Stories by WTTW News

The head of the Chicago Teachers Union on the results of the school board election. And Cook County’s assessor-elect shares his vision for the office.

Democrat Pat Hynes beat out Libertarian Nico Tsatsoulis in Tuesday’s election to become the next Cook County assessor. The office is tasked with delivering accurate and transparent assessments to all residential and commercial properties.

The first ever fully elected Chicago Board of Education is taking shape as the dust settles from Tuesday’s election.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s grasp on the chamber’s top job is tenuous with 26 incumbent and incoming House Democrats saying the supermajority caucus “needs new leadership.”

Shootings and homicides continue to decline across Chicago in 2026, as the city is once again on pace for historic lows, new data shows.

Holiday light shows captivate people of all ages for the simplest of reasons: They make the season bright.

Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.

We meet some of the midterm winners who will represent Illinois in Congress. And Chicago voters elected the school board’s president for the first time.

This year’s midterm elections saw several history-making moments — including in Illinois, where five new people are headed to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jessica Biggs claimed victory Tuesday as the Chicago Board of Education’s president-elect in a historic election that allowed voters to choose all 21 board members for the first time.

Gov. JB Pritzker isn’t a presidential candidate yet, but he announced a 200-point national agenda he wants congressional Democrats to tackle after the party’s enormous victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Not only did Democrats win the state’s high-profile Senate race, but they also captured the governor’s mansion and prevailed in other consequential races, ending a 32-year losing streak in statewide elections.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Democrat Scott Colom was just a few dozen votes ahead of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in a contest that remains too close to call but underscores the midterms’ seismic shift toward Democrats, even in deep-red territory.

The Dow surged 1,569 points, or 3%, and had its best day since April 2025. The Dow also posted its biggest post-midterm elections single-day gain since 1982, according to data from CFRA Research.

The Women’s Justice Institute’s annual “Look At Me” program showcases work from women incarcerated at Logan and Decatur correctional centers and Cook County Jail. The organization holds the art show every October in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Democratic candidates made up significant ground among key demographic groups in the 2026 midterms, according to The AP Voter Poll, reversing many of the gains President Donald Trump made.

The midterm election blowout delivered a new era in Washington, with Democrats in Congress eager to meet voter demands for change while Republicans watched their majorities evaporate after a revolt against President Donald Trump.

Chicago appears set for a divided school board after residents elected a new president for the first time and a handful of Chicago Teachers Union-backed incumbents were defeated in Tuesday’s election.

In addition, more than 71% voters in suburban Cook County also voted in favor of the nonbinding ballot question, according to unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk’s office.

Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress, delivering a decisive rebuke of Republican governance in Washington and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump.

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

Illinois Democrats have occupied all six statewide constitutional offices since 2019. They continued their winning streak Tuesday.

Juliana Stratton, the former Illinois state representative and current lieutenant governor, will become just the sixth Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate following her historic victory in Tuesday’s election. The Associated Press called the race for Stratton.

Election results are coming in, and many eyes are on Congress as Democrats look to flip control of the U.S. Senate and House. Locally, Democrats are projected to hold the U.S. Senate seat and win every statewide office.

Gov. JB Pritzker has touted his management of the state’s coffers and improvement of the badly out-of-whack finances he blames in large part on his Republican predecessor. For his part, Darren Bailey says property taxes and affordability are making Illinois an undesirable place to live.

Illinois’ congressional delegation is guaranteed to have a handful of new faces next year with five open U.S. House seats across Chicago and surrounding suburbs.