A federal judge has sharp questions about the handling of the “Broadview Six” prosecution. And the White Sox win a playoff series for the first time in more than 20 years.

Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600 announced Thursday they will begin their strike Oct. 19, days after 96% of its voting members said they were in favor of a work stoppage.

Through the first three quarters of 2026, Chicago is on pace for fewer homicides than it recorded in 2025, a year that closed with the city’s fewest recorded killings in 60 years.

Hiring dropped from a revised 133,000 in August, the Labor Department said. The unemployment rate rose to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1% in August.

Potential wrongdoing in Chicago’s U.S. Attorney’s Office — will a special prosecutor investigate? And the Sox sweep, but the Cubs stumble.

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable was already looking ahead just minutes after his team won its first playoff series in 21 years by sweeping the Houston Astros in their AL Wild Card Series.

Early voting for the November general election kicked off Thursday at two locations in downtown Chicago, with more early voting locations across the city expected to open later this month.

A federal judge has not yet ruled on whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate possible wrongdoing by U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office in the botched “Broadview Six” case. But the judge does intend to conduct additional fact-finding.

Gov. JB Pritzker met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and businessman Pat Ryan, who owns a stake in the Chicago Bears, on Thursday in what the governor’s office described as a “productive meeting” focused on keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been ordered not to engage in high-speed car chases and to make vehicle stops only if they have completed specific training, under new internal guidance.

The vote comes after journalists at the suburban newspaper announced efforts in August to form a union following the layoffs of a dozen staffers. The layoffs occurred less than two months after the publication was acquired by Tribune Publishing.

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events has announced its annual search for the city’s official Christmas tree, which will be the centerpiece of holiday celebrations in Millennium Park.

Chicago taxpayers should pay more than $260.8 million to 17 men who spent more than 383 years in prison after they were coerced into confessing to crimes by a disgraced former Chicago police detective, city lawyers recommended.

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

A Chicago-based law firm is suing current and former Trump administration officials in connection with the death of Renee Good, whose fatal shooting in Minneapolis early this year sparked nationwide protests against the president’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts.