The House passed a roughly $2 trillion social policy and climate bill Friday, including $555 billion for cleaner energy, although the legislation is almost certain to be changed by the Senate. What ultimately emerges in the climate part of the bill will have a lasting impact on America and all its neighbors on Earth.

The $1 trillion infrastructure plan was signed into law by President Joe Biden. Nationwide, the plan will send billions to state and local governments for long-needed upgrades. 17 billion of those dollars are headed to Illinois, adding to the 45 billion the state is already spending on infrastructure thanks to the 2019 Rebuild Illinois bill. 

Live in Kenosha as Kyle Rittenhouse is found not guilty on all charges. A controversial police union leader retires from the Chicago Police Department. And city council tussles over new ward maps.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said getting a casino off the ground in Chicago will “usher in a new and exciting era for our city.” 

Wrapped into one bill are far-reaching changes in taxation, health care, energy, climate change, family services, education and housing

“I have profound regret and sadness that the work of our agency has in any way hurt the French family and those who mourn her and I will work steadfastly to ensure that a situation such as this never happens again,” Andrea Kersten said.

The leaders of the Chicago City Council’s Black and Latino caucuses sparred Thursday as a compromise over the boundaries of the ward map that will shape Chicago politics for the next decade remained elusive.

The rail bypass goes into service Friday, carrying CTA Brown Line trains over Red and Purple line tracks and eliminating a 114-year-old transit bottleneck. 

The full U.S. Senate is set to consider Rahm Emanuel’s nomination to serve as President Joe Biden’s ambassador — but if the former Chicago mayor is confirmed, it will happen without the support of at least two progressive Democratic senators.

The new effort will be “trauma-informed and services-oriented,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office. Organizations will be invited to submit proposals to run the effort early next year, officials said. 

The mayor’s choice to lead the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has caused some controversy with City Council members.

The Chicago City Council voted 29-18 on Wednesday to grant the Chicago Police Board the power to overrule the Chicago Police Department and remove a Chicagoan from its gang database.

The leaders of the Chicago City Council’s Black and Latino caucuses said Tuesday that they could endorse a new Chicago ward map with 18 wards with a majority of Black voters and 15 wards with a majority of Latino voters.

Chicago has a long history of segregation and racial inequity. Now, a new data analysis by the DePaul University Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence shows inequity is rooted even in the planting of city trees.

Three mayors in the past 15 years have all promised to combat the effects of global climate change. But some critics and scientists, along with a new data analysis by the DePaul University Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence, reveal their efforts have fallen short. 

One week after it was removed from the advisory, officials returned Arkansas to the list of states with high rates of transmission. The advisory includes 38 states as well as Guam, announced Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.