A pending federal proposal would roll back the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which prevents road construction and timber harvesting on millions of acres of federal forest land, including approximately 11,000 acres of sensitive wildlife in the Shawnee National Forest.

Snelling received his first monthly pension payment of $15,744.73 on Aug. 31, and they will continue for the rest of his life, according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Policeman’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago.

Democratic state parties announced Monday that they are launching an operation for the midterm elections they’re calling the “New Battlefield Project,” intended to recruit 10,000 volunteers to guard polling places in case armed federal officers show up.

NetChoice, a trade association representing the tech industry, sued to block the social media and digital advertising taxes approved as part of the state’s 2026-27 spending plan, which take effect Jan. 1, records show.

The milestone anniversary brought memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims’ names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime.

Friday will mark 25 years since the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Between the attacks themselves, the lasting health impacts on survivors and ensuing wars, the death toll for Americans is in the tens of thousands.

A budget forecast released by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office shows the city faces an estimated $882.4 million budget shortfall for the 2027 fiscal year.

The Northern Illinois Transit Authority is a new regional body overseeing CTA, Metra and Pace. It was created after years of debate over the future of Chicago-area transit.

Chicago taxpayers have paid $7 million to resolve three federal lawsuits alleging misconduct by Officer Michael Donnelly, including the 2019 improper raid of Anjanette Young’s home, records show.

Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $46 million since the start of 2026 to resolve eight lawsuits brought by people who were injured or on behalf of those killed during police pursuits, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

The dubious promise would most likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation.

The total cost of defending and settling lawsuits naming disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynado Guevara topped $191.8 million in May, according to a WTTW News analysis.

After more than three and a half hours of tense questioning, the dispute triggered by the City Council’s decision to green-light video gambling terminals in every Chicago bar and restaurant remained deadlocked.

The Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight unanimously voted to advance a revised package of reforms first introduced in May 2024, sending it to the full City Council for a final vote on Sept. 23.

Chicago’s Office of Inspector General published a new report evaluating the CFD’s hiring and promotion processes, finding that while the initial firefighter and EMT applicant pool reflected the city’s racial and ethnic diversity, that representation shifted as applicants moved through the hiring process.

Approximately 6,527 people in Chicago lacked a permanent place to sleep on Jan. 22, according to the annual “point-in-time” count, which sends volunteers out to count the number of unsheltered people on the city’s streets on a single night.