The three top Democrats vying to become the party’s nominee for U.S. senator in Illinois have released proposals detailing how they plan to make life more affordable for Americans.

Despite little to no daylight — plus months of frigid temperatures — people who live in northern Europe and above the Arctic Circle have learned how to cope mentally and physically with the annual onset of the winter blues.

Quilen Blackwell, whose nonprofit transforms vacant lots on Chicago’s South Side into flower farms that employ at-risk young people to grow, arrange and sell the flowers, is the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year.

Chicago's total for the 2025-26 snowfall season already stands at 17.1. That's almost as much as Chicago notched in all of 2024-25.

CPD officers have now shot 21 people, killing eight, since the start of the year, records show. In 2024, CPD officers shot 12 people, killing six, records show.

President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid package Monday — a boost to farmers who have struggled to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs after the president raised tariffs on China.

Of 439 positions in the Chicago Police Department charged with implementing the consent decree, 179 positions were empty at the beginning of December, according to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by WTTW News.

Mayor Brandon Johnson says a rival budget plan put together by a group of alderpeople is a nonstarter. And the Cook County state’s attorney says it’s time to take a hard look at who gets released on electronic monitoring.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin described Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s co-sponsoring of the bill as “an extraordinary act of political courage.” Durbin has spent more than two decades pushing for the Dream Act, which he first introduced in 2001.

Frank Gehry’s fascination with modern pop art led to the creation of some of the most striking buildings ever constructed, including the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago.

The state’s 2025 report card showed only 38.4% of Illinois students overall scored proficient or better in math, compared to 52.4% in English language arts.

The justices will hear Trump’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that struck down the citizenship restrictions. They have not taken effect anywhere in the country.

For decades, the government has advised that all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection right after birth. The shots are widely considered to be a public health success for preventing thousands of illnesses.

Since the shooting, Chicago taxpayers have paid $591,500 to resolve four lawsuits that allege the officer, who was promoted in June 2025, violated the rights of other Chicagoans, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

Northwestern University has agreed to pay $75 million to the federal government. The settlement with the Trump administration would restore $790 million in federal research grants that were frozen earlier this year, and end investigations on discrimination.