The American Legion counts all who served active duty in any branch of the U.S. armed forces as members. But for young Latino veterans like Marcos Torres and Daniel Del Rivero, it didn’t seem like a place for them.

President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget for next year that’s piled high with new safety net programs for the poor and middle class, but his generosity depends on taxing corporations and the wealthy to keep the nation’s spiking debt from spiraling totally out of control.

The number of marijuana dispensaries may soon soar, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker set to sign into law a measure intended to bring racial diversity to a burgeoning industry that has so far eclipsed entrepreneurs of color.

Illinois legislators voted along partisan lines Friday in response to another set of political lines: the boundaries of districts for the legislature, state Supreme Court and the Cook County Board of Review.

City officials prepare for summer violence. Lake Shore Drive name change gets a punt. Federal investigation now close to former House Speaker Madigan. And lawmakers down to the wire in Springfield.

After two months and 42,000 jabs, the city-run mass vaccination site near Wrigley Field will close Saturday, as efforts to bring a COVID-19 vaccine directly to residents ramp up, officials said.

As Chicago hits the unofficial start of summer this weekend, city officials have announced a citywide strategy aimed at preventing summer shootings and homicides by focusing resources in historically violent areas on South and West sides.

A Chicago Police Department representative did not respond to questions about why Brown has yet to act on the recommendation made by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA, April 28.

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked creation of a bipartisan panel to study the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Illinois legislators are heading into the holiday weekend with a to-do list that includes a major energy overhaul, ethics package and a new state budget.

Changing the addresses of the four museums could cost the institutions a significant amount of money and complicate their efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

The city has yet to replace a single lead service line in the eight months that have elapsed since Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled out her plan, officials acknowledged.

With just days left before the General Assembly’s scheduled adjournment on May 31, a lot of legislation is moving in Springfield. But only one constitutional amendment has gained traction.

Tim Mapes, a longtime confidant to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was federally indicted Wednesday on charges he obstructed justice and lied to a grand jury. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

Opponents of a plan to rename 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, blocked a vote on the measure Wednesday, enraging supporters of the plan, who called the move racist. 

The proposal brought an immediate backlash not just from those who enjoy an impromptu late-night tipple, but business owners who said the rules would push sales outside the city — and give bars and restaurants an unfair advantage over stores.