Stories by Associated Press

Political outsider Lori Lightfoot, who was a federal prosecutor in northern Illinois, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters among 14 candidates in the race for mayor.

Authorities have released the audio of 911 calls reporting the Feb. 15 shooting at the Henry Pratt Co. facility that resulted in five deaths.

R&B singer R. Kelly signed autographs and waved at a fan who yelled “I love you!” when he stopped at a McDonald’s in Chicago after being released from jail in his sexual abuse case.

Those looking to succeed retiring Mayor Rahm Emanuel include veteran politicians — a couple whose fathers also held elective office — businessmen, former prosecutors and community activists.

A Chicago judge says “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett can travel out-of-state to meet his lawyers while he’s free on bond on charges he falsely reported being attacked by two masked men.

Police say that of the people who received gun license revocations last year in Illinois, more than 75 percent ignored the notices.

The producers of the TV show “Empire” say Jussie Smollett’s character will be removed from the final two episodes of this season.

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett walked out of the Cook County jail on Thursday about two hours after a hearing in which the judge set his bond at $100,000.

R&B singer R. Kelly is moving out of his Chicago recording studio because a judge has stymied his creativity by barring him from working there overnight due to building-code violations, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Facing accusations that he filed a false police report when he told authorities he was attacked by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs, “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett turned himself in early Thursday.

Chicago's top prosecutor recused herself from the investigation into the attack reported by “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett shortly after police requested another interview with the actor.

A judge gives the green light to a lawsuit filed by a parks-advocacy group that aims to stop for good the delayed construction of former President Barack Obama’s $500 million presidential center in Jackson Park.

“The emails that were in there were unacceptable and had no place. My father has no direct role or economic interest in the team. That doesn’t represent what this organization is,” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said.

The Henry Pratt Co. facility will be open to any employees who want to spend time with colleagues and counselors will be available, spokeswoman Yolanda Kokayi said.

An initial background check failed to detect a felony conviction that should have barred the man who killed five co-workers and wounded six other people at a suburban Chicago manufacturing plant from buying the gun.

Chicago police said Sunday they’re still seeking a follow-up interview with Jussie Smollett after receiving new information that “shifted” their investigation of a reported attack on the “Empire” actor.

Police have identified the gunman who killed five people at a suburban Chicago business and shot and wounded five police officers.

Two men characterized by police as “persons of interest” in the attack against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett have been arrested on “probable cause that they may have committed a crime,” a Chicago police spokesman said Friday.

Chicago police say local media reports that allege the attack against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was a hoax are unconfirmed.

Illinois legislators moved quickly Thursday to deliver one of new Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s top campaign promises, a gradual hike in the statewide minimum wage from $8.25 to $15 an hour.

Odds may still favor the eventual construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, but it’s no longer a sure thing in the face of a formidable legal challenge by a parks advocacy group.

Detectives are interviewing two “persons of interest” who surveillance photos show were in the area of downtown Chicago where “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett said he was attacked last month, police said Thursday.

“The emails were upsetting to read, and especially upsetting to think that some of our fans were put into a position where they had to consider their favorite team and some of those types of views,” Theo Epstein said Tuesday.

Actor Jussie Smollett says he redacted some information from his phone before giving it to Chicago police investigating a reported attack on the “Empire” actor in order to protect the privacy of contacts and people who are not relevant to the attack.

Illinois is poised to join Washington, D.C., and at least four other states with a $15-an-hour minimum by 2025, an 82-percent spike in current base pay. But it may not be the momentous impact on low-wage workers that some supporters expected.

Authorities say Jakharr Williams was indicted last week by a grand jury on murder, attempted murder, battery and other charges stemming from the Jan. 21 fatal shooting at Orland Square Mall.