Stories by Matt Masterson

For the first time in seven years, NASCAR will be returning to the 1.5-mile speedway in Joliet with an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on July 4, 2026 and a Cup Series race scheduled for July 5.

Clinton County Board Chairman Brad Knolhoff said the county had no legal authority to regulate the billboard’s content, but he and many others contacted the company, expressing their outrage.

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

A new report explores how unprecedented levels of consumption by heavy water users — namely “hyperscale” data centers — could lead to conflicts over and even shortages of water, even in the Great Lakes.

Local reaction to President Donald Trump’s effort to ban mail-in voting. And will a peace deal be reached between Russia and Ukraine?

For more than 100 years, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs has sought to play a positive role in helping to shape American foreign policy and its engagement with the world.

In Illinois, there are numerous security checks in place to ensure the accuracy and security of mail-in voting, according to Matt Dietrich, a spokesperson for the state’s Board of Elections.

Arts of Life is a place where creative people with intellectual and developmental disabilities produce works of art and earn an income. Now their colorful work fills the gallery at the Design Museum of Chicago in a group exhibition called “Community on the Make: Arts of Life 2000-2025.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday blamed climate change and a poorly built water management system on the recent flooding impacting the West and Southwest sides.

Bee loss is a persistent issue throughout the state. It’s not uncommon for beekeepers to lose over half of their colonies each year — primarily during winter — due to disease, competition, poor nutrition or limited resources.

The group’s new COVID-19 recommendations come amid a tumultuous year for public health, as vaccine skeptics have come into power in the Trump administration and government guidance has become increasingly confusing.

The Republican-controlled Texas House scheduled a vote for Wednesday on the new maps while California Democrats are retaliating by advancing their own new U.S. House boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The Illinois governor signed 266 laws on Friday. The new laws include measures to make public defenders more independent, tighten safety regulations at warehouses and increase the age for required annual driver tests.

The Adams County sheriff has been cooperating with ICE — does that violate Illinois law? WTTW News investigates. And CPS board members weigh in on the controversial budget proposal.

CPS leaders said they crafted a budget proposal to keep cuts out of the classroom, but the plan leans heavily on one-time funding, raising questions about long-term stability.

Since 1995, Argonne National Laboratory, located just southwest of Chicago, has been at the forefront of atomic-scale research in the United States.

The sign is located at Old U.S. Route 50 and St. Rose Road, about 1,000 feet from the entrance to Central Community High School. It lists a local phone number for people to call.

The lawsuit is one of 35 such suits challenging Trump administration policies that Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined as part of a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general. That’s an average of more than one suit per week since Trump resumed office on Jan. 20.

The nearly 190,000-square-foot, multi-use building will be home to NEIU’s Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education. The facility, set to open in 2027, will include classroom space, laboratories, administrative and office space, and general campus space.

Former agency officials worry the meetings are skirting federal rules on conflicts of interests and transparency, while promoting fringe viewpoints that align with those of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office in western Illinois has transferred at least two men into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, in apparent violation of the state’s TRUST and Way Forward Act, according to a lawyer who helped provide technical support for the legislation.

Chicago Public Schools students returned to their classrooms Monday for the start of the new academic year, as district officials continue working to finalize a budget proposal to close a $734 million funding gap.

Members of the African American Mayors Association are determined to stop President Donald Trump from burying accomplishments that they already felt were overlooked. And they’re using the administration’s unprecedented takeover in the nation’s capital as an opportunity to disprove his narrative.

Texas Democrats said Monday that they were ending a two-week walkout that stalled Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts as part of a national partisan brawl over President Donald Trump’s desire to reshape U.S. House maps to his advantage.

A Chicago Police Department spokesperson confirmed that Officer Carlos Baker has been relieved of his police powers, effective Friday.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs terminated union contracts for most bargaining-unit employees, stripping labor protections for about 400,000 workers. Friday’s rally was part of a national day of action called “Stand for Veterans, Stand for Unions.”