Stories by Blair Paddock

The change is a nearly 40% decrease that will put twice as many voters in each precinct. The Chicago Board of Elections has created 1,290 precincts with an average of 1,165 voters per precinct. Previously, the city had 2,069 voter precincts with an average of 550 to 750 voters per precinct.

Illinois will soon be part of a cluster of states in an extreme heat belt. That’s according to a recent study that finds a quarter of land in the U.S. is at risk of the most extreme levels of heat exposure, that's temperatures exceeding a 125°F heat index.

Census data says volunteering has declined in Chicago, while new research says previously collected data doesn’t include the wide range of community organizing in the city, oftentimes leaving out the work of Black, Latino and working-class people.

Some counties in south central Illinois have seen some of their highest July and August rain totals on record. Recently, Effingham recorded between 10 to 11 inches of rain in a single day.

Chicago police officers are arresting thousands more Black drivers after traffic stops than they report, according to a recent analysis of police data from Block Club Chicago and Injustice Watch.

There are now 533 confirmed monkeypox cases in Illinois. And one of those cases was confirmed last week in Cook County Jail. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office said the individual is believed to have contracted the virus in the community prior to being ordered into custody.

As Highland Park and surrounding communities continue to grieve over the mass shooting on July 4th, some Latino residents are being targeted for scam calls. Residents say that scammers are calling them pretending to be from the Mexican consulate or offering legal assistance.

Chicago is releasing its first citywide plan in more than 50 years. The draft plan, called We Will Chicago, will lay out a 10-year vision for how the city can address systemic inequities by first acknowledging the policies that created them, then creating goals for the city’s future.

Teaming up with Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Wisconsin doctors and their patients are traveling to Illinois for abortion care.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, alongside Sen. Dick Durbin, met with residents and members of March Fourth, a gun safety advocacy group, Tuesday to hear more about their experiences as well as discuss policy solutions.

Researchers say the lives of trans people haven’t been well-represented in existing journals. The Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies plans to change that. It’s launching as the first academic journal to have an entirely trans editorial board.

Over 300 bills affecting LGBTQ rights are being introduced this year in the U.S. according to the Human Rights Campaign. And more than 130 of them specifically target transgender people. Mental health professionals say this is having a significant impact on LGBTQ youth’s access to care and their wellbeing.

Six candidates are vying for the Republican nomination for governor, to take on incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker. The campaign has been marked by a handful of billionaire supporters who have competing interests and are battling not only for the direction of the state, but of the Republican party itself.

The week started off with a tornado in the western suburbs. Then, the Chicagoland area was hit with an excessive heat warning. It ended up being our warmest stretch of days in 10 years.

Early voting is underway in Chicago and primary election day is less than three weeks away. Voters in Illinois’ newly drawn 3rd Congressional District will have four candidates to choose from in the Democratic primary. There is also one Republican candidate running. 

In 2020, the murder rate with handguns was the highest in 25 years, with over 10,000 gun-related deaths of children and adults younger than 24. Firearm-related murders increased by 35% among children and young adults, from 2019 to 2020. And it has a significant impact on young people’s mental health.

Medical advances made while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic may have valuable applications in fighting another epidemic. 

At the end of last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention elevated the threat level from medium, meaning there's also a high potential for straining the city's health care system.

The Chicago Teachers Union has elected a new president: Stacy Davis Gates. Davis-Gates will be moving up from her position as vice president when current president Jesse Sharkey steps down July 1. 

A recent report from the Illinois Child Care for All Coalition, which includes the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, argues that child care in the state is “unavailable, unaffordable and unsustainable.” According to the findings, child care is the largest expense for parents of children ages 4 to 8.

Governor J.B. Pritzker has emphasized that Illinois will remain a safe state for people to access abortions even if federal abortion protections are removed.

House Republicans are calling for an audit of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. And the agency's own director, Marc Smith, has been held in contempt of court nine times.

A report from the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers has graded the state on everything from roads to drinking water. The last time the report was released was 2018.

Host Geoffrey Baer tests contestants on all things Chicago. This time around, he’ll be talking to guests like anchorman Bill Curtis, jazz legend Kurt Elling and Tonika Lewis Johnson of the Folded Map Project.

This week, three major religious holidays are coinciding for the first time in over 30 years: Ramadan, Easter and Passover. And many people are choosing to observe their holiday traditions in person for the first time in two years. 

Illinois legislative leaders Dan McConchie, Don Harmon, Tom Demmer, and Chris Welch join “Chicago Tonight” to break down the budget, efforts to fight crime, tax relief and more.