Stories by Paul Caine

Ald. Ray Lopez drops out of the mayoral race, but not before launching another stinging attack on incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

Last Tuesday was instead an unmitigated disaster for the Illinois GOP — losing every race for statewide office and falling further into super-minority status in the statehouse. It’s prompted calls from within for some soul-searching.

What if homeowners didn’t have to plow sidewalks and city workers took up that function instead? There is a growing movement to do just that — and it’s driven by the inconsistency and lack of accessibility of Chicago’s sidewalks after a big snow event.

The final debate in the race for governor turns out to be short on substance but high on name-calling. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

Gubernatorial candidates sling mud in their first televised debate. No property tax hikes in Mayor Lightfoot’s election year budget. Homeless advocates press Lightfoot for more funding. And the White Sox head into an offseason full of questions.

Chicago has long had a tortured relationship with recycling. City leaders have scrapped old programs and replaced them with new ones, but the result is the same  recycling rates in the single digits. 

To many, Queen Elizabeth's 70-year reign was a symbol of tradition and stability that linked the present to the past. But on her death, along with expressions of sympathy, many people from former colonies from Ireland to Kenya — and here in America — have pushed back on the glorification of the monarchy and empire.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls for two Democratic lawmakers to step down amid personal controversies, a New Lincoln park alderperson is sworn in, the White Sox implode in a must-win series and the Bears seek to bounce back from Green Bay loss.

Vice President Kamala Harris in town as more migrants are sent to Chicago, GOP candidate for governor Darren Bailey moves to the city amid uproar over a racially motivated ad, and the undefeated Bears head up to Lambeau.

The Bears unveil Arlington Heights dome plans, two more veteran alderpeople decide to hang it up, more migrants are sent from Texas to Chicago, and the Bears are set to open their season at their home for now — Soldier Field.

More aldermen join the city hall exodus, CPD announces a new time-off policy, Darren Bailey gets a cash infusion, and Governor Pritzker's investments are under scrutiny, our Spotlight Politics team digs into all that and more.