This Wednesday, start your morning with the latest local stories
from WTTW News. 

(WTTW News)

Chicago saw an overall reduction in violent crime in 2025. Last year, 417 people were killed in homicides, down nearly 30% from the previous year and a 60-year low, according to the city’s violence reduction dashboard. The decline in violent crime echoes a nationwide trend; however, more work lies ahead in preventing shootings and in saving lives, according to stakeholders working to reduce violent crime and provide needed support to victims and their families.

We hope you had a cozy weekend. Start your week with these stories.  Occasionally, we ask our readers to participate in a survey so we can get a better understanding of who you are and how we can best provide useful news stories and information to you. Please consider taking this short survey.

(iStock / Kenishirotie) 

(WTTW News)

It’s Thursday. Prepare for an arctic blast of bitter temperatures. Warm up with these stories from WTTW News. 

(WTTW News)

After six were released at Burlington Prairie in the northwest corner of Kane County last month, bison are officially back in Illinois prairies after a 200-year absence. It marked the culmination of a three-year odyssey for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County to reintroduce the species to its old home.  For Jessica Pamonicutt, an enrolled member of Wisconsin’s Menominee tribe and president of Chicago’s American Indian Center, which now owns the herd (though they prefer “steward” to “own”), the occasion held even greater gravity. “It’s not just to restore them to the prairie.

If you had work off yesterday, jump into the week with these stories from WTTW News. If you had to work yesterday, here’s your Tuesday newsletter. 

Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino stands with federal immigration enforcement agents during a skirmish with protesters in Little Village neighborhood, Chicago Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As you reflect on the
holiday, take a moment to read these stories from WTTW News. 

Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Jan. 15, 2026. (WTTW News)

The United States Senate should restore the $125 million cut from the effort to replace lead service lines responsible for contaminating drinking water across the country by slashing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth told WTTW News. A spending package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that included funding for the U.S.

Happy Thursday, here's the WTTW News stories that can help you learn more about the issues facing your city. 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Jan. 14, 2026. (WTTW News)