Stories by Marc Vitali

In his native Honduras, singer-songwriter Carlos Barahona, who goes by the stage name Charlie Baran, contributed to one of the biggest hits in Latin music.

In a class action wage theft lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cook County court, plaintiffs say instead of contesting the tickets, which were incurred during emergency calls while running with lights and sirens, the company charged the cost of the moving violations against employees’ pay without their consent.

Robberies targeting mail carriers increased 78% in 2022, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

During Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair, state party leaders sought a message of unity ahead of the 2024 presidential election. While former President Donald Trump’s name and political slogans were visible on signage and clothing, the speakers generally kept their focus on Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Northwestern University is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse of players by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults.

A parade, dance lessons and summer festivals usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in Chicago.

The FBI-recorded calls played in court Thursday related to former state Rep. Lou Lang — who resigned his position in early 2019 amid sexual harassment allegations.

Dry cleaners, auto body and repair shops, food and beverage manufacturers and metal finishers in suburban Cook County that experienced a decrease in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic are able to benefit from the program.

Facebook’s parent, Meta, in December agreed to pay $725 million to settle a host of privacy-related class action lawsuits alleging, among other things, that Facebook let third parties access its users’ private data and that of their friends without users’ permission.

Federal relief is on the way for thousands of Chicagoans who experienced flooding damage. Reaction to some of the mayor’s latest moves. And surrealist paintings at the Art Institute.

President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for Cook County. It comes more than a month after nearly 9 inches of rain flooded parts of Chicago, with the West Side hit particularly hard.

Strange people occupy fantastic places in a new exhibition of art by Remedios Varo at the Art Institute of Chicago. The 20th century surrealist painter’s work is well known in Mexico but rarely seen in the U.S.

During his campaign for mayor, Brandon Johnson promised to fire Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, and Friday night, he did just that — setting off a wave of recriminations and outrage.

The governor issued what’s called an amendatory veto, striking only the portion of House Bill 3445. He left the rest of the bill, which modifies a state grant program and requires several policy studies, untouched.

Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner remained popular punching bags for Illinois Democrats as they rallied in Springfield Wednesday, while the party also touted a long list of recent policy wins. Republicans will have their own rally Thursday.

Jismary Alejandra Barboza González, who would have turned 4 next week, died Aug. 10 while on a chartered bus, part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s program begun last year of sending migrants crossing into the state to Democratic-led cities across the country.

The restrictions won’t take effect right away because the Supreme Court previously intervened to keep the drug available during the ongoing legal fight.

An attorney for the Marion County Record said the local prosecutor has agreed to withdraw a search warrant executed on the newspaper Friday and will return all seized items, answering demands of press freedom advocates who sharply condemned the police action.

The city’s Board of Education will vote next week on a one-year contract worth up to $5 million with the Pittsburgh-based Fisher Scientific company to provide COVID-19 testing supplies to the school district for the upcoming academic year.

The department’s about-face on Choate’s top leader follows months of reporting on poor conditions at the facility by Capitol News Illinois, Lee Enterprises Midwest and ProPublica.

The union’s contracts with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis expire in about a month, at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14.

Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker signed a bill amending the state’s Child Labor Law that will allow teenagers over the age of 18 to take legal action against their parents if they were featured in monetized social media videos and not properly compensated. 

The email was introduced as evidence in the trial of longtime Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes, who was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice after allegedly lying to a grand jury investigating Madigan and his inner circle.

Behind the selection of Larry Snelling as Chicago’s next top cop. A deep dive on the latest criminal charges against former President Trump. And the growing threat of hacking hospitals.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis used Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, law to charge Trump and 18 associates for allegedly participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.

Hacking is a growing concern for hospitals and health institutions. Cyberattacks on hospitals and health systems more than doubled from 2016 to 2021, according to a JAMA report.