Stories by Amanda Vinicky

The Illinois Senate approves a newly revised measure that would allow anyone age 21 or older to buy and use marijuana starting in January. But supporters shouldn’t break out the champagne – or bongs – just yet.

As other states, including neighboring Missouri, have passed laws that are tantamount to abortion bans, Illinois is moving in the opposite direction.

Following a Memorial Day vote, Illinois voters will get a chance in 2020 to decide whether they want to fundamentally change the rules dictating how their income is taxed.

The effort to legalize recreational marijuana is still alive in Illinois, but negotiations are ongoing. Where does that leave the state’s blossoming medical marijuana pilot program?

Marijuana laws are changing rapidly, but as of now, adults can use it recreationally in just 10 states. Medical marijuana, however, is legal in 33 states. So which is it: A pleasure drug or a pharmaceutical one?

Illinois’ legislative session in Springfield is scheduled to adjourn at the end of this month – and a lot remains unresolved. 

Within hours of being sworn in, Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an executive order that aims to significantly curb aldermanic prerogative. She made signing it her first order of business as a demonstration she’ll bring change to the city. 

The election is a long way off, but current polls give the South Bend mayor a decent shot at the White House.

Global markets slowed Monday, including the main U.S. indexes, as a trade war between the United States and China intensifies.

“Chicago Tonight” has won three prestigious Lisagor awards for the best in Chicago journalism, for the best in arts, education and government news.

Chicago commuters seeking a ride Wednesday may have better luck hailing a cab than using their smartphones to call for a car, due to a multistate strike by some Uber and Lyft drivers.

Illinois residents could buy and use weed legally as soon as January should a measure backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker be passed into law – but there’s no guarantee that will happen.

Later this month, Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot will move into the executive suite at City Hall. She’ll inherit a city her predecessor says is better off now than when he took office some eight years ago.

Finding billions of dollars to repair roads, bridges and other infrastructure needs is high on legislators’ list of priorities with five weeks left in their spring session, but so too are other hefty “asks” of first-time Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

A novel approach to receiving a property tax break didn’t flush Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s chances at winning the 2018 election down the toilet. But he now faces a federal investigation into his property taxes.

Illinois' new governor cites a list of early accomplishments. But the fate of his biggest plans, including overhauling how the state taxes its residents, is still up in the air.

After two years of waiting, the Mueller report is now out. And Illinois gets a mention.

On Thursday, officials are due to certify the results of too-close-to-call runoff races in three Chicago wards. Will a longtime political dynasty lose its council clout? Our politics team digests the top stories of the week.

Illinois’ long-term pension debt tops $130 billion. What Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to do – and what he won’t do – about that crushing burden.

Chicago’s next mayor won’t be sworn in until May 20, but she’s hitting the ground running. On Wednesday, Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot left the city to meet with top political leaders in Springfield.

The latest on a possible – and major – amendment to the state constitution that would lift a requirement that all income be taxed at a flat rate.

Gov. J.B. Pritkzer is counting on Illinois to legalize recreational marijuana as part of his proposed spending plan. The latest in the ongoing debate over legalization.

The James R. Thompson Center has been controversial since it landed in the Loop in 1985. Now, a new layer of controversy has been added to the building’s history: its potential sale.

“I worry about our children growing up with so much trauma and fear. I worry about that a lot,” Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot said during a one-on-one interview Friday with WTTW News.

To the delight of some advocacy groups and the Chicago Teachers Union, state representatives voted Thursday to move Chicago to an elected school board structure.

In Tuesday’s runoff, Lori Lightfoot bested Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in each of the city’s 50 wards. Lightfoot calls it a “mandate for change.” Our politics team weighs in.