Stories by WTTW News

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot responds to that campaign misstep. A special counsel appointed in Biden's documents investigation. Twenty years since the first step in abolishing Illinois' death penalty. And Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy in Marquette Park.

Supporters of Promontory Point can breathe a sigh of relief that the peninsula's much loved stair-step limestone wall is poised, finally, to become protected from attempts to replace it with concrete.

It’s been 20 years since then Illinois Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of 167 people on death row, marking a major step toward the eventual abolition of the death penalty in the state.

In 2012, Heidi Heitkamp was a trailblazer, becoming the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from North Dakota. She previously served as the state’s attorney general before an unsuccessful bid for governor. Now, she's taking on a new challenge right here in Chicago.

The first email to City Colleges instructors urging them to ask their students to volunteer for the Lightfoot campaign was sent on Aug. 19, according to an email obtained by WTTW News. The second was sent Monday.

The email from the campaign “is inappropriately coercive and raises First Amendment concerns. The Supreme Court has made clear that government officials cannot use their office or power to coerce participation or to punish for lack of participation in political campaigns,” according to a statement from the ACLU of Illinois.

The announcement followed Biden's acknowledgement Thursday morning that a document with classified markings from his time as vice president was found in his personal library, along with other documents found in his garage.

The man was removed from the building just before noon Thursday and was being rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center in grave condition, Chicago Fire Department officials said. He was later pronounced dead.

Fancy footwork, Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations, professional bull riders and mocktails usher in the holiday weekend. Here are a dozen things to do in and around Chicago.

John Lausch, who has served as U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois since 2017, is planning to leave the office in “early 2023,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced during an unrelated press conference Thursday.

In recent years, Chicago Public Library has reached major milestones — becoming one of the first big city libraries to eliminate late fees and allowing more than 100,000 formerly blocked accounts to start anew.

The Chicago Bears hired Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren as their president and CEO on Thursday, bringing him back to the NFL to help lead a founding franchise after three years running one of college athletics’ marquee conferences.

The Chicago Police Department re-published a crime bulletin and video showing a person of interest who is being sought in connection with the teenager’s killing. Thursday marks one year since the fatal shooting.

Illinois’ leadership has shifted, with a fresh group of 177 lawmakers sworn in to office on Wednesday.

Assault weapons, abortions and pay raises: the latest from Springfield. A new bill could allow Chicago principals to unionize. Did the Lori Lightfoot campaign run afoul of ethics rules? And the Chicago Public library turns 150.

“We’re looking for enthusiastic, curious and hard-working young people eager to help Mayor Lightfoot win this spring,” according to an email obtained WTTW News that was sent to Chicago Public Schools teachers’ work email addresses.

Politicians have blasted the notion of banning gas stoves after a federal regulator seemed open to it. It turns out, there are no plans to shut off the stoves for now — but there are significant concerns about their health risks.

Chicago principals could soon have a seat at their own bargaining table. The bill would allow principals to unionize but not strike.

Jeff Beck first came to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds and then went out on his own in a solo career that incorporated hard rock, jazz, funky blues and even opera.

A Cook County judge sentenced Joseph Cabrera to 24 months probation after he pleaded guilty to a charge of recklessly discharging a firearm. He had previously faced other serious charges, including attempted murder.

A lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has led to U.S. egg prices more than doubling over the past year and hatched a lot of sticker shock on grocery aisles.

The road to city landmark status for Promontory Point starts at Thursday’s meeting of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Supporters have been fighting to protect the lakefront peninsula for more than 20 years.

The new jackpot drawing on Friday night will be another milestone in the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration is lifting a ground stop on flights across the U.S. following a computer outage early Wednesday that resulted in thousands of delays and hundreds of cancellations quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law Tuesday night , hours after it passed the legislature on the final day of the General Assembly’s session, and roughly six months since the July 4 mass shooting at the Highland Park Independence Day parade.

According to NASA, the comet would last have been seen in the night sky more than 10,000 years ago — millennia before the birth of human civilization — and it may never pass this way again.