Stories by Blair Paddock

Since April 1, 2023, the landscaping community in Evanston has been tasked with making a drastic change for climate and noise concerns: switching from gas- or propane-powered leaf blowers to electric. But not all landscapers are feeling pressure from the ban. The largest landscaper in Evanston also filed the most complaints against fellow landscapers. 

Antonio M. Strong, 31, of Lansing, Illinois, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Massachusetts federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud.

May 23 is World Turtle Day. Sure, it’s a fake holiday, but it’s a good reason to take a closer look at the many species that make their home in northern Illinois.

Chicago City Council backs a plan to keep ShotSpotter. And Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s new plan for gun and drug charges tied to traffic stops.

Under a new proposal from Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, prosecutors would not file drug, gun and theft charges stemming from an initial traffic stop where there was no other probable cause to make the stop.

In case you haven’t heard, the cicadas are coming, and things are about to get loud. WTTW News explains.

The vote represented a significant rebuke of Mayor Brandon Johnson and the central promise of his campaign, which vowed to address the root causes of crime and violence rather than focusing on law enforcement.

Before the newly confirmed members can be sworn in to serve four-year terms on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, reform advocates introduced a proposal to expand the board’s power through a binding ballot measure.

In all, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $6.8 million to defend and settle lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct during the protests and unrest during the summer of 2020, according to an analysis by WTTW News.

Irene Chavez died while in police custody on Dec. 18, 2021. Eleven officers are set to be disciplined for failing to prevent her death, as first reported by WTTW News.

With the latest action, the administration said it has canceled $167 billion in student debt for nearly 5 million Americans through several programs.

Alcohol is still more widely used, but 2022 was the first time this intensive level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking, said the study’s author.

The bill would authorize the state to hand over what is now Shabbona Lake and State Park to the tribe for $1. It also allows the tribe and the Department of Natural Resources to enter into a land management agreement under which the land would remain open to the public for recreational use for an unspecified period.

Ratings have been historic. ESPN’s broadcast of Clark’s opening night game when the Indiana Fever played the Connecticut Sun had the highest viewership for a WNBA game on the network.  ESPN picked up the Chicago-Indiana game on June 1 that will feature the first meeting between Reese and Clark.

Advocates who have been pushing to eliminate statewide what is called the subminimum wage acknowledged Tuesday that their efforts to pass the measure during the General Assembly’s spring session won’t move forward.

Seven months after Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch advanced a measure that would allow legislative staff to unionize, members of his own staff on Tuesday blasted the speaker for allowing the bill to languish.

Reaction to dramatic changes in how Chicago will fund its public schools going forward. And our Spotlight Politics team on the looming deadline to pass a state budget.

Chicago’s school funding model is changing. Instead of basing school funding on student enrollment as the district has done for the past decade, Chicago Public Schools is now taking a needs-based approach.

Periodical cicadas use trees’ lifecycles to “count” years. But when trees get duped by climate change, so do the insects. Could it lead to new broods?

Carbon capture and sequestration technology is used to take carbon dioxide — a powerful greenhouse gas — and move it through pipelines before storing it deep underground. Several groups are pushing for a bill that would regulate the emerging technology at the same time some companies are pitching pipeline projects to state regulators.

Attempts by private groups or individuals to get into a water provider’s network and take down or deface websites aren’t new. More recently, however, attackers haven’t just gone after websites, they’ve targeted utilities’ operations instead.

The nursing home industry is still reeling from COVID-19, which exacerbated pre-existing challenges in long-term care — difficulties hiring and retaining staff and a population more reliant on government-funded care chief among them.

SEIU Local 73 says it represents more than 11,000 CPS support staff, including special education classroom assistants, custodians, crossing guards, bus aides, security officers and parent workers. CPS and the union had been negotiating on a contract for a year.

Donald Trump’s lawyers rested their defense Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.

Raphael Hammond, 37, has been charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun in connection with the shooting, the Chicago Tribune reported.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer will hold an all-day hearing on June 11 to hear testimony from Chicagoans about CPD’s use of traffic stops and whether the court should have authority over the policy governing when officers can stop motorists.