Stories by Patty Wetli

A bird-friendly building ordinance has once again been introduced to the Chicago City Council — the second time such legislation has been brought before City Council since 2019 — but advocates fear the measure was dead on arrival.

Satirical news site The Onion said it has reached an agreement to take over conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ InfoWars company, in a move that could help repay the more than $1 billion he owes the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims.

A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit brought by Illinois and Chicago officials that sought to bar the Trump administration’s plans to deploy National Guard troops into the state.

The Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce and Casa Puebla said in a statement the Mexican community continues to face challenges under the Trump administration. “There is nothing to celebrate,” organizers said in a statement.

Eight months after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital and called up the National Guard, more than 2,500 troops remain, in a deployment that has grown increasingly routine, with no clear end in sight.

Records obtained by WTTW News show a former CPS employee logged paid work hours while traveling domestically and abroad, contributing to inflated vendor bills and alleged time fraud. The investigation concluded the conduct amounted to theft under Illinois law and triggered personnel terminations across CPS and its contractor.

Officer Michael Donnelly’s actions “brought significant negative attention and discredit upon the department” and “exposed CPD to civil liability,” COPA concluded.

Local leaders rally around Pope Leo after attacks from President Donald Trump. And CPS reaches a deal with CTU to hold May Day classes.

Barbara Flynn Currie was first elected to the House in 1978, at a time when women made up only a small minority of the legislature. After 18 years in Springfield, Currie was promoted to House Majority Leader, the first woman to hold the second-in-command role.

Video evidence released Friday by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability showed for the first time what happened in the chaotic scene as officer Carlos A. Baker fatally shot Krystal Rivera.

“This step allows us to continue pursuing the case in a manner that fully protects the rights of Adam Toledo’s family,” said Adeena Weiss Ortiz, the lead lawyer for Elizabeth and Marco Toledo, the teen’s parents. “Let me be clear: This case is not over.”

The announcement comes after a push by the CTU and some Board of Education members to close schools and allow for demonstrations on the annual labor holiday.

The city’s watchdog reflects on her tenure as it comes to a close. And Steppenwolf’s new play examines the money that follows a father’s loss.

Chicago has earned “every bit” of its reputation as the most corrupt of corrupt American cities, with much more work to be done, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said.

A son lost in a clash with the police. A huge cash settlement on the table. And a father torn between staying put in Chicago or starting anew. That all-too-real dilemma is what underpins the play “Windfall,” a new work written by Oscar-winning Steppenwolf ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney.

Home care workers with SEIU Healthcare Illinois and state legislators gathered Thursday in front of the Illinois Capitol Building in Springfield to rally in support of a bill that would raise wages for home care workers serving seniors through the state’s Community Care Program.

The switch to digitized mail for incarcerated people has had little impact on the drug exposures the policy sought to stop, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The Chicago Harbor Lock was built in the 1930s as part of the project that famously reversed the flow of the Chicago River. WTTW News explains.

The arch is one of several projects that the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his lasting imprint on Washington.

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

City Council fails to block a phaseout of the tipped minimum wage. And the debate over whether Chicago Public Schools should cancel classes on May 1.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, representatives from the Chicago Teachers Union and some Chicago Board of Education members have been petitioning to exempt CPS students and teachers on May 1, allowing them to participate in local demonstrations.

Chicago restaurants must phase out the tipped minimum wage by July 1, 2028, while giving servers and other workers who earn gratuities 8% raises annually every July 1.

The Republican nominee for governor said he’s moved into an apartment on Chicago’s near South Side that will serve as a sort of “headquarters” for his Chicago-area campaign operation.

Federal prosecutors charged Tim King, 59, in a three-count indictment accusing him of misusing Urban Prep funds to cover his own personal credit card expenses and then attempting to cover up that theft through falsified documents.

A jury has found that concert giant Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary had a harmful monopoly over big concert venues, dealing the company a loss in a lawsuit over claims brought by dozens of U.S. states.