Trash and recycling companies aren’t allowed to make pickups in Chicago between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. For nearly two years, WTTW News has been tracking numerous companies flouting the law and documenting a tsunami of complaints from residents.

According to agreements obtained by WTTW News, the Illinois State Police has shared data with ICE through its statewide computer system since 2008, including criminal history data and its gang member file, which could contain citizenship information, according to the LEADS manual.

Several family members and advocates with loved ones incarcerated in prisons across Illinois told WTTW News that their in-person visits have been canceled by the Illinois Department of Corrections due to short staffing or lockdowns. Those visits are crucial for those inside and their loved ones, serving as a connection to the outside world and relationships.

As Illinois residents scrambled to meet the Real ID deadline, many instead ran into long lines, appointment shortages and confusing documentation rules. Public records reveal widespread frustration — especially among seniors — as the rollout strained DMV systems across the state.

Data obtained by WTTW News shows the overall number of bus and train operators who worked for the CTA last year neared its pre-pandemic peak of employees. As a result, the amount of overtime worked dropped.

Roger Snyder, who worked at the Department of Energy for decades, will leave the Fermi Site Office in May, WTTW News has confirmed. The site manager works closely with the director of the national lab as part of the federal government.

Fermilab received near-failing federal grades in its annual report card following a tumultuous year of budget mismanagement, safety concerns and leadership turnover. Whistleblower reports highlighted serious problems at the premier physics facility before its management contractor took over in January.

The order comes after a 2023 ruling in federal court that Chicago’s long-running failure to protect blind pedestrians violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, following on the heels of a similar ruling in New York City.

Illinois’ prison population continues to shrink, with facilities now having a 26% vacancy rate, leading some of those inside and their advocates to question the state’s plan to build two new prisons.

Chicago officials would have an additional $87 million to spend on a host of programs designed to repair the city’s tattered social safety net, but the Chicago City Council used those funds to balance the 2025 budget and avert a property tax hike.

Despite the lack of a formal arrangement, emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and provided to WTTW News show members of the city’s staff collaborating for months on the app’s development and promotion. The unusual arrangement means municipal employees worked, while on the taxpayer’s dime, on a privately held product not subject to any formal agreement with the city of Aurora.

The independent monitoring teams for Chicago's police consent decree include former police brass who have previously been involved in consent decrees and reform efforts across the country. Despite their professional credentials, some members have documented histories of misconduct that might complicate the long-running effort.

The statistics, compiled by the Chicago Department of Transportation by comparing 2021 crash data with information from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, are a key justification for members of the Chicago City Council looking to lower the city’s default speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph.

The companies behind apps for temp workers have drawn millions in funding, hundreds of thousands of workers, and legal action over their labor practices — including here in Illinois.

That agreement must be approved by the Chicago City Council by Feb. 10, according to a joint filing from the lawyers representing the city and Reed’s mother, Nicole Banks. That indicates the settlement agreement calls for Chicago taxpayers to pay Reed’s family more than $100,000.

Chicago police agreed to judicial oversight in 2019. Since then, a series of mayors and police chiefs let efforts languish and no one in a position of oversight has pushed forcefully to keep the process on track, WTTW News and ProPublica found.