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A statement from the Secret Service said the agents were investigating a threat against an official they are charged with protecting.

Donald Trump returns to the White House and immediately exercises his executive powers. And the Chicago Bears name a new head coach.

Snowy owl sightings have been thrilling people across northern Illinois this winter, but these occasional visitors from the Arctic face a lot of hazards — including humans and cars — when they venture outside their normal isolated tundra environment.

The K-12 online school had planned to start classes for its first 200 enrollees last fall, with part of its mission to evangelize its students in the Catholic faith. A group of parents, faith leaders and a public education nonprofit sued to block the school.

Prosecutors concluded their final summations Friday on Day 3 of closing arguments in the former speaker’s landmark trial by presenting an overview of how the various bribery and corruption schemes alleged in the government’s 23-charge indictment all come together under count one: racketeering conspiracy.

The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a case centered on whether a state law passed in 2023 violates the due process rights of Illinoisans outside Sangamon and Cook counties. A 2023 law restricts certain types of lawsuits – namely challenges to a law’s constitutionality – to courts in those two counties. The law came in response to challenges to the state’s COVID-19 response, a state law ending cash bail and the state’s ban on assault weapons, among others.

An executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day back in office offers a new federal government definition of the sexes that could have a major impact on transgender people nationwide. Many of the provisions are likely to be challenged in court.

Four Chicago teens have been charged with conservation-related violations in the killing of a coyote earlier this month near the Mount Greenwood neighborhood, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

How officials are preparing immigrants as deportation threats loom. Mexico launches an app to help people facing deportation. And the debate over ending birthright citizenship.

Chicago’s immigrant communities are preparing for the worst amid President Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportation for undocumented immigrants.

The app is designed to provide resources and to alert relatives, lawyers and officials at the nearest consulate when someone is being detained or deported.

The temporary restraining order sought by Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington was the first to get a hearing before a judge and applies nationally.

“We are not going to be intimidated by those acts of terror to radically shift our way of living,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “That’s what individuals who stoke fear into people want to see happen.”

In the face of a Trump administration directive to investigate state and local officials who don’t toe the line on the president’s orders on immigration, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said they will stand up for law-abiding residents regardless of their legal status.

The campaign aims to educate residents about their rights in the event of being stopped or detained by federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Thursday marked the second day of closing arguments in the speaker’s landmark racketeering and bribery trial, as prosecutors continued detailing the five corruption schemes Madigan allegedly orchestrated.

Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish language, French-made film, dominated the nominations with a leading 13 nominations, including best picture and best actress for Karla Sofía Gascón, making her the first openly trans actor ever nominated for an Oscar.

Rhodes who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department met with at least one lawmaker during his visit and chatted with others, defending his actions that day and taking no responsibility in violent siege that halted the certification of 2020 election.

The city’s new director of reentry on his plans for those returning from prison. Black migration’s profound impact on American culture. And a play takes us into the world of an African salon.

The first episode of the four-part series, called “Exodus,” details the first wave of migration north from southern states that helped turn the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago into a Black metropolis.

A 33-page evaluation of the first year of the push dubbed the People’s Plan for Community Safety promises to continue working to reduce crime and violence by “addressing the root causes of harm and investing in communities and people.”

Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. In Chicago, restaurants don’t need to have restrooms for customers unless they serve liquor.

Closing statements officially got underway Thursday afternoon, more than three months after the corruption trial of Madigan and his longtime friend and ally Michael McClain.

The screenings will take place at parks in communities where residents have some of Chicago's lowest life expectancies.

Beat the January blahs with some blues — or a prize-winning play or an art show. In a few months when everyone is complaining about the heat, you’ll recall that time in the dead of winter when you bundled up and defied the season.

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