Declaring it a spending plan that’s “balanced, fiscally responsible, pro-family, cuts taxes on workers and opens up doors of opportunity,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday signed Illinois’ next state budget into law.
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Pritzker Signs $53.1B State Budget, the Largest in Illinois History
Jun 5, 2024 0 Comments![Flanked by the lieutenant governor and legislative leaders, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 5, 2024, signs the $53.1 billion fiscal year 2025 state budget into law after months of negotiations. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois) Flanked by the lieutenant governor and legislative leaders, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 5, 2024, signs the $53.1 billion fiscal year 2025 state budget into law after months of negotiations. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/240605%20BUDGET%20SIGNING%20AA_CREDIT_Andrew%20Adams_CNI.jpg)
![Flanked by the lieutenant governor and legislative leaders, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 5, 2024, signs the $53.1 billion fiscal year 2025 state budget into law after months of negotiations. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois) Flanked by the lieutenant governor and legislative leaders, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 5, 2024, signs the $53.1 billion fiscal year 2025 state budget into law after months of negotiations. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/240605%20BUDGET%20SIGNING%20AA_CREDIT_Andrew%20Adams_CNI.jpg)
Rod Blagojevich, Ryan Dempster and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Walk Into a Bar: Reviewing a Strange Night in Chicago Comedy
Jun 5, 2024 0 Comments![Triumph the Insult Comic Dog hosted a “Jeopardy!”-style game show at the Den Theatre on June 3, 2024. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News) Triumph the Insult Comic Dog hosted a “Jeopardy!”-style game show at the Den Theatre on June 3, 2024. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Tri3_DenTheatreShow_Triumph_Blago_060324_MarcVitali_WTTWNews.jpg)
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog hosted a “Jeopardy!”-style game show in Chicago this week with celebrity contestants, including ex-Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster, actor Samm Levine and ex-governor Rod Blagojevich.
![Triumph the Insult Comic Dog hosted a “Jeopardy!”-style game show at the Den Theatre on June 3, 2024. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News) Triumph the Insult Comic Dog hosted a “Jeopardy!”-style game show at the Den Theatre on June 3, 2024. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Tri3_DenTheatreShow_Triumph_Blago_060324_MarcVitali_WTTWNews.jpg)
Lawyers for Ex-Ald. Ed Burke Ask Federal Judge to Toss His Racketeering Conviction
Jun 5, 2024 0 Comments![Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 5, 2023. (WTTW News) Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 5, 2023. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/EdBurkeFederalTrial_120523_WTTW_0.jpg)
After the three-hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall declined to issue a ruling immediately, instead promising a written order “shortly.”
![Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 5, 2023. (WTTW News) Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 5, 2023. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/EdBurkeFederalTrial_120523_WTTW_0.jpg)
‘No Schoolers’: How Illinois’ Hands-Off Approach to Homeschooling Leaves Children at Risk
Jun 5, 2024 0 Comments![(Susie Ang for ProPublica) Sketch of parents and children. (Susie Ang for ProPublica)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Propublica%20Homeschooling%20SA_3000_2000_Final_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_quality_95_embedColorProfile_true.jpg)
At 9 years old, L.J. started missing school. His parents said they would homeschool him. It took two years — during which he was beaten and denied food — for anyone to notice he wasn’t learning.
![(Susie Ang for ProPublica) Sketch of parents and children. (Susie Ang for ProPublica)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Propublica%20Homeschooling%20SA_3000_2000_Final_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_quality_95_embedColorProfile_true.jpg)
New Art Institute Exhibition Shifts Focus From Georgia O’Keeffe’s Southwest Scenes to the Skyscrapers of 1920s New York City
Jun 5, 2024 0 Comments![“Pink Dish and Green Leaves,” 1928–29, by Georgia O’Keefe. (Courtesy of Private collection, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Photograph by Bruce M. White.) “Pink Dish and Green Leaves,” 1928–29, by Georgia O’Keefe. (Courtesy of Private collection, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Photograph by Bruce M. White.)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/O%27Keefee_PinkDish.jpg)
The exhibit, which opened on June 2 and runs through Sept. 22, explores the artist’s connection to New York City. For some visitors, “My New York” may feel like a departure from her famed Southwest landscapes.
![“Pink Dish and Green Leaves,” 1928–29, by Georgia O’Keefe. (Courtesy of Private collection, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Photograph by Bruce M. White.) “Pink Dish and Green Leaves,” 1928–29, by Georgia O’Keefe. (Courtesy of Private collection, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Photograph by Bruce M. White.)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/O%27Keefee_PinkDish.jpg)
June 4, 2024 - Full Show
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/060424_C2N.jpg)
CPD’s plans to handle mass protests ahead of the DNC. How will Chicago spend the millions in remaining COVID-19 relief dollars? And an uncommon path to law school.
![](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/060424_C2N.jpg)
From Gun Control to Public Transit Rescue, A Look at What Didn’t Pass the Illinois General Assembly This Spring
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![The Illinois State Capitol is pictured in Springfield. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois) The Illinois State Capitol is pictured in Springfield. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Illinois_State_Capitol_CREDIT_Jerry%20Nowicki_CNI.jpg)
Illinois legislators passed 469 measures this year. The bulk of those items will likely become law, pending action from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But in some cases, what lawmakers left on the table is equally significant as what passed.
![The Illinois State Capitol is pictured in Springfield. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois) The Illinois State Capitol is pictured in Springfield. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Illinois_State_Capitol_CREDIT_Jerry%20Nowicki_CNI.jpg)
Watchdog Warns of ‘Persistent Concerns’ About CPD’s Plan to Handle DNC Protests
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![Inspector General Deborah Witzburg appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 4, 2024. (WTTW News) Inspector General Deborah Witzburg appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 4, 2024. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Deborah_Witzburg_060424_C2N.jpg)
“I am heartened by the progress CPD has made,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. “I think Chicagoans should be heartened. I think there are persistent concerns. I think there is time to address them.”
![Inspector General Deborah Witzburg appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 4, 2024. (WTTW News) Inspector General Deborah Witzburg appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 4, 2024. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Deborah_Witzburg_060424_C2N.jpg)
Federal Court Monitor: Chicago Police Made ‘Incremental Progress’ in Reform Push
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![Chicago Police Department Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) Chicago Police Department Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/CPD_HQ_FILE_CREDIT_Michael_Izquierdo-2.jpg)
The Chicago Police Department has fully met just 7% of the consent decree’s requirements, according to the most recent report by the team monitoring CPD’s progress.
![Chicago Police Department Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) Chicago Police Department Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/CPD_HQ_FILE_CREDIT_Michael_Izquierdo-2.jpg)
After Graduating College While in Prison for 22 Years, Benard McKinley is About to Start Law School at Northwestern
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![Benard McKinley is preparing to begin law school at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law. (WTTW News) Benard McKinley is preparing to begin law school at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Benard_McKinley_C2N.jpg)
Benard McKinley is preparing to begin law school at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law. He graduated from college while serving 22 years in prison for a crime he committed when he was 16 years old.
![Benard McKinley is preparing to begin law school at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law. (WTTW News) Benard McKinley is preparing to begin law school at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Benard_McKinley_C2N.jpg)
Eagerly Awaited Graphic Novel Embraces Chicago, Art and Monsters — Both Real and Imaginary
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![The cover of “My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two.” (Provided) The cover of “My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two.” (Provided)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Monsters%207%2C%20Cover_THUMB.jpg)
Following the release of “My Favorite Thing is Monsters” in 2017, graphic novelist Emil Ferris was dubbed “one of the most important comics artists of our time.” Now Ferris is back with “My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two,” which continues the tale of Karen Reyes, a 10-year-old misfit who thinks of herself as a werewolf.
![The cover of “My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two.” (Provided) The cover of “My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two.” (Provided)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Monsters%207%2C%20Cover_THUMB.jpg)
How President Joe Biden’s New Order to Halt Asylum at the US Border is Supposed to Work
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![Migrants reach through a border wall for clothing handed out by volunteers as they wait between two border walls to apply for asylum on May 12, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull, File) Migrants reach through a border wall for clothing handed out by volunteers as they wait between two border walls to apply for asylum on May 12, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull, File)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Biden_Immigration_Explainer_24156725359531.jpg)
The measure takes effect immediately because the new policy is triggered when arrests for illegal entry reach 2,500. About 4,000 people already are entering the U.S. each day.
![Migrants reach through a border wall for clothing handed out by volunteers as they wait between two border walls to apply for asylum on May 12, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull, File) Migrants reach through a border wall for clothing handed out by volunteers as they wait between two border walls to apply for asylum on May 12, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull, File)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Biden_Immigration_Explainer_24156725359531.jpg)
What’s New With Cicadas? Field Museum Heads Downstate in Search of Specimens in Convergence Region
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![The Field Museum’s Maureen Turcatel and Jim Louderman examine a cicada specimen to add to the Field’s insect collection, May 30, 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) The Field Museum’s Maureen Turcatel and Jim Louderman examine a cicada specimen to add to the Field’s insect collection, May 30, 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/CicadaFieldCollectingMoJimSpecimen.jpg)
The Field Museum has more than 10 million specimens in its insect collection and — believe it or not — not a single 13-year periodical cicada among them. So what better time than now to fill that gap?
![The Field Museum’s Maureen Turcatel and Jim Louderman examine a cicada specimen to add to the Field’s insect collection, May 30, 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) The Field Museum’s Maureen Turcatel and Jim Louderman examine a cicada specimen to add to the Field’s insect collection, May 30, 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/CicadaFieldCollectingMoJimSpecimen.jpg)
2 Men Face Murder Charges After Young Father Killed on Way to Work on Chicago’s Northwest Side
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![Police vehicle file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) Police vehicle file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Police_Car_Credit_MichaelIzquierdo_CROP.jpg)
Chicago police officials on Tuesday announced first-degree murder and armed robbery charges against 32-year-old Divonte Calhoun and Justin Redmond, 41, nearly a month after the killing of 24-year-old Zet Rodriguez.
![Police vehicle file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) Police vehicle file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Police_Car_Credit_MichaelIzquierdo_CROP.jpg)
Wisconsin Attorney General Files Felony Charges Against Attorneys, Aide Who Worked for Trump in 2020
Jun 4, 2024 0 Comments![Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks at a campaign stop on Oct. 27, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Morry Gash, File) Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks at a campaign stop on Oct. 27, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Morry Gash, File)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Election_2020_Fake_Electors_Wisconsin_24156532104874.jpg)
The charges were filed against attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, 62, and Jim Troupis, 70, and former Trump aide Mike Roman, 51, who allegedly delivered Wisconsin’s fake elector paperwork to a Pennsylvania congressman’s staffer in order to get them to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021.
![Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks at a campaign stop on Oct. 27, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Morry Gash, File) Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks at a campaign stop on Oct. 27, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Morry Gash, File)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Election_2020_Fake_Electors_Wisconsin_24156532104874.jpg)
Illinois House Speaker Emphatic That Bears, Sox Won’t Get Public Funding for Stadiums
Jun 3, 2024 0 Comments![Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 3, 2024. (WTTW News) Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 3, 2024. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Chris_Welch_060324_C2N.jpg)
Not only did the Chicago Bears and White Sox fail to win state funding for new stadiums before the General Assembly’s session ended last week, the teams shouldn’t expect to notch a legislative win later this year.
![Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 3, 2024. (WTTW News) Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on June 3, 2024. (WTTW News)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Chris_Welch_060324_C2N.jpg)
As Locksmith License Requirements Set to Expire, Will Illinois Become the ‘Wild West’ Some Critics Fear?
Jun 3, 2024 0 Comments![(Credit: DePaul’s Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence) Wall of keys. (Credit: DePaul’s Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/post-thumb/public/field/image/Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20Jennifer%20Hoppes%20%283%29_Key_Wall.jpg)
The state law that currently mandates licensing requirements for locksmiths is expected to sunset in January 2029, thanks to legislation passed in Springfield. Some fear that will result in problems for consumers, while others say it is needed deregulation.
![(Credit: DePaul’s Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence) Wall of keys. (Credit: DePaul’s Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence)](https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/styles/taxonomy-page-hero/public/field/image/Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20Jennifer%20Hoppes%20%283%29_Key_Wall.jpg)