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It is spring, so break out the flip-flops and cargo shorts — but don’t put away the duck boots and snow pants just yet. Whether it’s freezing or frying outside, choose your outerwear carefully and wade into the waters of Chicago arts and culture.

What to know about the boycotts facing Walmart, Target and Amazon. And CTU powerhouse Karen Lewis shares her life and legacy in a new memoir.

The first of the boycotts happened last month, with more scheduled in the coming weeks. The effort includes boycotts of various companies and retailers during different time periods.

The outspoken chemistry teacher led nearly 25,000 teachers on a historic weeklong strike in 2012, changing the way the union organized and negotiated. She died in 2021 at 67 years old.

Mayor Brandon Johnson — who campaigned on promises to transform CPS into a school district that offers a well-rounded education to every Chicago child and security to its employees — is caught in another bruising political battle that has, once again, frustrated his allies and emboldened his critics.

The CTA, Metra and Pace are facing an impending budget gap when federal COVID-19 relief funding runs out next year. Transit labor groups have stopped short of calling for a merging of the transit systems as a funding solution, unlike what some advocacy groups have called for.

The hearing, titled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable,” featured testimony from NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger, as well as a local station operator and a conservative critic of taxpayer-funded media.

The musical story of The Kinks is told through the eyes of bandleader Ray Davies in “Sunny Afternoon” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

In a filing in Cook County’s circuit court, the archdiocese accused the unnamed defendants of a “quid pro quo” scheme in which they allegedly peddled false claims of abuse in order to extort money from the church.

Sales of the homemade firearms known as ghost guns grew exponentially after kits came onto the market that let people easily build them at home, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion. “Some home hobbyists enjoy assembling them. But criminals also find them attractive,” he said.

The disclosure follows two intense days during which leaders of President Donald Trump’s intelligence and defense agencies have struggled to explain how details that current and former U.S. officials have said would have been classified wound up on an unclassified Signal chat that included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg,

Eight ballot measures will likely be decided by voters who live in wealthy communities where the majority of residents are White and own a home, according to a new report from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.

Calls for firings after Trump Cabinet members discuss sensitive war plans in a group chat. And debate over whether families who homeschool should face more oversight.

Supporters say a bill to regulate homeschooling is aimed at ensuring kids are getting the education they need and are better protected from potential neglect. Opponents are concerned that the bill would be government overreach and could criminalize homeschooling parents.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth previously called U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unqualified to lead the Defense Department and said he should either step down or be fired.

A Chicago Police Department spokesperson blamed data collection errors and lax supervision for the unreported stops.

Chicago-based film critic Marya E. Gates will make a book tour stop for a 35mm screening of Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Music Box Theatre. The event includes a book signing and a post-screening discussion.

The coalition of Democratic attorneys general is seeking a preliminary injunction to block the mass firing of half the agency’s employees, as well as the transfer of student loan management and special education services to other federal agencies.

The last men incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center have been transferred out of the aging facility as of Monday, bringing the 100-year-old prison to a close, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site is a replica of the hamlet where Lincoln lived for six years during his early adulthood, and where he won his first elective office – though only after losing his first election.

San Francisco-based 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday and said it would pursue a sale, after years of struggling to find a sustainable business model. That means the company — and the genetic information of its 15 million customers — will likely soon be up for grabs to the highest bidder.

A magazine journalist’s account of being added to a group chat of U.S. national security officials coordinating plans for airstrikes has raised questions about how highly sensitive information is supposed to be handled.

Most were in some way related to sexual minorities, including research focused on HIV prevention. Other canceled studies centered on cancer, youth suicide and bone health.

It is the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future. However, the proportion of consumers anticipating a recession in the next year held steady at a nine-month high, the board reported.

What a future with a shrinking Department of Education looks like. And reaction to the latest on Trump’s ban of transgender troops in the military.