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Austin has dealt with decades of disinvestment and is acutely feeling the impact of gun violence. However, many residents, community organizations and local businesses are working to address some of the systemic issues the community faces and to bring investment to the area.

Democrats had their day in the limelight at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday. Next, it was Republicans’ turn to get into campaign mode, with an annual meeting of the Illinois GOP’s top leaders and a rally.

Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair. Live from Austin on the West Side. Local Afghan war veterans on the situation in Afghanistan. A new study says depression is worse in suburbs than cities.

Charles Ethan Porter, the only late-19th century Black painter of still lifes and landscapes, translated scenes from nature onto canvas. Now the Garfield Park Conservatory has reversed the process, using plants in place of paints, to transform its Artist’s Garden into a living interpretation of Porter’s work.

A new Illinois law will make feminine hygiene products available for free at homeless shelters. Advocates say the legislation spotlights an often-overlooked issue, but they’re calling for funding to “put some teeth behind it.”

A key accuser  at the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial returned to the witness stand on Thursday, weeping when a prosecutor asked her to read out loud from a journal entry describing how he allegedly beat and choked her the last time they were together in 2010.

Rowdy airline passengers have now racked up a record $1 million in potential fines this year, a toll of the tumult in the sky as travelers have returned after most were grounded by the pandemic in 2020.

A Chicago police officer who was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop was remembered Thursday for a brief career marked by compassion; for her fellow officers, a one-year-old gunshot victim she sped to a hospital, and the stray dogs she ferried to an animal shelter in her squad car.

Justin Cortes, 25, is facing a first-degree murder charge after he allegedly shot and killed Angel Figueroa, 38, in Humboldt Park earlier this month as the victim rode in a car with his girlfriend and daughter.

Democrats have their day at the Illinois State Fair. Our politics team weighs in on that story and others — and crunches some City Council committee spending numbers — in this week’s roundtable.

The Chicago area has seen a 6.6% unemployment rate decrease, from 15.1% in June 2020 to 8.5% in June of this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. How a new program aims to get even more job seekers employed.

Jupiter and Earth are currently about as close as they get to each other. The outer planet is visible from sunset to sunrise and is among the brightest objects in the sky.

Chicago has once again implemented an indoor mask requirement as the Biden administration announces a COVID-19 booster shot will be available for Americans starting in September. We talk to infectious disease expert Dr. Robert Murphy about the latest guidelines.

U.S. personnel and Afghan allies are being safely evacuated from Afghanistan. The Senate-passed infrastructure bill heads to the House. And Illinois Democrats prepare to redraw the state’s congressional districts. U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis weighs in on those topics — and a possible run for governor.

It’s an annual tradition that is back after a break last year due to the coronavirus: political rallies at the Illinois State Fair. Typically, the fair is roughly six months away from the primary, but this cycle, the calendar is a bit off due to delayed census results.

Democratic maneuverings at the Illinois State Fair. The latest on masks and a vaccine booster. A Republican congressman thinks about running for Illinois governor. A new program to lower unemployment.

R&B star R. Kelly is a predator who lured girls, boys and young women with his fame and dominated them physically, sexually and psychologically, a prosecutor said Wednesday, while a defense lawyer warned jurors they’ll have to sift through lies from accusers with agendas to find the truth.

Thieves claiming to be affiliated with ComEd are contacting Illinois residents and threatening to shut off their electricity unless a purportedly “past-due” bill is paid immediately via Bitcoin, according to a warning from Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.

The names, Social Security numbers and information from driver’s licenses or other identification of just over 40 million people who applied for T-Mobile credit were exposed in a recent data breach, the company said Wednesday.

U.S. health officials Wednesday announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and signs that the vaccines’ effectiveness is falling.

Jermaine Little, 35, was ordered held without bail after he was arrested on two counts of attempted first-degree murder along with charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault of a peace officer.

The federal government deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters via heavy-handed criminal prosecutions in an attempt to disrupt and discourage the global movement that swept the nation last summer in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, according to a new report.

Acrobatic airplanes, colorful murals, street festivals and a floating river party usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Illinois legislators may be back in Springfield soon for a second extra session. Their sole goal: to strike a deal on a massive energy package. The result will impact everything from Illinois’ role in climate change to your energy bill. But the stakes are particularly high in one Illinois town. 

Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Grace forced a temporary halt Tuesday to the Haitian government’s response to the deadly weekend earthquake, feeding the growing anger and frustration among thousands who were left homeless.