Stories by Casey Toner — Illinois Answers Project

The changes proposed by the Illinois Gaming Board would expand enrollment options for the self-exclusion list. Nearly 16,000 people have signed up for the list, which allows people to bar themselves from sports betting, casinos and other forms of legalized betting.

Chicago’s airports are projected to see more passengers than last year, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. For those hitting the road, car traffic is expected to peak Thursday and Friday, according to AAA.

The growth was driven by around 115 million domestic and international tourists.

Nearly five years after construction crews started moving dirt on the $350 million renovation of the Illinois State Capitol's north wing, there are finally glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel.

A proposed $200 million transformation would convert the former commercial shopping site into a warehouse and distribution facility; there would be a new CTA bus terminal, reconstructed streets and sidewalks and a publicly accessible plaza.

A first look at next year’s city budget forecast. And a plan to redevelop a Southwest Side mall faces some pushback.

Gloria Steinem, the celebrated author and activist who became one of the most visible symbols and potent voices of the U.S. women’s movement, has died. She was 92.

“We have difficult and consequential decisions ahead of us as we work to address the structural financial challenges that have confronted Chicago for decades,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

A new lawsuit filed against the Illinois Department of Corrections alleges incarcerated deaf people do not have equal access to phone calls.

Work on the critical carp barrier was halted in late July. On Wednesday, the White House lifted the stop-work order.

“At this time, it is impossible to know if these passings are isolated or related,” Shedd said in a statement.

Chicago Public Schools is canceling all outdoor activities Thursday unless they can be moved inside amid another day of extreme heat across the city.

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

What to know about controversial license plate readers. And calls for changes to funeral home oversight in Illinois.

Questions remain about possible gaps in state oversight nearly a month after an investigation turned up 56 decomposing bodies at the South Chicago Chapel funeral home.

In recent months, automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) have gained national attention as critics voice concerns about surveillance of private citizens. ALPRs can read license plate data and record a vehicle’s make, model and color to help build a profile on a potential suspect in police searches.

Members of Teamsters Local 700 and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County has come to terms on a contract extension, ending a 16-day strike by approximately 230 forest preserve employees.

A federal judge has refused to toss out charges against a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent whom federal prosecutors allege operated in Chicago is a “serial rapist” after it was revealed those charges came from the same grand jury in the botched “Broadview Six” case.

Chicagoans are invited to vote on the next improvement to the city’s front yard, Grant Park.

The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen — a towering presence in 20th-century Catholicism, with pioneering broadcasts on radio and TV — has been made eligible for beatification, which is one step away from sainthood.

The city of Chicago in August saw its fewest homicides across any such month in more than a decade as the city’s violence levels remain in line with last year’s historic lows.

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

Campaigning at Chicago Fire Department stations appear to violate the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, which bans candidates for city office from “intentionally (using) any city property or resources of the city in connection with any prohibited political activity.”

Wednesday is expected to be a repeat of Tuesday, when the heat index reached 106 degrees at Chicago's Midway Airport and 103 degrees at O'Hare.

The city sues a South Side funeral home where dozens of improperly stored bodies were found. And local efforts to improve menopause care.

Three new Illinois laws seek to remedy some of the longstanding problems in women’s health care and education by shifting the topic of menopause out of the shadows and making it a main point of conversation.