Stories by Brandis Friedman

Barbara Taylor Bowman is known not only for her lifelong work in the field and for co-founding the Erikson Institute, but also as the mother of Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Passing certain amendments in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota likely would lead to undoing bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of abortion access to more than 7 million women of childbearing age who live in those states.

Reporters at Politico, Axios, Puck, Voice of America and Mother Jones were among those denied credentials. Some, like Politico, had been previously granted access to the Tuesday night event only to have the decision reversed.

In November 2014, more than 2.6 million Illinois residents overwhelmingly voted to add a “crime victims’ rights” amendment, known as Marsy’s Law, to the state constitution.

Ahead of the Nov. 5 election, the Chicago Board of Elections released a list of wards and precincts that will receive Limited English Proficiency (LEP) assistance for Election Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have visited them the most. Together, these states are likely to deliver the Electoral College votes needed for the winning candidate to get a majority of 270.

“He was a proud individual, very hard working, and he gave his life for this city,” Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said late Monday.

The latest presidential polls have Kamala Harris and Donald Trump deadlocked across swing states. But what does polling actually tell us? And how to cope with stress caused by the election.

A study by the American Psychology Association reports that 77% of U.S. adults say the nation’s future is a significant source of stress in their lives. This category of mental health is known as socio-political stress and it seems more prevalent to people who are politically active compared to those not engaged in politics. 

Recent polls say presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck and neck. But what do polls actually tell us and what impact do they have?

The Chicago Board of Elections has hired 8,100 election judges to help things go smoothly, spokesman Max Bever said. Many of those judges are students. 

Not only was there a packed house for Thursday evening’s concert at Symphony Hall, but Riccardo Muti, along with the program’s two works by Beethoven, and guest artist, pianist Mitsuko Uchida, were winningly celebrated.

“Chicago in Color,” is a modestly-scaled gem with many facets of lively color. There are views of familiar places seen through fresh eyes, but the book’s strength lies in the smallest of details: minimalist compositions of nature or infrastructure linked by a colorful photographic palette.

More than 450,000 early vote and vote-by-mail ballots have been cast as of Sunday night for the upcoming presidential election, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. If you plan on voting on Election Day on Tuesday, here’s what you need to know.

Jurors on Monday heard more about Michael McClain’s alleged plan to arrange payments to Kevin Quinn, one of the speaker’s employees who’d been fired after he’d been accused of sexually harassing another staffer.

Designed to stop drivers from endangering pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders by parking and stopping in lanes designated for bicyclists and buses, the new initiative is set to last two years, and would target scofflaws downtown between the lake, Ashland Avenue, Roosevelt Road and North Avenue.

October 2024 was the ninth warmest in Chicago since record keeping began in 1872.

Quincy Jones rose from running with gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American rhythm and song. 

At issue is the Sims Metal Management company in Pilsen, which was cited by state and federal officials for violating environmental laws. The company agreed to build new equipment to contain emissions from at the site.

What’s on the line as Election Day approaches. And Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget pitch includes property tax hike.

While all eyes have been on next week’s presidential election, another important local race has flown under the radar. We’re talking about the vote for Chicago’s official bird.

Enjoy an extra hour of sleep this weekend as clocks "fall back" an hour with the return to standard time.

Applications opened Oct. 1 for adults age 60 and older, individuals with a disability, families with children under age 5, and households that are disconnected from their utilities or energy vendors, have a disconnect date within seven days or whose propane tanks are less than 25% full. 

Amid ongoing turmoil, Chicago’s Board of Education on Friday pushed ahead with its first meeting in more than five weeks — one day after president Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson became the eighth person to resign from the seven-member board in the last calendar month.

The AP has already run a series of stories outlining how everything works, and has a team of reporters who will be assigned on election night to write in plain language why it is “calling” key individual states for presidential candidates Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.

The rival positions get at a fundamental distinction between the two candidates on how to guide the world’s largest economy: Harris’ team is arguing that the rule of law creates the certainty that can make markets and workers thrive, while Trump is arguing that tariff increases and tax cuts are the keys for growth.