Local leaders push back against calls to send the National Guard to Chicago. And what do the city’s crime stats really show?

Chicago Police Department data shows that compared to last year, violent crime in the city is down 22% through the end of July. There have been 36% fewer shootings, and homicides are down 32%.

Experience360 is the first satellite branch for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, which is currently under renovation. The new space in River North, just steps from Marina Towers, opens to the public Tuesday.

Federal officials are continuing to press their demand for Illinois’ unredacted voter registration database, which includes sensitive personal information, and are now giving state officials until Monday, Sept. 1, to comply.

President Donald Trump signed an order threatening to freeze federal funding to governments and jurisdictions that have eliminated the use of cash bail as a means of holding defendants in jail pretrial. Local officials say the system put in place in Illinois in 2023 is working.

Gov. JB Pritzker vowed Monday to stop President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago, dismissing Trump’s latest pledge to combat crime as cover for an unconstitutional federal overreach.

The statement in it is noteworthy not only for its content but for its overall existence; a fierce approach toward critics by the Trump administration has caused many in the federal government to hesitate before locking heads with the White House.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued an injunction late Friday to that will prevent the Trump administration from blocking funding for some of the nation’s largest cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Boston and Baltimore.

A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force.

President Donald Trump again floats the idea of sending troops to Chicago. And residents call for aid after getting slammed with storms and flooding.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he takes Trump’s statement seriously, but claimed the city has not received any word from federal authorities about the deployment of any additional law enforcement into Chicago.

In response to the uproar over a Proud Boys message displayed on a billboard near Central Community High School, the United Methodist Church has a simple message: “Hate Divides, Love Unites.”

Two bills aimed at further protecting reproductive rights in Illinois were signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday, expanding protections to health care providers and making contraception and medication abortion more accessible to college students.

Extreme heat isn’t just uncomfortable; it’s the top cause of weather-related fatalities nationwide.

A state law designed to prevent lawsuits that curtail public participation in government now explicitly protects the news media.