate, you know, more serious consequences in terms of work stoppages,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said, “but we will continue to work together because we have it in both our best interests to keep our community safe.”

A federal judge last week sentenced Diego Vargas after he pleaded guilty to maliciously attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive device.

Former state Sen. Tom Cullerton pleaded guilty to embezzlement Tuesday morning, more than two years after he was charged with fraudulently receiving salary and benefits from a labor union despite doing “little or no work.”

The indictment is a further proof of how far the Justice Department is going to prosecute the leaders of extremist groups whose members are suspected to have planned and attacked the U.S. Capitol, even if they weren’t in attendance themselves. 

The action follows pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to U.S. and Western officials to cut off the imports, which had been a glaring omission in the massive sanctions put in place on Russia over the invasion.