Stories by Heather Cherone

Cinespace Studios, which helped spark a boom in movie and television production in Chicago, has been sold to a private equity firm that tapped a former Netflix executive to lead the operation on Chicago’s West Side.

The decision to recommend a suspension for slain officer Ella French was the “height of tone-deafness,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday, after a police watchdog agency issued disciplinary recommendations for those involved in the 2019 raid at Anjanette Young’s home.

The Labor Department said Friday that 4.4 million people quit their jobs in September, or about 3% of the nation’s workforce. That’s up from 4.3 million in August.

Buckle up for a bumpy ride this weekend. Friday’s forecast calls for high winds and bursts of heavy snow, more snow is possible Saturday, and Sunday’s temperatures are expected to dip into the teens, according to the National Weather Service.

A 22-year-old college student who was critically injured in the crush of fans at the Astroworld festival in Houston has died, the family’s lawyer said Thursday, bringing the death toll to nine.

We’re at Naval Station Great Lakes for our “In Your Neighborhood” series. Women in radio speak out about its toxic culture. Nurses say they’re feeling forgotten. And a family-friendly “Squid Game.”

The Korean Cultural Center of Chicago hosted 120 participants Saturday to play a local version that included games featured in the survival drama like tug of war and traditional Korean games like ddakji and squid game, the show’s namesake.

Located about 35 miles north of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, North Chicago houses Naval Station Great Lakes, home of the Navy’s only boot camp.

The Chicago Tribune published a scathing 10-month investigation into what women face in the male-dominated industry. The reporters spoke with dozens of women in radio about their experiences. WTTW News spoke with three of those women to hear about what they have faced in the industry. 

The Rockford Airport Authority is not ceding Bell Bowl Prairie, an ancient prairie remnant that’s part of the airport’s nearly 3,000-acre property. In an interview with WTTW News, the authority reaffirmed its commitment to a $50 million expansion plan that would impact the five-acre prairie.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were among those hailed as health care heroes. But now, nurses tell WTTW News, they are literally coming under attack. 

The defense and prosecution asked the judge to hold closing arguments on Monday, and he said he would take it under consideration.

The largest settlement — $2 million — would go to the family of Julia Lynn Callaway, who was killed in May 2018 when she was struck by a car being pursued by police. 

Isaiah Hudson, 24, appeared in court Thursday following his arrest on charges of first-degree murder, unlawful use of weapon and armed habitual criminal stemming from the fatal Sept. 1 shooting.

President Joe Biden saluted the nation’s military veterans as “the spine of America” on Thursday as he marked his first Veterans Day as president in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Construction on the Chicago Park District’s new $65 million headquarters in Brighton Park is already $4 million over budget just months after the project broke ground, demonstrating how challenging it is to redevelop former industrial sites, officials said.

The new legislative effort would benefit surviving spouses and all living descendants of Black WWII veterans whose families were denied the opportunity to build wealth with housing and educational benefits through the GI Bill.

Organizers of the Astroworld music festival have not provided investigators with clear records about private security personnel working the grounds when a massive crowd surge during headliner Travis Scott’s set led to at least eight deaths, Houston’s police chief said Wednesday.

The opening trade of $106.75 gave Rivian a market value of about $91 billion, greater than that of Ford and General Motors. That’s noteworthy because Rivian has so far delivered about 150 of its electric pickup trucks to customers, mostly employees, whereas Ford and GM sell millions of cars globally each year.

The murder case against Kyle Rittenhouse was thrown into jeopardy Wednesday when his lawyers asked for a mistrial over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the chief prosecutor. The judge did not immediately rule on the request.

Plans to renovate the Eisenhower expressway. The fight for a majority Asian American ward. Chicago homeowners drowning in water debt. And “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” Jeff Garlin on his new photo exhibit.

In a citywide exhibition featuring 29 MacArthur Fellows throughout 12 galleries sits a particular exhibit at the Weinberg/Newton Gallery in River North. It’s exploring what it means to be Latino in Chicago.

Comedian and actor Jeff Garlin opens a new show of his photography featuring some of his co-stars and famous friends — Larry David, J.B. Smoove, John Mulaney – often in candid shots backstage and between scenes. 

A report from WBEZ reveals that homeowners collectively owe up to $421 million in debt, and that includes penalty fees and water taxes. Sixty percent of those homeowners make up the city’s majority Black ZIP codes.  

Some community leaders want to see Chinatown and the surrounding area included in a single ward as part of the city council’s once-a-decade remap process. Advocates are also calling for Asian American communities in Albany Park, West Ridge, and Uptown to stay together in their respective wards to ensure their voices are heard. 

President Joe Biden is ready to sign a $1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill into law. Illinois is set to receive at least $17 billion from it, with more than $10 billion slated for federal highway projects and bridge replacements.