Vanille Patisserie has a full menu of Inauguration Day cookies, cakes, pies and tarts, because why not? “We’re bringing a little joy and laughter,” said owner Sophie Evanoff. “We’re in the celebration business, so anything we can celebrate, we do.”

The moves follow the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump and politically tinged confrontations on some flights.

Officers who lounged, slept and snacked in the burglarized South Side office of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush in the early morning hours of June 1 as unrest swept the South and West sides of the city have been disciplined, the Chicago Police Department announced Thursday.

Drivers will get one written warning before they have to pay $35 to resolve the infraction after March 1, when the new law will take full effect, officials said.

A lot happened in Springfield besides the selection of a new Illinois House speaker. Amanda Vinicky has the legislative scorecard.

Called the “American Rescue Plan,” the legislative proposal would meet Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration, while advancing his objective of reopening most schools by the spring. 

President Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment could go to trial as soon as Inauguration Day, with U.S. senators serving not only as jurors but as shaken personal witnesses and victims of the deadly siege of the Capitol by a mob of his supporters.

No one was injured in the fire, which was caused when the restaurant’s fireplace damper malfunctioned around 9 p.m. Wednesday, said Liz Lombardo Stark, a spokesperson for the Rush Street landmark.

Chicago restaurants and bars have been prohibited from serving patrons indoors since Oct. 30, when a sustained and grave surge of coronavirus cases threatened to overwhelm the city and state’s hospitals and health care system.

It was a historic day in Washington and Springfield. Our politics team of Amanda Vinicky, Heather Cherone and Paris Schutz dives into the second impeachment of President Trump and the end of an era in state politics. 

Both the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives approved the sweeping measure Wednesday, which could end the practice of cash bail in Illinois and make it easier to decertify officers who commit misconduct.

President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time Wednesday, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday blocked a quick Senate impeachment trial for President Donald Trump but did not rule out that he might eventually vote to convict Trump.

On the 50th anniversary of his becoming a state representative, Michael Madigan lost the gavel to Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch – making the representative from suburban Hillside the first Black House speaker in state history.

Investigators with the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection conducted 105 investigations from Thursday through Sunday.

President Trump’s weakened standing among his own party will come into sharper focus on Wednesday when the House is expected to impeach the president for inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol last week.