Stories by Blair Paddock

A record can include everything from an arrest— not necessarily even a conviction — to years spent in prison. But even once that criminal case has run its course in the legal system, oftentimes the punishment continues.

Chicago bills itself as a world-class city, but when it comes to recycling, its performance has been less than first-rate. 

Tony La Russa, a three-time World Series champion who turns 78 on Tuesday, missed the final 34 games with the underachieving White Sox. He left the team on Aug. 30 and doctors ultimately told him to stay out of the dugout.

John Brennan, a real estate investor and civic leader who was an active WTTW and WFMT trustee for the last 18 years, died suddenly on Monday. He was 60 years old.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 34 people were shot in 28 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday night.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $170.6 million budget gap in 2023 relies on booming tax revenues that she said proves Chicago’s budget has fully recovered from the economic catastrophe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A list of resources for formally incarcarated people and the organizations working to support them. 

Chanting “Housing is a human right! Lightfoot will not stop our fight!” and “Lo-ri! We’re calling on you!” anti-homelessness activists staged a tent city at City Hall to demand a dedicated funding stream for subsidized housing, just as Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered her yearly budget address.

Monday’s session also is the first time new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s first Black female justice, will participate in arguments. And the public is back for the first time since the court closed in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nominations for the city's official Christmas tree are being accepted through Friday.

Florida, with nearly four dozen reported dead, was hit hardest by the Category 4 hurricane, one of the strongest to make landfall in the United States. Flooded roadways and washed-out bridges to barrier islands left many people isolated amid limited cellphone service and a lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity and the internet.

When the COVID-19 lockdown hit in March 2020, Chicago’s artistic productions were abruptly placed on hold. Now more than two years later, theater companies are evaluating a path forward with an audience that has new expectations. 

President Joe Biden, a self-described “car guy,” often promises to lead by example on climate change by moving swiftly to convert the sprawling U.S. government fleet to zero-emission electric vehicles. But efforts to eliminate gas-powered vehicles from the fleet have lagged.

Queen Elizabeth’s death is sparking questions about the history of the British Empire. Plus, the mother of Hadiya Pendleton on preventing gun violence and raising awareness of kidney disease.

The push for affordable housing in Chicago. Plus, the impact of pharmacy deserts. The landscapes and people of Puerto Rico in a new exhibit. And libraries going beyond just offering books. 

This weekend, thousands of Ahmadi Muslims from around the world have congregated in the Lake County city to celebrate what they see as a century-old miracle and a significant milestone in the life of Zion and of their faith: The building of the city’s first mosque.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot nixes a plan for a $42 million property tax increase tied to inflation. And a WGN poll says Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a double-digit lead over his Republican challenger Darren Bailey, who this week likened Chicago to an unruly child.

What truly set Orchestra Hall on fire came in the second half of the program as Maestro Riccardo Muti, in subtle but wonderfully expressive balletic form, led an altogether blazing performance of Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major,” a 1944 masterwork composed at the height of World War II.

Juan Vazquez, 17, appeared in adult bond court Friday where he was held without bail following his arrest on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated fleeing and eluding stemming from the death of 55-year-old Dominga Flores.

Between 1841 and 1872, the building served as the seat of Illinois Supreme Court, during which time justices heard several cases linked to Illinois' Underground Railroad.

Lynn Nottage’s most recent play, “Clyde’s — a nominee at last year’s Tony Awards that is now receiving a production at the Goodman Theatre — deals with a rarely explored but crucial issue. It’s the matter of the extreme difficulty faced by those who have been incarcerated and who, upon release, find it all but impossible to find a job.

Along with accepting items for donation, experts will be on hand to share tips not only about recycling but re-using, re-purposing and reducing consumption.

With South Carolina’s coast under a hurricane warning, many left Charleston for higher ground and store owners used sandbags to ward off high water levels in an area prone to inundation.

Surrounded by states with abortion bans that took effect after Roe v. Wade fell, Illinois is one of the few places where the procedure remains legal in the Midwest. Abortion-rights supporters are worried that might not last.

A new high school is slated to be built at 24th and State streets, with the recent blessing of the Chicago Board of Education. It was a tight 4-3 vote, an indication of how controversial the plan is considering that residents of Chinatown, the South Loop and surrounding communities have been asking for a new school for decades.

Last year, the National Kidney Foundation launched Kidney Health for Life, a campaign focused on educating and targeting the high rate of kidney disease among the Black, Asian and Latino populations.