Advocates gathered in the Back of the Yards to sound the alarm over an uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on the Southwest Side, including in the nearby neighborhoods of Gage Park and Brighton Park.

One bill increases the state’s eligibility for access to federal energy assistance funds to 300% of the federal poverty level. The second bill requires the state to publish a report detailing all the charges on an energy bill, what laws or agencies mandate them, and what programs or services they support.

Wrongful convictions have long been the most expensive kind of police misconduct in Chicago, costing taxpayers $131.5 million in the first six months of 2026, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

The South Side native is not a career politician but comes with a diverse resume. He’s a co-owner of the iconic Wiener’s Circle and co-owns the city’s first Black-owned marijuana dispensary alongside his brother and mom.

According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, more than 12 million monthly SNAP payments are made to more than 1.9 million people in Illinois.

“I want to say this clearly,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “There were other options. We did not need to cede to big money interests and fall back on the tired practice of balancing budgets on the backs of working people.”

Chicago Park District rules prohibit parks from being renamed for anyone who has not yet been dead a year. The rules also prohibit parks from being named for anyone endorsing “a specific religious affiliation.”

The City Council’s Ethics and Government Oversight Committee’s endorsement sends the nonbinding resolution calling for the resignation of the top federal prosector in Chicago to the full City Council for a final vote on July 15.

The City Council’s Ethics and Government Oversight Committee voted unanimously to advance a measure that would amend the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance to ban employees from using insider information to bet on prediction markets.

Nee began her career as a nurse, and later became an interventional cardiologist, treating complex and high-risk heart conditions, according to a biography. While working at Hines VA Hospital, Nee spoke out about failures in patient care that put veterans at risk.

The Chicago Police Department has overspent its budget five years in a row, according to Chicago’s annual financial reports.

President Donald Trump has so far declined to sign the measure, calling it a “big yawn.” The housing bill will automatically become law on July 10 unless the president decides to veto it.

The legislation is based on similar bills from California and New York. Lawmakers estimate that the three states account for roughly 40% of the U.S. AI market, thus effectively establishing a de facto national standard in lieu of federal regulations.

Chicago’s pension debt has grown by nearly 11% since 2020, adding approximately $3.5 billion to the city’s debt, records show.

A wide-ranging new state law on hemp and other cannabis regulations was “long overdue,” Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday at an event in Chicago to celebrate the new law he signed last month.

Across the United States, many Americans are celebrating their country’s 250th birthday by closing their ears to all the partisan shouting. Instead, in varied ways, they are tuning into their own personal concepts of America the Beautiful.