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More than 70 vehicles, including dozens of commercial vehicles and passenger cars, were involved in crashes May 1 along a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 55 in Montgomery County, 75 miles north of St. Louis.

The plan released Wednesday kicks off a debate between progressive political organizations and the mayor they helped elect on how best to achieve the goals they all share.

Vocalist Shawnee Dez is commemorating the release of her debut album, “Moody Umbra,” with a concert that includes a community jam session featuring a range of local artists.

Corey Gray, 21, was charged in federal court in Chicago on Wednesday with one count of knowingly transferring a firearm to an individual who was neither a licensed dealer nor a resident of the same state as Gray.

Officer Aréanah Preston died after she was shot during an attempted robbery May 6. She was memorialized as being the best of what the Chicago Police Department had to offer: a passionate public servant whose bright future was abruptly taken from her.

The Writers Guild of America began its nationwide strike May 2 after negotiations stalled with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Among key issues are increased wages and fair pay structures for writers in a streaming era.

Nakili was diagnosed with kidney disease last summer. At 33 years old, he was the oldest male of his species living in an accredited North American zoo.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez did not get into specifics while speaking before the Chicago Board of Education Wednesday, but reiterated that principal Abdul Muhammad “had to be pulled” from the school “for multiple reasons.”

The 134-year-old refinery, located between Hammond, Indiana, and Chicago, is the biggest in the U.S. Midwest and sixth largest nationally. It processes about 440,000 barrels of crude oil daily, making a variety of liquid fuels and asphalt.

Something magical happens when Maestro Riccardo Muti arrives on the podium at Orchestra Hall to lead the invariably superb musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday that it believes her and that Kelly would likely be convicted if tried, but prosecuting him on charges that had been dormant since being filed in 2019 wouldn’t make a difference now that Kelly’s federal convictions could keep him in prison for the rest of his life.

The court denied an emergency request from groups challenging the law, which bans so-called assault weapons. The law’s opponents had asked the high court to put the law on hold while a court challenge continues. 

What did Mayor Brandon Johnson do on his first full day in office? Illinois leads the nation in exonerations. The latest on a bevy of issues in Springfield. And the debate over mental health clinics.

With Mayor Brandon Johnson vowing to reopen the city’s shuttered mental health clinics, some advocates are looking at the administration to reinvigorate and reimagine the city’s approach to providing mental health services.

After seven people were shot and killed during Highland Park’s Independence Day parade last summer, Illinois took a major and controversial step toward limiting which guns can be used and sold in state. The Illinois Supreme Court is being asked to weigh the law’s constitutionality.

Right on cue, the much hyped “pneumonia front” hit Chicago shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, sending the official temperature at O’Hare International Airport plummeting from 81 degrees to 66 degrees in short order.

Crucial debt ceiling negotiations are still far from success, but a deal is possible by the end of the week, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said after a brief meeting Tuesday with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders.

Cook County recorded 124 overturned convictions in 2022, all but two of those were tied to misconduct by two former Chicago police officers, according to the report.

Uber has been pushing back hard against the common carrier proposal: emails and push notifications to customers, a reported six-figure ad buy on popular radio stations, web banners on news sites covering the General Assembly and plenty of lobbying.

Kayla was 9 years old when she was abducted by her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun, from South Elgin, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said. Then Saturday evening, Kayla was spotted at a shop in Asheville by someone who recognized her from an episode of Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries” series.

The Foo Fighters, The Cure and Death Cab for Cutie are among the headliners announced Tuesday by Riot Fest. Whether they’ll take the stage is still up in the air.

Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston, 24, had just finished her shift and was returning home while still in uniform at around 1:45 a.m. on May 6 when she was killed outside her home in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue.

Chicago police announced criminal charges Tuesday against an 18-year-old man who was allegedly involved in the non-fatal shooting of Dakotah Earley last May. The teen was 17 when the shooting occurred, police said. 

Nearly nine out of 10 adults in the U.S. say that the benefits of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines outweigh the risks – a share that’s remained unchanged since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.

Illinois legislators have through Friday to accomplish their most important task: passing a budget.

Chicago’s 57th mayor takes the oath of office. A look at Brandon Johnson’s priorities in Spotlight Politics. And a live report from Springfield as the legislative session nears an end.