Illinois lawmakers hold hearings on a possible assault weapons ban. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

The top spot on the Feb. 28 ballot for mayor officially belongs to Ja’Mal Green, after an aide to rival candidate Willie Wilson dropped his challenge of the activist’s nominating petitions Wednesday evening.

The bill, which passed the Senate in January, is meant to honor Till and his mother — who had insisted on an open casket funeral to demonstrate the brutality of his killing — with the highest civilian honor that Congress awards. 

Illinois lawmakers are pressing forward with an attempt to ban certain firearms they describe as assault weapons, but gun rights advocates say it’s a fruitless effort that will be tossed by the courts.

The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture leases a historic landmark building in Humboldt Park. It began construction on an adjacent archive facility without obtaining permits.

For the first time in two dozen years, Illinois will get a new secretary of state. Former state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat, will be sworn Jan. 9 in to replace Secretary Jesse White, who did not run for reelection this year.

The surge of crime and violence that peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic but has yet to recede has imperiled Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s bid for a second term, even as the eight major candidates running to unseat her offer wildly different solutions to the seemingly intractable problem.

On Monday, President Joe Biden unveiled his plan to cut homelessness by 25% by 2025. While the president is promising federal aid to help solve the crisis, advocates for the homeless argue there are local strategies that must be implemented as well.

The Illinois Department of Transportation says the interchange will improve overall commuter experience with fewer delays and crashes, while also decreasing fuel emissions.

As they cap one of the most exhaustive and aggressive congressional probes in memory, the panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans recommended criminal charges against Trump and potentially against associates and staff who helped him launch a multifaceted pressure campaign to try to overturn his 2020 election loss.

The long-awaited Red Line extension and Chicago casino take major leaps forward. Is the Jane Byrne interchange finally finished? And García and Lightfoot attacked for ties to Sam Bankman-Fried.

Surveillance conducted by FBI agents in recent weeks shows Austin is “not gravely ill,” but has a busy schedule and is “alert, lucid and responsive” and able to move about on her own without assistance, according to court records.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she is not experiencing symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19.

The approval of TIF money to fund the southern expansion of the Red Line could have a big impact on the historic public housing community of Altgeld Gardens.

A federal lawsuit brought Thursday by two Black homeowners caught up in the Cook County propoerty tax sale system on behalf of themselves and everyone else who alleges the process violates the constitution and both federal and civil rights laws.

Now indicted Sam Bankman-Fried spent millions of dollars to boost the chances of Democratic candidates in this year’s elections.