A Chicago Police Department representative did not respond to questions about why Brown has yet to act on the recommendation made by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA, April 28.

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked creation of a bipartisan panel to study the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Illinois legislators are heading into the holiday weekend with a to-do list that includes a major energy overhaul, ethics package and a new state budget.

Changing the addresses of the four museums could cost the institutions a significant amount of money and complicate their efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

The city has yet to replace a single lead service line in the eight months that have elapsed since Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled out her plan, officials acknowledged.

With just days left before the General Assembly’s scheduled adjournment on May 31, a lot of legislation is moving in Springfield. But only one constitutional amendment has gained traction.

Tim Mapes, a longtime confidant to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was federally indicted Wednesday on charges he obstructed justice and lied to a grand jury. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

Opponents of a plan to rename 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, blocked a vote on the measure Wednesday, enraging supporters of the plan, who called the move racist. 

The proposal brought an immediate backlash not just from those who enjoy an impromptu late-night tipple, but business owners who said the rules would push sales outside the city — and give bars and restaurants an unfair advantage over stores. 

Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday became the first openly gay woman to deliver the White House press briefing and only the second Black woman in history to take on the role.

Two leading congressional Democrats issued a call Wednesday for ideas on a “public option” health insurance plan, a campaign promise of President Joe Biden’s that faces long odds politically.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday asked U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese lab.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot included the cap on fees as part of larger package designed to help Chicago businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic “quickly and holistically.” 

Chicago has been grappling with issues surrounding policing long before the murder of George Floyd. But as it did across the country, Floyd’s killing led to outrage and calls for change, including campaigns to defund the police.

Police reform advocates and progressive aldermen blasted Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to create a seven-member civilian board to oversee the Chicago Police Department, saying Tuesday that it would not help restore trust in the beleaguered department.

The Chicago Police Department has been operating under a consent decree since 2019. The order, which was prompted by the 2014 police murder of Laquan McDonald, is the first consent decree the department has faced. But it’s not the first attempt at police reform in Chicago.