A new report estimates an additional 111-thousand voter registration applications have been processed at Illinois Secretary of State facilities annually, thanks to a 2018 automatic voter registration law. But advocates say Illinois can — and should — do better.

Illinois is months away from the scheduled launch of a new suicide prevention hotline, and state lawmakers are working to make sure it gets funding.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs failed to pass the Chicago City Council on Wednesday amid a deluge of criticism.

Chicago Police officers must be vaccinated against COVID-19, an arbitrator ruled Wednesday, handing Mayor Lori Lightfoot a significant victory.

Ukrainian lawmakers approved President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decree that imposes the measure for 30 days starting Thursday. The state of emergency allows authorities to impose restrictions on movement, block rallies and ban political parties and organizations “in the interests of national security and public order.”

Carvana’s 14-story glass tower will be a blight on Skokie, said residents, whose frustration boiled over at Tuesday night's meeting of the village’s Board of Trustees, where the project received final approval.  

“This will put innocent people at risk,” Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell said. “Grandparents, other family members and innocent members of the community.”

Chris Javier, a deacon at Chinese Christian Union Church, has been working on developing safety plans for residents in the community. Going door to door, he’s been educating residents on how to keep themselves protected against the rise in hate crimes, scams and more.

Everything about one’s experience of living in Chicago can be traced back to segregation and race, according to community leader José Rico, executive director of Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Chicago.

Efforts backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to reduce residential segregation in Chicago have begun to show signs of progress, officials with the Chicago Department of Housing say. The centerpiece of that effort is a revamped ordinance that requires developers who get special permission from the city or a subsidy to build more units earmarked for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans and pay higher fees. 

Germany made the first big move, taking steps to halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia — a massive, lucrative deal long sought by Moscow but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies.

The administration said in a legal filing that a Feb. 11 ruling by a Louisiana federal judge will affect dozens of rules by at least four federal agencies. Among the immediate effects is an indefinite delay in planned oil and gas lease sales on public lands in a half-dozen states in the West.

“It’s important for us to recognize this moment for what it is: a huge step forward in our effort to overcome COVID-19,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

Illinois state legislators are considering a proposal that would help facilitate carpet recycling, but the effort has what one might call wall-to-wall complications.

In recent years, a patchwork of government and nonprofit programs have ramped up, offering help with lead testing and mitigation. But the need still far outstrips the available assistance, especially for high-priority places like child care facilities.

A trio of City Council members blasted Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs in an interview Monday on “Chicago Tonight.”