Stories by Joel Ortiz

Some Americans are using taxes to protest the Trump administration — more specifically, the refusal to pay taxes.

While watchdogs called on regulators to slash $137 million, or roughly two-thirds of the Peoples Gas request, the attorney general’s office went further, calling not only for the entire request to be rejected, but for the company to return $4 million to customers.

The summer film series runs most Tuesdays between June 30 and Aug. 18. All film screenings are free. This year’s lineup features crowd favorites and milestone anniversaries.

Most birds migrate over Chicago at night. A new network of acoustic monitors is tracking their movements by listening for what can't be seen.

 Ted Turner, the media maverick and philanthropist who founded CNN, died peacefully Wednesday, surrounded by his family. He was 87.

A man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to dupe a Mexican billionaire out of around $450 million in a bogus stock-backed loan scheme, according to a newly unsealed U.S. indictment and other court records.

An ISP spokesperson confirmed an “initial investigation” is underway after the Franklin Park Police Department asked the state police’s Public Integrity Task Force to investigate Villegas Gonzalez’s death.

Grounds, custodial and facilities employees had been on the picket line since Monday.

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

Officials with Chicago's Department of Environment recently released an updated Green Infrastructure Strategy, the first revision to the document in more than a decade.

For the decades we’ve been using social media, there’s been a debate over how youth should be able to access it.

An effort to regulate social media for children. A growing movement not to pay federal taxes. And a women’s sports bar is coming to Wrigleyville.

“Wrigleyville is the entertainment district of Chicago, and I want to take my seat where we belong,” owner Clarissa Flores said. “I didn’t want to be in the outskirts. People don’t realize this, but the majority of the fans that go to Wrigley are women.”

“There is a mismatch here in terms of what the people of Chicago and Illinois are most concerned about and how government is responding and reacting,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago on Tuesday announced Brandi Wright, 44, now faces a charge of wire fraud after she allegedly engaged in Paycheck Protection Program fraud in 2021.

The Chicago City Council’s License and Consumer Protection Committee voted to ban the thousands of unpermitted sweepstakes machines that operate in all kinds of businesses across the city, including in bars, restaurants, gas stations, laundromats and convenience stores.

All entry to the museum is timed-ticketed, and visitors are strongly encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance, according to the center. Every Tuesday, the museum is free for Illinois residents.

Three passengers have died and at least four people are sick in what health officials say is an outbreak of hantavirus, which usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings.

The legislation says the money would support enhancements to the ballroom project, “including above-ground and below-ground security features,” but also specifies that the money may not be used for non-security elements.

The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday is releasing eight stamps marking significant parts of the road in each of the states it traverses, passing by vintage diners, gas stations and motels — many since preserved or restored — along with breathtaking vistas and wide horizons of the open road.

Through the first four months of 2026, Chicago has seen 130 homicides, CPD data shows, up from the 120 recorded during the same period in 2025.

Monitors have confirmed that for the third year running Sea Rocket has returned to Montrose and Blaze is back at Waukegan.

What a weakened Voting Rights Act could mean for future elections. And exploring Filipino culture and cuisine.

In his new documentary, “Food Roots,” Billy Dec invites viewers to see who he is under the iconic fedora as he travels to the Philippines to reconnect with relatives — uncovering culture, family recipes and parts of himself along the way.

President Donald Trump ignited the conflict over redistricting last year by urging Republicans to redraw congressional maps to reduce the likelihood that his party loses the U.S. House in the November midterm elections.

Officials said the zoo remains open and “animal care continues without interruption.”