Should an independent commission – instead of political power brokers – decide how to redraw state legislative maps every year? That is the question a grassroots organization is attempting to put before voters on the November ballot. But their effort may be in peril due to some major roadblocks.

Will an amendment asking voters to choose whether they'd like an independent process to redraw legislative maps actually make it to the November ballot? A lot depends on what elections officials decide today. Paris Schutz has more.

Will the Trump Tower sign start a new trend? We take a look at the history of Chicago signage, and why this topic is such a hot debate.

A judge declares the city of Chicago free of a 45-year lawsuit regarding political hiring. But is patronage really dead? Paris Schutz has the latest. 

With Iraq on the brink of imploding as city after city falls to fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), we talk to a panel of experts about how we reached this point and what, if anything, the United States should do.

Bruce Rauner says he has ideas to cut $1 billion from state government, and one of them involves chickens. But the governor calls it a budget "prank."

A former jail inmate alleges he was denied food and access to a bed or shower for days at a time in this latest complaint.

The Indiana refinery responsible for the oil spill in Lake Michigan in March wasn't penalized by regulators. The Better Government Association raises questions about oversight and the safety of drinking water.

Will a judge throw out the voter-led efforts to institute term limits on lawmakers and to change the state's redistricting process? Paris Schutz has latest. 

Hillary Clinton comes to Chicago, and the former secretary of state sits down for an interview with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Paris Schutz has the latest.

The public employees union AFSCME says it will sue to stop Chicago’s recently signed pension reform law. But not all unions agree with that stance. Paris Schutz has more on what’s behind the rift, and on how the city plans to pay for the new law.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Chicago pension reform bill, but left it up to the city to decide how the deficit will be funded. We talk with city aldermen about their plans to find the funds.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Friends of the Chicago River are releasing 30,000 channel catfish into the Chicago River. 

After a long wait, the Governor today finally signed the bill into law that reforms two of the city's underfunded pension systems. The governor urged City Council to avoid using property tax hikes to fund the new law, and the mayor responded by taking property tax hikes off the table in the first year of the new law.

The city's top watchdog has decided to stay in his office for the duration of his appointment by Mayor Emanuel. We'll hear what's changed with his relationship with City Hall.