The Protecting Moms Who Served Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood and championed by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to invest in quality maternal care for mothers across the country.

By filing the map crafted by the Chicago Latino Caucus with the city clerk’s office, the alderpeople ensured that the June 28 primary election ballot could ask voters to decide what the ward map should look like for the first time in 30 years.

The Supreme Court has never allowed states to ban abortion before viability, the point at roughly 24 weeks when a fetus can survive outside the womb. But the court’s conservative majority may overturn a nationwide right to abortion that has existed for nearly 50 years under the court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

The City Council met briefly Wednesday afternoon, allowing Rules Committee Chair Ald. Michelle Harris (8th Ward) an opportunity to unveil the map drawn behind closed doors and supported by the City Council’s Black Caucus.

The Park District board OK’d a $600,000 budget for the new Office of Prevention and Accountability, which is being established to prevent misconduct and hold wrongdoers accountable. Commissioners questioned whether the amount dedicated to the new office was adequate enough for the task at hand.

The deadline for a city ward map is Wednesday. CHANGE Illinois believes that map should be independently made by community members who reflect the city’s population and not by alderpeople. 

Negotiations over a new ward map that will shape Chicago politics for the next decade remained deadlocked Tuesday, with no sign of a possible compromise less than a day before the deadline set by state law.

Illinois House Majority Leader Greg Harris, the highest-ranking openly gay lawmaker in Illinois history, said after 15 years, he’s ready to move on. His current term ends in 2023.

Chicago's updated travel advisory includes 38 states, announced Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Every year, the start of the snow route ban catches hundreds of drivers unaware, forcing them to travel to the city’s auto pound — and pay at least $235 — to retrieve their cars, officials said.

“The many challenges of COVID-19, coupled with the inconvenience of life-threatening conditions that cold weather and extreme weather brings every year, that means we’ve got to utilize every tool that we can to protect the health and well-being of our residents,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

If 41 alderpeople do not agree on a map, the final decision could be made by voters for the first time in 30 years via a referendum.

Speaking Monday at the White House, Biden said it was inevitable that the new variant would reach the U.S., but he also said the country has the tools necessary to protect Americans — particularly the approved vaccines and booster shots.

The case being argued Wednesday comes from Mississippi, where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability. The Supreme Court has never allowed states to ban abortion before the point at roughly 24 weeks when a fetus can survive outside the womb.

As 2021 draws to a close, the 2022 election is already well underway and Chicago’s election in early 2023 is looming on the horizon. On a special holiday edition of “The Week in Review,” a look at what offices are on the ballot, who’s running, and the key issues at stake.

The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.