Stories by Emily Soto

As the Bears and White Sox are on the hunt for taxpayer cash to fund new stadiums, Quinn says it’s once again time to ask the voters what they think.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Adler Planetarium in downtown Chicago for a viewing party. People brought telescopes, cameras and the necessary protective eyeglasses.

It promised to be North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other choice spots. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting. 

It is not clear when Mayor Brandon Johnson will make his pick from among 15 people nominated by members of Chicago’s police district council members and send those seven names to the City Council for confirmation to serve four-year terms.

Anthony Robinson, 31, is set to be released from custody Monday after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office agreed to vacate his conviction in the 2013 killing of Kelvin Jemison and dismissed all charges against him.

President Joe Biden said Monday that college graduates would see “life-changing” relief from his new plan to ease debt burdens for more than 30 million borrowers, the latest attempt by the Democratic president to make good on a campaign promise that could buoy his standing with young voters.

Yarbrough was elected as clerk in 2018 and previously served as a state representative and Cook County’s recorder of deeds.

A total solar eclipse is set to move across the United States Monday afternoon with the path of totality sweeping from Texas up to Maine. Watch as it unfolds with NASA scientists. 

According to the Chicago Police Department, 23 people were shot between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

A federal judge is set to decide whether to force changes to CPD’s proposed mass arrest policy as the city prepares for the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 19-24.

“Chicago owns the most outfalls that discharge into the river system, and controlling what comes out of them is essential to reach our shared vision for a fishable-swimmable river that is accessible to everyone,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.

In a 6-0 decision, the court found the residency restriction “does not infringe upon a child sex offender’s fundamental rights” and that there was a “rational basis” for the state to restrict where a person convicted of such a crime can live.

Gary, Indiana, was among dozens of U.S. cities to sue major gun-makers and sellers in reaction to the out-of-control homicide rates and violent crime of the 1990s.

Mayor Brandon Johnson confidently reflects on one year in office. And Illinois Republicans want big changes to the state’s Prisoner Review Board after a convict is released and allegedly commits murder.

“Purpose,” the new world premiere play from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins now running at Steppenwolf, is also a very specific story about a family rooted in Black American politics, featuring a Civil Rights activist, pastors and a congressman. 

The Illinois Department of Transportation learned a lot from the traffic jam “hangover” that followed 2017’s solar eclipse: mainly to warn motorists to expect gridlock.

While there were no immediate reports of serious damage, officials were checking bridges and other major infrastructure, Amtrak slowed trains throughout the busy Northeast Corridor, and a Philadelphia-area commuter rail line suspended service out of what it said was “an abundance of caution.”

CPD said it works with private partners and businesses to aid eligible vehicle owners in obtaining steering wheel locks, catalytic converter etchings and other theft prevention information.

As Donald Trump seeks the presidency for a third time, he is being vigorously opposed by a vocal contingent of former officials who are stridently warning against his return to power and offering dire predictions for the country and the rule of law if his campaign succeeds.

The guns were used in 368 shooting cases, which are harder to investigate because unlicensed dealers aren’t required to keep records of their sales that could allow federal agents to trace the weapon back to the original buyer.

Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate dipped from 3.9% to 3.8%. The jobless rate has now remained below 4% for 26 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s. 

The Chicago Department of Public Health says they are fighting the spread through testing and vaccinations — particularly in the Pilsen migrant shelter where the majority of cases are emerging.

What Chicago is doing to combat a spike in measles cases. Everything you need to know about the solar eclipse that’s just days away. And a Venezuelan artist captures his journey to America.

Last year, a Belmont Cragin pastor opened his church’s doors to house a group of migrants who were sleeping at a police station. One of the men has now created a series of paintings describing his journey to America. His artwork will be on display this weekend.

The vast majority of the more than 537,000 traffic stops made by Chicago police in 2023 were based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans, according to a new report from Impact for Equity, a nonprofit advocacy and research organization that has helped lead the push to reform the Chicago Police Department.

Current Illinois law allows employers to pay their tipped workers 60% of the state’s minimum wage. That amounts to $8.40 hourly, compared to the minimum wage of $14 per hour. If their wages plus tips do not equal minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.