Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Illinois’ first-in-the-nation law doesn’t outlaw so-called interchange fees completely, but it does preclude credit card processors from applying the fee on the portion of a card swipe that pays for state and local taxes and tips.

Staying warm during Chicago’s frigid winters will get more expensive if Peoples Gas is permitted to resume its massive pipe replacement program, according to a report released Tuesday by the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group.

Members of the Illinois Flag Commission have nearly 5,000 designs to wade through, as the state moves onto a new phase of potentially overhauling its flag.

Jonathan Alter, who grew up in a politically active Chicago family, was among the small group of journalists in the courtroom in April for former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial.

Selling alcohol has been banned in a section of the ninth precinct of the 47th Ward — between Montrose, Damen, Lincoln and Sunnyside avenues — since 1907.

FlixBus, the company that owns Greyhound, said in statement Tuesday that it’s “finalizing a month-to-month lease extension” and that its “operations will continue without disruption.”

Gun safety advocates want Illinois to shorten the period of time in which a gun must be reported as lost or stolen from 72 hours to 48 hours. The group also wants lawmakers to mandate that dealers check a gun’s serial number in a state database before it can be bought or sold. Gun rights groups oppose the changes.

“There are no new taxes, fines or fees in this budget,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle told reporters in a preview of the vision she’ll outline in a Thursday morning speech. “It reflects our choices we made over the last 14 years and strong fiscal management.”

“As someone that represents Chicago, it seemed irresponsible to completely overhaul the makeup of the board just months before the election,” state Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) told WTTW News.

Letter carriers and other unionized postal employees rallied in Chicago on Tuesday as part of a national call to action in 90 cities.

Organized retail theft has been a felony in Illinois since 2023, through a law dubbed the INFORM Consumers Act, which broadly characterizes the crime as when someone knowingly steals at least $300 in merchandise from one or more stores with the intent of reselling it.

Quantum computers operate significantly faster, which backers promise will yield astonishing breakthroughs in medicine, finance and science.

“Borrowing to pay for operating expenses in a business, in a government, etc., is not a great idea unless you know how you’re going to pay for that, because it’s going to come due,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, “speaking as a businessperson.”

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and CEO Austan Goolsbee said the U.S. is currently on what he calls a “golden path.” Inflation has cooled from historic highs without the country going into a recession, and the unemployment rate is at what economists generally consider a sweet spot. Now the key is staying there.

The stench of smoked pot doesn’t give a police officer the right to search an adult’s car without a warrant, according to a new ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that “nothing has changed” from his previous stance that public funding for sports stadiums is not something he, or the public, has much of an appetite for. But he did signal the teams’ bids for state help building new football, baseball and soccer stadiums, respectively, would be better off if they all got on a level playing field.

The White Sox have played in Bridgeport for more than a century, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf and developer Related Midwest proposed building a new stadium in the South Loop as an anchor to a 62-acre site dubbed The 78.

Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority collectively expect to be $730 million short come 2026 and are seeking a lift from state government.

Surrounded by Republican candidates running for office in Cook County, Kathy Salvi on Monday invited voters to give down-ballot Republicans “a chance,” even if it meant ignoring the party’s figurehead and nominee for president. “If you don’t like Trump, turn off the TV for four years for heaven’s sake.”

Next week will mark a year since Illinois did away with cash bail. Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, most criminal defendants are allowed to remain free pending trial, subject to conditions that courts may impose.

As Chicago grapples with a nearly $1 billion budget gap in the coming year, the city shouldn’t count on the state to help fill it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’s “read things in the newspaper” about relief Chicago may want from the Illinois government, but at this point that’s not something his budget team is thinking about.

Whenever there’s talk about how to curb gun violence, two words often come up: assault weapons. Illinois is one of 10 states — plus Washington, D.C. — with a so-called assault weapons ban on the books. WTTW News Explains what that ban does. 

Illinois advocates for LBGTQ+ rights are pushing for the state’s high court to mandate that all lawyers, judges and other court personnel, such as clerks and security staff, be trained on be the legal needs of LBGTQ+ people. Critics, however, say the call for inclusivity training is exclusionary.

Democratic legislators sounded the alarm in a letter Thursday to Mayor Brandon Johnson and urged him to “act swiftly.”

Both the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released new reports Wednesday.

Illinois offers a tax credit worth up to $750 for “qualified education expenses” at both public and private schools, including book rental, lab fees and tuition.