Stories by Heather Cherone

The Illinois Supreme Court could decide the case that has frozen the system Chicago officials used for 60 years to hold accountable officers accused of the most egregious misconduct before the end of the year.

Reporters from three news outlets banned from the White House by President Donald Trump were back on the grounds Thursday afternoon, hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate their access.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week above 7% for the first time since January 2025, the latest affordability setback for prospective homebuyers following a five-week run of rate increases.

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

City Council approves plans for more affordable housing. And could a 32-hour workweek become the new standard? We unpack the proposal.

Chicago businessman and philanthropist Willie Wilson is throwing his hat in the ring for mayor of Chicago — his fourth bid for City Hall’s fifth floor. Wilson also ran for U.S. president in 2016 and for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-California) reintroduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act. The bill has undergone several revisions since it was first introduced in 2021 and now faces lawmakers for the fourth time.

The two long-in-the-works developments will get city subsidies totaling $57.6 million, including the first large chunk of funds from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s signature economic development effort.

The city’s street psychiatry pilot program is administered by teams of specialized healthcare workers who engage with people at shelters, parks, encampments, CTA transit areas and other community locations.

Wednesday marked the launch of a new union organizing drive by non-tenure eligible and adjunct faculty at the Evanston-based university after two years of organizing conversations.

What’s so eye-catching about dead wood? A stump in a Chicago neighborhood has been turned into a tribute to longevity.

Republicans are growing increasingly grim about their chances in November, with aligned groups pumping money into reliably GOP states.

Illinois became the first Midwestern state and the 13th state overall to legalize medically assisted death. Deb Robertson hoped she’d live long enough to see the law passed.

A federal judge will hear oral arguments and could rule as early as next week on a request from the former “Broadview Six” defendants as they seek a special prosecutor to investigate potential wrongdoing that led to the collapse of the high-profile case against them earlier this year.

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

A legal challenge over the Chicago Police Department’s disciplinary process. And competing renters’ rights ordinances make their way to City Council.

The Illinois Supreme Court will hold oral arguments Thursday amid a legal dispute between the city of Chicago and the city’s largest police union that has lasted for more than two years.

Here’s a breakdown of what the two proposals to rewrite Chicago’s 40-year-old landlord-tenant law would do and what’s at stake.

Once slated to be part of the Lincoln Yards megadevelopment, the 31-acre site along the Chicago River is now set to be more than 3,700 homes and 970,000 square feet of office, retail and hotel space as part of the $3 billion Foundry Park.

The 1913 artwork “Woman with a Fan” by cubist painter Jean Metzinger is returning to the family of Jewish art collector after the museum discovered it was part of a forced sale during World War II.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy quickly turned Monday’s disruption that hit every major airport in the New York area into the latest example of why he’s asking Congress for $20 billion more to pay for the next phase of the air traffic control overhaul.

Some healthcare policy experts are calling for more transparency on how the Trump administration decided to cut hundreds of thousands of enrollees — and question how many people may have been wrongly cut from the program.

A key City Council panel unanimously voted to require firms that win lucrative city contracts to disclose whether they are also helping carry out President Donald Trump’s effort to implement the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.

A former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher alleged in an explosive social media post earlier this month that AI companies are building a tool that could become “out of control” and pose a threat to human existence by 2030.

Collin Corbett supports social issues that align with many Democrats while describing himself as fiscally conservative but also supporting a service tax.

Shedd Aquarium shared the disheartening news of another death among the beluga whales it rescued this summer from a defunct marine park in Canada.