The community’s 53rd Street is home to many locally-owned shops, nightlife spots and restaurants. There’s been some turnover during COVID, but a lot of the small businesses have hung on — even though they’re still facing challenges. 

The person behind the new sound is Chicagoan Aesha “Eesh” Dominguez. She’s a classically trained pianist and vocalist and is one of the few female sound engineers in town.

It’s the sixth year in a row the city has landed in the top spot. More than 240,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers from all over the country ranked Chicago as their favorite city to visit.

HIV diagnoses in Chicago during 2020 were the lowest reported since 1987, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health’s latest HIV/STI data report.

Though there are about 1,300 permanent punishments on the books in Illinois — and countless more that aren’t — there are only a handful of ways to get around them. They often involve a complicated mix of paperwork and expenses. The records sealing or expungement process, for example, involves filing a petition in court, costing around $157 per charge. 

Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett faced pointed questions from members of the City Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee on Thursday about the "advanced pension payment" proposal.

President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, as his administration takes a dramatic step toward decriminalizing the drug and addressing charging practices that disproportionately impact people of color.

Travelers who have been in Uganda at any point during the past 21-days, which is the incubation period for the virus, will be redirected to one of five American airports for Ebola screening, including O'Hare International Airport. 

The panel — comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans — has not yet provided an agenda, but Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said recently that the hearing would “tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election.”

Lack of rainfall in recent weeks has left the Mississippi River approaching record low levels in some areas from Missouri south through Louisiana. The U.S. Coast Guard said at least eight “groundings” of barges have been reported in the past week, despite low-water restrictions on barge loads.

Isaias Salas, 20, was arrested this week and charged with first-degree murder, murder via other forcible felony and armed robbery stemming from the May 3, 2022 killing of 21-year-old Julbert Hernandez.

Early voting sites will open to all Chicago voters and voter registration services will be available.

How the city budget proposal affects your wallet. Part three of our Permanent Punishment series looking at formerly incarcerated people finding employment. And how the federal electoral count act could protect future elections.

Michael Kutza was just 22 years old when he launched the Chicago International Film Festival. Decades later, he looks back on a life among the movie stars. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveils a $16.4 billion budget proposal – but bows to political reality and drops a property tax hike linked to inflation. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.