Stories by Eunice Alpasan

In Illinois, there have been no deaths related to the cyclospora outbreak, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported Tuesday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed confidence that he’ll be able to present a balanced budget in October after his Budget Director Annette Guzman abruptly resigned this week.

Chicago school board members join us to discuss their recently passed budget. And how the Shedd Aquarium’s new residents are doing.

A divided Chicago Board of Education last week approved a nearly $10 billion budget that relies on an additional $150 million in state funding. The spending plan comes after weeks of debate among CPS officials, board members and labor unions over how the district should close a $732 million budget gap.

Barely a week after four beluga whales were transferred from Marineland, a defunct Canadian water park, to Shedd Aquarium, the newcomers have already made an impression on their caretakers.

While hospitals have so far not reported major disruptions to services, more frequent supply shortages show the need for contingency plans.

The Printers Row Lit Fest will be held Sept. 12-13. The free event brings together more than 200 nationally and locally acclaimed authors, journalists, poets, screenwriters, booksellers and storytellers.

There were 37 homicides in the city last month, the lowest total for any such month dating back to at least 1970. That total is down 18% compared to July 2025.

Most Illinois retailers will be required to accept cash payments beginning in 2028 under a bill Gov. JB Pritzker signed on Friday.

A federal judge ruled that Illinois is not required to hand over its complete, unredacted voter registration data, including sensitive personal information. No court has yet ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s demand for voter data.

Chicago Public Schools principals and staff this week will begin training as the district is set to implement its holistic safety plan citywide — more than two years after police officers were removed from district campuses.

A pair of storms on the front and back ends of July made for a wetter month than normal, according to a National Weather Service summary.

Giannoulias, 50, who is running for a second term as secretary of state in November, will simultaneously enter the contest to be Chicago’s 58th mayor.

The Chicago Board of Education passes a nearly $10 billion budget — with a big assumption. And calls for Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch to resign over his handling of a sexual harassment case.

A newly released report shows resigned Rep. Harry Benton engaged in a “pattern and practice of inappropriate sexual conduct” dating back to 2023 when he was first seated to the House.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed sweeping regulations Friday aimed at social media companies and cracking down on “addictive algorithms” that keep kids glued to their screens.

It remains unclear where the additional funds would come from. The $55.9 billion spending plan Pritzker signed into law in June, which relies on hundreds of millions of dollars in tax hikes to bring it into balance, leaves little wiggle room.

That missed deadline comes as CPD officials acknowledged, again, that the number of times officers used force against members of the public “continues to trend upward,” according to the report.

The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday passed an approximately $10 billion budget after hours of contentious debate, a lengthy recess, sharp questions over revenue assumptions and a last-minute amendment.

A recent report from the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice says Cook County judges often ordered accused people to be detained while awaiting trial despite, by the court’s own assessments, being at low risk of rearrest or missing court.

Designed to help people with serious mental illness, Joliet Treatment Center repeatedly failed to prevent or respond to fires, despite two deaths.

Until recently, these state programs were split across three state agencies and the governor’s office. But since July 1, they’ve all been brought under the umbrella of the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). 

Chicago Board of Education members weigh a budget vote. And what’s behind dozens of fires at a suburban prison facility.

The $70 million program can support up to 175,000 Illinoisans who lost or received reduced SNAP benefits due to changes in eligibility. No paperwork or application is required; the one-time benefits are issued automatically.

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

Chicago taxpayers have already paid $3.4 million to defend the lawsuit that accuses the CPD of making more than 1.5 million traffic stops between 2016 and 2023 based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans, records show.