Stories by Alexandra Silets

With less than two weeks before Election Day, the candidates for Chicago mayor are still making their case to voters. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

A new report says Chicago’s next top cop must be “a dynamic change agent” fully committed to implementing the court order requiring the Chicago Police Department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.

The Chicago Police Department spent at least $210.5 million on overtime, 56% more than in 2021 and more than double the $100 million earmarked for police overtime set by the Chicago City Council as part of the city’s 2022 budget, according to data obtained by WTTW News. 

The Illinois House of Representatives passed legislation that would phase out single-use polystyrene foam foodware beginning in January 2024.

The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday announced multiple proposed shifts to the way it handles business, beginning with a shift toward public briefings on board agenda items before well ahead of scheduled votes beginning in May.

The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point despite concerns that higher borrowing rates could worsen the turmoil that has gripped the banking system.

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has suggested to an attorney for at least one witness in the past 24 hours that they might need to provide more testimony to the grand jury in its hush money probe, according to one source familiar with the probe.

For the next 30 days, Muslims will refrain from eating or drinking anything — even the tiniest sip of water — from sunrise to sunset. Many will more strictly observe prayers, donate to charity and devote more time to reading the Quran as they seek to draw closer to God.

From Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, there appears to be little rush to join the field of official presidential candidates. The reluctance reflects the unsettled nature of U.S. politics.

Will Trump be indicted this week? We assess all of the ongoing criminal cases. Vallas and Johnson duke it out in their latest debate. And a proposal to protect undocumented workers from retaliation.

Every year on Match Day, medical students across the U.S. anxiously open envelopes to learn the name of the institution where they will start the next chapter of their careers. 

The law would protect employees from immigration-related threats when reporting labor violations like wage theft, discrimination and unsafe working conditions. It would also give the attorney general the power to investigate and fine employers who make immigration-status threats against workers.

The race for Chicago mayor continues to focus nearly entirely on the crime and violence that both candidates agree threaten the city’s economic vitality. They offered wildly different solutions to the seemingly intractable problem.

Former President Donald Trump’s prediction that he would be arrested Tuesday didn’t bear out, but he still faces the prospect of indictment. That’s now in the hands of a New York grand jury.

It will be up to the next mayor to decide how to respond to Chicagoans’ growing frustration with these mega-events.

The fungus, Candida auris, is a form of yeast that is usually not harmful to healthy people but can be a deadly risk to fragile hospital and nursing home patients.

The annual four-day music festival will take place in Grant Park Aug. 3-6.

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, led Chicago’s effort to fight the deadly virus. On this third anniversary of the pandemic, Arwady reflects on lessons learned and whether she would have done anything differently. 

Paint containing lead has been outlawed in Chicago since 1978, but a WTTW News investigation has found the vast majority of Chicago’s housing stock still contains potentially toxic levels of the substance.

Local officials in the south suburbs are renewing efforts to get a regional airport to take flight. The idea for a third Chicago area airport has been floated for decades, and not lightly — Illinois has spent close to $100 million to buy land

Lead paint was outlawed 45 years ago. Why is it still the city’s No. 1 lead poisoning danger? Dr. Arwady on the three-year anniversary of COVID. And a city franchise agreement with ComEd is practically DOA.

Law enforcement officials are bracing for protests and the possibility of violence after Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest ahead of a possible indictment in New York.

Humanity still has a chance, close to the last, to prevent the worst of climate change’s future harms, a top United Nations panel of scientists said Monday.

Spring is always an iffy proposition in Chicago, but it officially begins Monday. 

According to Chicago Police Department data, 18 people were shot in 14 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

If the ComEd deal faced an uphill climb before Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s defeat, its prospects declined precipitously afterward, handing her what is likely to be one last defeat and all but ensuring that it will be up to Chicago’s next mayor to negotiate a new deal with ComEd.