In addition to the traditional cookouts and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation — the Civil War-era order that declared all slaves free in Confederate territory — Americans were marching, holding sit-ins or car caravan protests. 

President Donald Trump said Friday he will renew his effort to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Chicago bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve a limited number of indoor diners for the first time in three months starting June 26, city officials announced Friday.

When the Emancipation Proclamation was read in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, my great-great-great-great-grandparents were there.

Friday’s celebrations will be marked from coast to coast with marches and demonstrations of civil disobedience, along with expressions of Black joy in spite of an especially traumatic time for the nation. 

New rules requiring nonprofit organizations to register as lobbyists will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2021 amid an outcry about the impact of the new regulations and delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

As she celebrated the planned reopening next week of the lakefront trail and the 606, Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to allow restaurants to reopen to indoor diners “sooner rather later.”

The 5-4 decision means that nearly 20,000 young people in Illinois who have legal status thanks to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program launched by former President Barack Obama will not face the threat of deportation.

Funding will be used to support communities and businesses disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus and the unrest following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

The Chicago City Council on Wednesday recognized Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, but stopped short of making June 19 an official city holiday.

Aldermen signed off on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to spend $1.13 billion in federal funds designed to help the city cover the cost of responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

An ordinance that would terminate the $33 million contract between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department failed to advance Wednesday, but supporters of the measure vowed to continue their campaign.

The report emphasizes a few core concerns, including the financial management of more than $2 trillion in new spending and protecting the health and safety of government workers deemed essential during the pandemic.

Illinois has spent close to $600 million so far on COVID-19 relief, much of it going to personal protective equipment.

Various businesses, religious organizations and even legislators have sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But the Illinois Republican Party says its lawsuit is different. 

Scooters will soon return to Chicago streets as part of a second pilot program despite the coronavirus pandemic and an initial run that ended with “mixed results,” city officials announced.