The Midwest hub in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan will use hydrogen in steel and glass production, power generation, heavy-duty transportation and sustainable aviation fuel. The hub plans to use renewable energy, natural gas and nuclear energy.

Next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while Republicans try to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job.

“Chicago is a place strong enough to welcome and embrace newcomers while honoring our commitments to those who are already here, especially those who have long suffered disinvestment,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Students at private schools across Illinois are at risk of losing their scholarships if state lawmakers don’t extend the Invest in Kids Act, which is slated to end Dec. 31.

The new charge comes just weeks after Menendez and his wife were accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen who wanted the senator’s help and influence over foreign affairs.

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, means the average recipient will receive more than $50 more every month beginning in January, the Social Security Administration said Thursday. The AARP estimated that increase at $59 per month.

Douglas is currently named after Stephen Douglas, a 19th century political figure in Illinois whose beliefs and actions were deeply intertwined with the history of slavery. He profited from the labor of people enslaved on a plantation inherited by his wife.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first spending plan does not include a property tax hike to keep up with the rising rate of inflation, or new taxes or fee hikes to cover the city’s budget deficit.

Brett Baier co-authored the new book “To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment.” Baier will discuss the book this weekend as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival.

Unions representing nurses in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would impose mandatory staff-to-patient ratios in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities. But lobby groups representing hospitals and nursing homes argue a nationwide nursing shortage makes it impossible to comply with such a mandate.

House Republicans narrowly pushed aside Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Rep. Steve Scalise, the current majority leader, lawmakers said. A floor vote of the whole House could come as soon as Wednesday afternoon.

The war, which has already claimed at least 1,800 lives on both sides, is only expected to escalate. The weekend attack that Hamas said was retribution for worsening Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation has fired Israel’s determination to crush the group’s hold in Gaza — hiking risks of an expanded regional conflict.

Israel declared war after a surprise attack Saturday by Hamas, an Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. Authorities report hundreds of deaths.

The fire station at 2358 S. Whipple St. was in use for more than a century but has been vacant since 2011 when a new fire station was built two blocks away. The Chicago Historic Resources Survey determined the two-story structure is significant in the context of the surrounding community.

On Tuesday evening, two leading contenders for the gavel, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, were scheduled to address colleagues behind closed doors at a candidate forum, but they appeared to be splitting the vote.

The spending plan crafted by Mayor Brandon Johnson and his team will provide the most comprehensive response to the myriad of intractable problems facing the mayor, including how to handle the more than 1,700 vacant positions in the Chicago Police Department, since he took office nearly 150 days ago.