Stories by Associated Press

A rule finalized Thursday will reduce ethylene oxide emissions by about 90% by targeting nearly 90 commercial sterilization facilities across the country, the EPA said.

The mayor’s new plans to address violence. What being named a cultural district could mean for two historic Black communities. And a new study shows Chicagoans are dying from cardiac arrests at a younger age.

While researchers haven’t yet pinpointed the cause for the decreasing age, they caution it indicates a need for awareness from both patients and responders.

The cultural district designation will allow districts to apply for a share of $3 million set aside in state funding to support projects that uplift communities, spur economic development and preserve cultural heritage.

All four of the neighborhoods have suffered from decades of disinvestment, fueling a cycle of violence that has made them some of the most violent places in Chicago, officials said.

The changes, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker first unveiled in his State of the State address in February, would limit the ability of companies to deny claims or steer patients toward cheaper, and possibly less effective, treatments.

Though lauded as “groundbreaking” by the Park District, the playground has met with significant opposition from neighbors, who have faulted the choice of the Plaisance's east end as too dangerous for a play space.

In the same decade, two unassuming middle-aged men – Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith – joined forces to create Alcoholics Anonymous. A play at the Biograph Theater explores that time. 

On Wednesday, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners approved an admission fee increase that will take effect April 1.

“This has been a situation that has gotten increasingly out of control,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said about the massive bills for police overtime. “The superintendent and I, we both agree on that.”

The incident occurred at around 8 a.m. in the 5900 block of North Ravenswood Avenue.

With three of the seven justices abstaining, the state’s highest court rejected an appeal from a coalition of real estate and development groups that sued the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners to knock the ballot measure off Tuesday’s ballot.

Two Democrats are vying to replace outgoing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. The attack ads are flying and money is flowing in as the two candidates are attempting to highlight their differences.

The state’s two main fiscal forecasting agencies agree: Illinois’ finances will see a strong close in the final 3 ½ months of the fiscal year before things tighten a bit next year.

There is no longer any doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents. At 81, Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history, while the 77-year-old Trump is facing decades in prison as a defendant in four criminal cases.

The panel’s work comes as former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are galloping toward a 2020 rematch this fall. Republicans, some once skeptical of Trump’s return to the White House, have quickly been falling in line to support him.

"The role of the journalist has never been more important, and the ideals of a free press never more consequential than it is today," architect John Ronan said.

The homicides all occurred within a matter of hours between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Chicago’s whopping overtime bill. Are chronic pain sufferers the latest victims of the opioid crisis? And the race for Cook County state’s attorney heats up.

According to the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program, both the number of opioid prescriptions written and the number of patients served dropped by almost half since 2015.

The Chicago Police Department spent $293 million on overtime last year, 40% more than in 2022 and nearly three times the $100 million earmarked for police overtime set by the Chicago City Council as part of the city’s 2023 budget, according to data obtained by WTTW News.

Illinois has laws to protect against gender discrimination in pay, but it can be difficult for workers to know whether there’s a pay discrepancy. That may be easier to figure out starting next year.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and several other state agencies are holding a job fair Thursday at the UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work.

Young trees could be vulnerable to damage from the emergence of millions of periodical cicadas in Illinois this spring. Here are tips on how to protect your trees.

City health officials did not immediately identify whether the latest people to contract measles are children or adults, nor did they disclose their condition, as they have with all other cases of measles.

The parks advocacy group said it isn’t chasing the Bears out of Chicago, but wants an “open, clear and free discourse driven by the public instead of private interests.”