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The state of Illinois’ reparations commission, known as the African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission, is hard at work on a daunting mission.

Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who retreated to a dingy shack in the Montana wilderness and ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died Saturday. He was 81.

A report on the state of Black Chicago. An Illinois commission considers reparations. A West Side charter school closes its doors. An Ethiopian food for a cause.

As part of the city’s response, police stations have become makeshift shelters for new migrants before they transition into long-term housing. Recently, a volunteer team of medical students has begun making the rounds at those police stations to assist with refugees’ health needs. 

Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, has spent years denying news media reports that he was the legislator-turned-cooperating witness described in charging documents made public after the arrest of ex-state Rep. Luis Arroyo in October of 2019.

The Chicago Blackhawks own the No. 1 pick, and are highly anticipated to use it on Bedard when the draft opens in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 28.

On the bustling corner of Lawrence Avenue and Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood, Demera Restaurant has been introducing Chicagoans to Ethiopian cuisine since 2007.

Piping plovers might not be on the nest in Chicago this year, but 2023 is shaping up as a banner breeding year for the birds across the Great Lakes.

Donald Trump makes history as he becomes the first former U.S. president to face federal charges. That story and the other biggest news items of the week. 

What does it mean to be native Mexican after centuries of colonization? And how do those cultures present themselves today, despite efforts at their erasure? Those questions are at the heart of a new art exhibition. 

Health care for newly arrived migrants. Residents fight a metal scrapping facility on the Southeast Side. And native Mexican cultures featured in a new exhibit.

The ritual of human sacrifice in Aztec culture provides the unlikely backdrop for a musical now running at City Lit Theater. 

When it comes to alleviating the impacts of climate change, trees have been promoted as the ultimate “green infrastructure.” But trees are living organisms, and they can be sensitive to some of the same climate stressors as people. But just how sensitive?

A black bear was caught on video running through the parking lot of a Gurnee daycare. Wildlife officials confirmed the sighting as the real deal.

The indictment accuses Trump of having improperly removed scores of boxes from the White House to take them to Mar-a-Lago, many of them containing classified information. The indictment carries unmistakably grave legal consequences, including the possibility of prison if Trump is convicted.

Chicago Department of Public Health officials determined last year the operation posed an “unacceptable risk” to the health of nearby residents, following Environmental Protection Agency investigations and activism from local residents who said their neighborhood could not withstand the pollution they believe the new Southside Recycling facility will bring.

Read the full indictment filed in U.S. District Court. 

CPS confirmed Friday that Stephanie Jones, the district’s chief of the Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services (ODLSS), is stepping down from that role after four years effective immediately.

Last week, the location reopened with a dramatically pared back look. Why? Walgreens says it’s a digital-first experimental store to benefit customers. It’s not designed to deter theft, Walgreens says.

Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.

A local business group’s new public safety initiative. Ethical questions about government grants in Aurora. And Puerto Rican Fest kicks off today — we’re live from Humboldt Park.

The business group is proposing a “one table” approach to addressing gun violence with the goal of reducing homicides and shootings by about 80% in 10 years. 

A review of the grant application for Laura’s Furniture shows the company misrepresented whether it had previously received COVID-related government funding.

Fiestas Patronales Puertorriqueñas is a four-day event featuring live music, games and food all celebrating Puerto Rican culture.

Two very different musicals now on stage in Chicago — a revival of “West Side Story” at Lyric Opera, and a new work, “Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon,” at Lookingglass Theatre — are in many ways driven by the issue of immigration. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, announced that the school district is in the process of expanding its paid parental leave up to 12 weeks for birthing and non-birthing parents.