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Week in Review: City to Limit Migrant Stays at Shelters; Ed Burke Trial Resumes

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Chicago gets more money from the state to care for migrants. City Council rubber-stamps Johnson’s $16.6 billion budget. And former Ald. Ed Burke’s trial resumes after a COVID-19 delay.

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City Officials Set Mid-January Deadline for Some Migrants to Leave City Shelters; Rest Will Have to Leave by April

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Migrants outside a Chicago police station. (WTTW News)

The new policy could mean more than 3,000 people will lose their beds in city shelters by early February, with the rest forced out by April.

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Migrants outside a Chicago police station. (WTTW News)

National Transportation Safety Board Launches Investigation Into CTA Yellow Line Crash

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The derailed train. (Credit: Chicago Fire Department)

The NTSB will examine the condition of the track and the train, how people were protected inside the train, the operator’s training and work history, and the CTA’s safety culture, including how dispatch cleared the Yellow Line train.

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The derailed train. (Credit: Chicago Fire Department)

‘A Fixture in Chicago Politics’: Testimony Begins in Ed Burke Corruption Trial With Crash Course on City Council

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Former Ald. Ed Burke observes testimony about Chicago’s 14th Ward, which he represented for 54 years, during a federal trial on Nov. 17, 2023. (WTTW News)

Federal prosecutors called their first witness Friday afternoon in the longtime alderman’s landmark corruption trial — Elmhurst College professor Constance Mixon, who gave the jury a crash course in the city’s political system.

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Former Ald. Ed Burke observes testimony about Chicago’s 14th Ward, which he represented for 54 years, during a federal trial on Nov. 17, 2023. (WTTW News)

Have You Heard of ‘Leave the Leaves’? It Might Not Mean What You Think, So Don’t Toss That Rake Just Yet

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(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The core principle of “leave the leaves” is to manage the leaves on site. It doesn’t mean to just leave them where they fell.

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(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Dueling Portrayals of Ex-Ald. Ed Burke Take Shape as Opening Statements Begin: ‘Bribe-Taker, Extortionist’ Vs. ‘Old School Public Servant’

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Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Nov. 16, 2023. (WTTW News)

While prosecutors said former Ald. Ed Burke was a “bribe-taker and an extortionist” who used his elected office to “line his pockets,” Burke’s attorneys said he was an “old school, hardworking public servant” devoted to Chicago and its residents.

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Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Nov. 16, 2023. (WTTW News)

Advocates Hail Regulatory ‘Earthquake’ as State Slashes Requested Gas Rate Increases

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Illinois Commerce Commission member Michael Carrigan, Chair Doug Scott and member Ann McCabe are pictured at a commission meeting in Springfield earlier this month. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)

Regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission unanimously approved rate hikes for four major natural gas utilities, but the little-known regulatory body’s decision was perhaps more notable for what it rejected. The board flexed its regulatory muscle, slashing the utilities’ requested rate increases by as much as 50 percent.

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Illinois Commerce Commission member Michael Carrigan, Chair Doug Scott and member Ann McCabe are pictured at a commission meeting in Springfield earlier this month. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)

It’s Fire Season — On Purpose — In the Region’s Forest Preserves. Cook County Has a New Map of Prescribed Burn Sites

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Prescribed burn in Cook County. (Kelly Bougher / Forest Preserve District of Cook County)

Forest preserve districts across the region are in the middle of fire season — not combatting them, but setting them. 

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Prescribed burn in Cook County. (Kelly Bougher / Forest Preserve District of Cook County)

Cook County Restorative Justice Program is Giving People a Second Chance

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A graduation program for the Avondale Restorative Justice Community Court. (WTTW News)

The Avondale Restorative Justice Community Court program offers those charged with nonviolent offenses a chance to turn their lives around. Rather than serving time, people are given another option.

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A graduation program for the Avondale Restorative Justice Community Court. (WTTW News)

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Nov. 16, 2023 - Full Show

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Chicago is set to get more money from the state to care for migrants. What local Mexican restaurants are bringing to the table for vegans. And why Cicero has worse air quality than its neighbors.

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Legislation Would Help Non-English Speakers Access Government Services in Illinois

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According to Cook County data, 35% of residents speak a language other than English at home, while 14% of those people say they speak English less than “very well.” Meanwhile, migrants continue arriving in Chicago with limited to no English-speaking skills and few resources.

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Cicero Independiente’s Yearlong Project Reveals Air Quality in Cicero is ‘Much Worse’ Than in Surrounding Communities

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File photo of homes in Cicero. (WTTW News)

The project involves sensors installed and monitored by the Cicero Independiente and MuckRock providing data to back up what many community members were already feeling.

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File photo of homes in Cicero. (WTTW News)

Making Mexican Food Meat-Free at Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria and El Hongo Magico

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Tacos from Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria. (Erica Gunderson / WTTW News)

When it comes to tacos, the first thing on many people’s minds is what kind of meat is going to be inside that tortilla. But these days, about 20% of Mexicans identify as vegan or vegetarian, and a growing share of America’s Latinos do as well.

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Tacos from Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria. (Erica Gunderson / WTTW News)

Honk If You Love Monarchs. Illinois Finally Set to Issue License Plate to Benefit Endangered Insect

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Illinois’ new universal specialty license plate design, with monarch butterfly decal. (Illinois Secretary of State / Facebook)

After a seven-year wait, the state of Illinois will finally begin issuing monarch butterfly specialty license plates, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced Thursday.

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Illinois’ new universal specialty license plate design, with monarch butterfly decal. (Illinois Secretary of State / Facebook)

Thousands of Starbucks Workers Go on a One-Day Strike on One of the Chain’s Busiest Days of Year

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Arlene Geiger, left, holds a sign supporting Starbucks workers outside a Starbucks on New York's Upper West Side, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Thousands of workers at more than 200 U.S. Starbucks stores plan to walk off the job Thursday in what organizers say is the largest strike yet in the two-year-old effort to unionize the company's stores. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Workers United union chose Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day to stage the walkout since it’s usually one of the busiest days of the year. 

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Arlene Geiger, left, holds a sign supporting Starbucks workers outside a Starbucks on New York's Upper West Side, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Thousands of workers at more than 200 U.S. Starbucks stores plan to walk off the job Thursday in what organizers say is the largest strike yet in the two-year-old effort to unionize the company's stores. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

CPD Consent Decree Monitor Holding Public Hearings to Build Transparency, Improve Compliance

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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

The Chicago Police Department has reached full compliance on just 6% of its consent decree requirements. Independent monitor Maggie Hickey expressed a belief that additional transparency will help bring police in line with necessary reforms.

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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

5 Things to Do This Weekend: Viking Pub Crawl, Ice Skating, ‘Downton Abbey’ Pop-Up

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Viking pub crawl. (Jamie Kelter Davis)

A tree lighting, makers markets and Italian food usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

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Viking pub crawl. (Jamie Kelter Davis)