Stories by Ben Szalinski — Capitol News Illinois

Progressive lawmakers want the governor to raise taxes on corporations and billionaires, while Republicans are hoping to keep spending flat in fiscal year 2027.

Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor whose classic roles included the intrepid consigliere of the first two “Godfather” movies and the over-the-hill country music singer in “Tender Mercies,” has died at age 95.

The lack of fixed guidance at the state and federal levels on how to address the scarcity of new pennies has left some businesses at a loss.

There’s now a growing push to separate profound autism — in which people need constant care for life, have a certain level of intellectual disability and are nonspeaking or minimally verbal — into its own diagnosis. The hope is that it would help ensure people get the support and services they need and that research includes them.

Ofelia Torres, the 16-year-old whose cancer battle gained national attention last fall after her father was detained by immigration agents outside a suburban Home Depot, has died.

CPD is required to implement the system under the terms of the consent decree, the federal court order designed to compel the department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.

Attorneys say new evidence contradicts Border Patrol’s claims in the shooting of a Chicago woman. And the mayor is vetoing a ban on the sale of some intoxicating hemp products.

Paczki Day is coming up on Tuesday, but ask any Polish native and chances are they’ve already celebrated tłusty czwartek, or Fat Thursday, this week.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the ban was too broad and punished “many of our small businesses who have been following the law and deserve to have a seat at the table,” including those owned by Black and Latino Chicagoans.

U.S. District Judge Manish Shah signed off on the restraining order Thursday in a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from four states including Kwame Raoul that sought to prevent the cuts.

Preckwinkle urged Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke to act “swiftly, proactively and transparently” in order to ensure accountability after agents have repeatedly used “excessive force."

The National Weather Service is predicting highs in the 50s for the Chicago region through early next.

The study, which examined whether officers are efficiently and effectively deployed across the city to stop crime and respond to calls for help, found “inconsistent service levels, constrained proactive time, and limited supervisory capacity in high-demand areas.”

How Congress is working to change how Americans vote. And two local artists on their Super Bowl performances.

The Ravenswood shop isn’t just fixing cars — it’s working to fix an industry-wide gender gap. Founder Lisa Thompson said women make up just 2% of auto mechanics nationwide.

Latin American culture was on full display on Super Bowl Sunday with Bad Bunny’s historic halftime show. Among the 700 performers on the field were Lyrik Cruz and Giancarlo Guerrero, two Latino artists with Chicago connections.

Early voting for the March 17 primary election is now open at the Chicago Board of Elections office, located at 69 W. Washington St. on the 6th floor, and at the new Chicago Board of Elections supersite, located at 137 S. State St.

Environmental groups described the move as the single biggest attack in U.S. history against federal authority to address climate change. Evidence backing up the endangerment finding has only grown stronger in the 17 years since it was approved, they said.

You don’t have to travel to Italy to experience the sport.

The Board of Education is no longer working with Alma Advisory Group, which was hired last May to help guide the search for Chicago Public Schools’ next permanent CEO, according to a statement from six board members.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced the new lawsuit, which was filed along with officials from California, Colorado, Minnesota after the Office of Management and Budget’s directive to cut grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a move that could be enacted as early as Thursday.

“Abolish ICE” is now one of 25 finalists that Chicagoans can vote for through Saturday, with the top six vote-getters winning the honor of renaming one snowplow in each of Chicago’s six snow districts.

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

If landscapes could talk, the 61-acre Greene Nature Preserve in Lake Forest would have quite the tale to tell.

New evidence in the shooting of a Chicago woman by federal agents. And Democrats grill Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Lawmakers continue to negotiate U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding, which Democrats are holding up over proposed reforms to immigration enforcement efforts.