Stories by Brandis Friedman

A group of residents is getting back to its roots—literally—by partnering with the Morton Arboretum to harness the positive impact of trees on everything from the crime rate to the business community.

Though the state of Illinois finally got a budget this summer, it still has billions of dollars in unpaid bills, and the amount keeps changing.

Cook County commissioners are scheduled to take another vote Tuesday on the county’s so-called soda tax. Opponents of the tax were pounding the pavement Monday, hoping to convince a few more commissioners to support a repeal.

In one of Cook County Jail’s maximum security units, some detainees are given access to pens for the towering task of writing their memoirs. How these men are earning a new label: authors.

Just weeks after its relaunch as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the agency is officially looking for a new chief administrator.

The Chicago Police Department says that for the second month in a row, homicides in Chicago were lower than they were during the same month the year before.

Foodies who may be missing the bow-tied former host of “America’s Test Kitchen” don’t have to wait any longer to find out what he’s been cooking.

Chicago Public Schools principals learned this week that they won’t lose money if enrollment figures following the first two weeks of school were below projections made when budgets were estimated in July.

Is the head of a new Chicago police watchdog group about to jump ship just weeks into the job? 

Mental health awareness, cultural competency and human rights are just a handful of the new training requirements for Chicago police officers as part of the city’s efforts at police reform.

After being political foes for months, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner are back to working together for a common cause: convincing Amazon to build its second headquarters in Chicago.

Addressing violence is at the top of the ticket for a newly minted Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.

In 2015, Loyola University Chicago started a two-year college to provide high-quality education to low-income students. Now the school has graduated its first class of students.

Attorneys for the city of Chicago on Monday hoped to convince a federal judge that plans by the U.S. Department of Justice to withhold federal grant money over immigration enforcement is unconstitutional.

The head of the Chicago Teachers Union joins us with a report on the first day of school.

Chicago’s top cop, 57, was already feeling well enough to check a few emails just hours after his surgery, doctors Rush University Medical Center said.

Exactly how much more money can Chicago homeowners expect to pay to fund Chicago teacher pensions?

Chicago has taken its first step toward having judicial oversight of its efforts to reform the Police Department, but not with the federal government. It’s doing it with the state of Illinois.

Immigrants and refugees in Illinois can now breathe a sigh of relief, and people eager to vote will find it easier to register. The changes come as Gov. Bruce Rauner signed two pieces of legislation Monday.

The disgraced former Chicago Public Schools CEO reports to prison in just a few days.

Gov. Bruce Rauner may be set to sign legislation limiting cooperation between officials in Illinois and federal immigration authorities.

As the fight over the Cook County sweetened beverage tax enters yet another round, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is getting some praise from one of the county's biggest unions.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet also served as the state's poet laureate from 1968 until her death in 2000. Today's poets are finding creative ways to remember her.

Each summer, thousands hired through One Summer Chicago earn work experience and a paycheck. But the city may be earning something, too.

An attempt to make the high school application process easier is raising some questions.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is criticizing Cook County’s bail bond system.