Stories by Heather Cherone

Since city officials began enforcing the 60-day limit on shelter stays, eight people were evicted on Sunday and Monday, with another seven evicted on Wednesday, according to city data.

The Democratic race between retired judge Eileen O’Neill Burke and former prosecutor Clayton Harris for Cook County state’s attorney remains too close to call.

Police said three people were fatally shot following a Feb. 25 altercation inside a Chatham home: two men, ages 20 and 36, and a 14-year-old boy. A 16-year-old boy was also shot and seriously wounded.

Judge Michael Mullen’s decision, which is subject to appeal, upholds the effort backed by the city’s largest police union to upend the system used for 60 years to punish officers.

With inflatable tanks, radio trickery, costume uniforms and acting, the American military units that became known as the Ghost Army outwitted the enemy during World War II. Among them was Bernard Bluestein, now 100, of Hoffman Estates.

The cause was an outage in the “national network that connects driver’s license facilities,” a network run by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. That outage resulted in the system having to shut down across the country.

Democrats were largely able to swat back hundreds of policy mandates and some of the steeper budget cuts that House Republicans were seeking to impose on nondefense programs, though House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., highlighted some policy wins. 

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Chicago police officer that alleged sexual assault by former police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, who was out drinking with her the night he was found asleep behind the wheel of his SUV.

The Conservation Fund, Illinois Audubon Society and Openlands announced the purchase of the 985-acre Tamarack Farms, which will now become the single largest property within McHenry County’s Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge.

The latest update in vote totals from the Associated Press came just after 12:30 a.m., as O’Neill Burke continued holding a slight edge over Harris. As of the most recent tally, fewer than 10,000 votes separated the pair. More votes will be counted in the coming days. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson doubles down on his progressive agenda. What’s next for the Bring Chicago Home campaign. And a peek at Steppenwolf’s new show before it’s even finished.

The play about a Black political Illinois family is brand new — so new that cast members didn’t even have a complete script when WTTW News sat down with them.

The ballot measure would give Chicago City Council the power to hike the Real Estate Transfer Tax on property sales over $1 million to help fight homelessness. The close race could point to some disagreement among Chicagoans over how to support the city’s unhoused.

“No one said it was going to be easy,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “I’m very much committed. The fight still goes on. We’re going to keep organizing.”

At least two sitting members of the Illinois state legislature – including the longest-serving member of the General Assembly – won’t be returning to Springfield next year after losing their primary races Tuesday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated Marlene Hopkins to permanently replace former Buildings Commissioner Matthew Beaudet, whom Johnson fired last month. Hopkins’ nomination must be confirmed by the Chicago City Council.

About 5,000 Illinoisans live with sickle cell disease, a gene defect most common in Black people that causes red blood cells to be misshapen and die off early, resulting in chronic fatigue and pain. 

The new standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of planet-warming carbon emissions over the next three decades and provide nearly $100 billion in annual net benefits, the EPA said.

Researchers found about 75% of residential city blocks in Chicago had lead-contaminated water. And more than two-thirds children under the age of 6 in Chicago live on these blocks and may be exposed to lead-contaminated water.

The cost to taxpayers of the settlements approved without debate by the City Council on Wednesday is equivalent to more than a third of the city’s annual $82 million budget to cover the cost of police misconduct lawsuits.

The polls are closed, and a number of Illinois primary races have been called. Our Spotlight Politics team analyzes the day’s biggest contests.

The last time Chicago voters passed a binding referendum that applied to the entire city was 1885, when they voted to create the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, according to city records.

Retired judge Eileen O’Neill Burke is facing off against lobbyist and former prosecutor Clayton Harris as they each vie to become state’s attorney for the nation’s second-largest prosecutor’s office.

Justice Joy Cunningham was appointed by the court to fill the seat ahead of Justice Anne Burke’s 2022 retirement. Cunningham’s opponent in Tuesday’s race, Appellate Judge Jesse Reyes, was striving to be the first Latino on the state’s high court.

With polls across Illinois officially closed, several longtime incumbent House representatives will soon learn if they’ll retain their Congressional seats or if their challengers will emerge victorious.

The initial turnout tally was at just 20.2% of the nearly 1.7 million registered voters — including early voting and vote-by-mail ballots.