Stories by Ben Szalinski — Capitol News Illinois

The bill would give local governments power to negotiate with the Chicago Bears — and other “megadevelopments” — over property tax payments.

The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.

Tommy Schaefer, the man who allegedly conspired with his then-girlfriend Heather Mack to kill her mother at a luxury resort in Bali, said he intends to represent himself and pleaded not guilty to the crime.

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

Lurie Garden will be closed to the public beginning Monday through early July while major repairs are made to the garden’s water feature and boardwalk.

What conflict between the U.S. and Iran could look like as tensions rise. And local birders accidentally make a scientific discovery.

The remarks by two Iranian officials come as America has assembled its biggest deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East in decades. The buildup is part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to get a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggles at home following nationwide protests.

The jury found that nine CPD officers acted improperly and used excessive force against Ebony Tate, her mother and four children on Aug. 9, 2018, when a CPD SWAT team set off flash-bang grenades outside the family’s apartment before breaking down the door and repeatedly pointing assault rifles directly at the children.

It’s always summer in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s arid greenhouse, where the view is unlike anywhere else in the world.

Tommy Schaefer, the man who in 2014 allegedly beat to death Sheila von Wiese-Mack in Bali as part of a plot with her daughter Heather Mack to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund, has been returned to the U.S. and is in federal custody.

Montoya Perry, 33, will be detained in the Cook County Jail pending trial after her arrest on felony murder and vehicular hijacking charges following the death of 28-year-old Daniel Figueroa.

Podcasts are a new avenue for police to reach the communities they serve. A monthslong public records battle with CPD identifies the cost of the podcast “Roll Call.” It is the latest evidence of the high cost of communication staffing, which has exploded over the past decade.

President Donald Trump has delivered the State of the Union. Now the challenge for him is to make that message stick.

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

President Donald Trump finds a new way to impose his tariffs. And the EPA rolls back regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

Last week, the Trump administration delivered a catastrophic blow to U.S. climate policy by repealing the longstanding scientific finding that planet-warming pollution poses a danger to humans. Now comes the yearslong race through the courts.

“It’s only gotten more complicated for everybody,’’ said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official.

A jury is now deciding whether CPD officers traumatized Ebony Tate, her mother and four children on Aug. 9, 2018, when a CPD SWAT team set off flashbang grenades outside the family’s apartment before breaking down the door and repeatedly pointing assault rifles directly at the children.

Several Democratic members of the Illinois congressional delegation have announced they would not attend the speech, citing their disapproval of the president.

The four audiences in mid-February who were able to see guest artist Himari perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra could not have been more lucky, writes WTTW News critic Hedy Weiss.

Andrew Boutros, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, has announced that his office has been selected by the Department of Justice to serve as a lead prosecutorial partner on its Trade Fraud Task Force.

As top legislators emphasize affordability this session, several lawmakers are taking aim at regulating algorithmic pricing that uses consumers’ personal data.

Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating a baby boom of nine eastern massasauga rattlesnakes, the first new arrivals of this federally threatened native species in nearly a decade.

Where does the Chicago Police Department stand in complying with federal oversight? And what four years of data reveals about officers’ use of force.

"We have seen no evidence that the Chicago Police Department has changed any policies or training or examined any operational changes they are going to make as a response to these really disturbing findings,” said Alexandra Block of the ACLU of Illinois.

Increased investments in a violence intervention program that targets Chicago communities with the highest rates of gun violence has led to continued declines in the number of shootings and homicides, a new study found.