WTTW News Explains on the common myths around tornadoes and how the weather events can hit Chicago.

According to the Chicago Police Department, there were 36 homicides throughout last month, two fewer than were recorded during May 2025, a year that ended with a historically low homicide total.

WTTW News got a sneak peek of the Obama Presidential Center: Here’s what visitors can expect from the museum and the broader campus.

Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.

Susana Mendoza enters the race for Chicago mayor. And we sit down with House Republican leader Tony McCombie.

“I believe government should answer to the people it serves, not political insiders or special interests,” Mendoza said in a video announcing her campaign. “Because Chicagoans are tired of paying more and getting less, tired of politics that divides people without solving problems.”

State Republican leaders criticized the General Assembly session schedule and new taxes in this year’s budget. But they saw progress in their overall inclusion in budget talks, and also advanced several pieces of bipartisan legislation.

The $56 billion spending plan awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature explicitly prohibits the City Council from imposing a version of the tax that would send new revenue into the city’s cash-strapped coffers.

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Wednesday afternoon for a $7 billion project that aims to overhaul the area surrounding the United Center on the Near West Side.

On the standard cover, Williams is depicted in a body position similar to his pivotal, scrambling, fourth-and-8 jump pass to Rome Odunze in a stirring comeback victory over Green Bay in a wild card playoff game on Jan. 10.

Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.

A sit-down with Illinois’ House speaker. And growing calls for Chicago’s U.S. attorney to step down.

Shantay Bolton was appointed the 11th president and CEO of Columbia College Chicago at what she calls a “pivotal moment” for the school. Bolton, who is the first woman of color to lead the minority-serving institution, inherits a campus that has seen enrollment steadily decline over the last decade.

It was well past 4 a.m. Monday when the Illinois House of Representatives adjourned for the summer. The budget had been balanced, and a flurry of bills were sent to the governor’s desk. But a busy finish to the spring session left some of the biggest decisions until the very end.

Defense attorneys filed a motion through which they will seek to recoup attorneys' fees for the now-former defendants, days after Chicago’s U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros announced his office had dismissed all charges in the controversial case.