“Housing is obviously unaffordable for everyone, but it is especially the case for people who have records,” said Ahmadou Dramé, director of the Illinois Justice Project. “Without a stable place to live, you can’t begin to triage all the other challenges that a person has to be navigating.”

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, disgraced by a corruption scandal that landed him in prison yet heralded by some for clearing the state’s death row, has died. He was 91.

Alt Space Chicago is an art gallery that aims to involve the entire neighborhood. Co-founder Jordan Campbell calls it an artist-led engine that uses art and faith to galvanize the community.

The seventeen students and two drivers were transported to hospitals in the area for observation. All are in fair condition, according to police.

A jury convicted 73-year-old Joseph Czuba in February of murder and hate crime charges in the fatal stabbing of Wadee Alfayoumi, who was Palestinian American, and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen. The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield.

Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger said the Republican president’s order “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.”

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, which is also known as the fall of Saigon. The conflict killed millions of Vietnamese and 60,000 American service members.

Vietnam marks 50 years since the end of the war — we talk with local community members and veterans. And why a historic Chicago parade celebrating Mexican culture is canceled this year.

“It’s definitely a tradition we don’t want to lose but with this administration, it’s better to keep our people safe,” said Hector Escobar, president of Casa Puebla and the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce.

Nor will another statue of the Italian explorer return to Arrigo Park in Little Italy, under an agreement between Chicago’s Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans and the Chicago Park District to resolve a lawsuit.

Supporters from a diverse coalition of local grassroots organizations and labor unions marched the streets to protest the Trump administration’s policies. May 1 is known as May Day or International Workers’ Day.

Driverless trucks are officially running their first regular long-haul routes, making roundtrips between Dallas and Houston.

Nine Illinois police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024 were honored at a ceremony in Springfield.

The driver of a car that barreled through a building used for a popular after-school camp in central Illinois, killing three children and a teenager, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and may have had a medical emergency, police said Thursday.

Bogdana Chkoumbova, who was named the district’s chief education officer in 2022, has spent more than two decades in CPS, beginning as a teacher before moving on to become a principal, network chief and eventually one of the top district leaders.