Stories by Associated Press

The ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government has prevented visitors from touring Abraham Lincoln’s former home in Springfield. 

After clearing a legal hurdle, the new Chicago ordinance will raise the prices of cigars, self-rolled tobacco and chewing tobacco. 

A suggestion by Chicago mayoral candidate Bill Daley to rename the Dan Ryan Expressway after former President Barack Obama has drawn criticism from the Ryan family. 

The Chicago Police Department says the illegal gun seizures are part of a strategy that has helped significantly reduce the number of homicides, robbery and other violent crimes in 2018.

Edward Brown, 24, was ordered held on $200,000 bond Thursday during his first hearing since he was charged with felony reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Cardinal Blase Cupich expressed regret for “our failures to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse” in a statement responding to the attorney general's report.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued a blistering report about clergy sexual abuse, saying, “The preliminary stages of this investigation have already demonstrated that the Catholic Church cannot police itself.” 

A proposal to run an oil pipeline beneath a crucial section of the Great Lakes cleared its final hurdle Wednesday, gaining approval of a Michigan panel created a week earlier. 

Edward Brown is facing two felony weapons charges in connection with the deaths of two Chicago police officers who were struck and killed by a commuter train while they were chasing him.

The Chicago Police Department says services for Officer Conrad Gary will be held Thursday and Friday, while services for Officer Eduardo Marmolejo will be held Friday and Saturday.

Elon Musk unveiled his underground transportation tunnel on Tuesday. Musk said he thinks the Chicago project that would take travelers from downtown to O’Hare Airport has the most potential to open the soonest.

The grant will pay for software for the Papers of Abraham Lincoln to track hundreds of thousands of documents related to the 16th president.

The Illinois Legislative Ethics Commission has chosen a permanent inspector general to investigate complaints against lawmakers. Former prosecutor and circuit judge Carol Pope was recommended Tuesday. 

Two Chicago police officers may not have seen or heard the commuter train that fatally struck them because they were focused on another train coming from the opposite direction, a department spokesman said Tuesday.

Two Chicago police officers were fatally struck by a train as they investigated a report of gunshots on the city's far South Side.

Lawyers for the man charged with kidnapping and killing a Chinese University of Illinois scholar have argued the case should be heard in state court, where the death penalty isn’t an option.

The Bears (10-4) secured their first playoff appearance since the 2010 team won the NFC North. And even better for them, they did it with a rare victory over their heated rivals.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's administration said Thursday it had wrapped up negotiations with Enbridge Inc. on building a tunnel to contain an oil pipeline beneath a Great Lakes waterway.

The Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, resident argues the Bears' rule prohibiting fans from wearing opposing team gear on the sidelines violates his rights to free speech.

The Chicago Heights Park District's action against 41-year-old Christian Daigre follows his suspension as chief after he was charged in late October with non-consensual dissemination of a private sexual image and intimidation.

Illinois officials say that Airbnb's ban on lodging listings in the disputed West Bank violates state law.

The CEO of United Airlines says his pilots don't need any additional training on the new Boeing jet that is at the center of the investigation into a deadly crash in Indonesia.

The U.S. military has identified five Marines who were declared dead after their refueling plane collided with a fighter jet last week off Japan's southern coast. 

Joe Maddon will be managing by the book next year, and the book is “Managing Millennials for Dummies.” Maddon has spent more than four decades as a baseball manager, coach and scout. He hopes to remain as Cubs manager beyond 2019.

Lee Smith and Harold Baines both debuted in Chicago during the 1980 season. Smith began with the Cubs and went on to record 478 saves while Baines started out with the White Sox and had 2,866 hits.

The National Rifle Association will remove an image of Chicago's famous bean-shaped sculpture from a video advertisement, ending a legal dispute that began after the artist sued for copyright infringement, according to statements from both sides.