Stories by Matt Masterson

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the R&B singer’s claim that the statute of limitations had passed and instead affirmed his convictions, stating that “(f)or years, Robert Sylvester Kelly abused underage girls.”

In a series of back-to-back English and Spanish performances set for the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend, the “Physician Magician” will become “El Medico Mago” at the Rhapsody Theater in Rogers Park.

The expectations are clear: Become the franchise quarterback the Bears have craved for years and lift the founding NFL franchise to the top of the league. Other than that, there's no pressure at all.

Advocates say huge warehouses and constant truck traffic are hurting Black and Brown communities. And the “physician magician” is here with a new trick up his sleeve.

“At the end of the day, it’s about respect for this community — the immigrant, Mexican community of Little Village, and it’s about justice,” attorney Scott Rauscher said.

Flooding is the state’s most threatening natural disaster and touches every corner in Illinois, but communities of color and poorer areas often face the greatest risk — particularly in the city of Chicago and greater Cook County. Sewer and stormwater infrastructure can often no longer handle the onslaught of water that comes from these heavy rainfalls, experts told Illinois Answers.

Hundreds of cities around the world will take part in the friendly City Nature Challenge competition — Friday through Monday — to see who can identify the most biodiversity.

All five officers who stopped Dexter Reed near the border of Humboldt Park and Garfield Park remain on paid administrative leave and have not returned to active duty after completing a mandatory 30-day stint after the shooting, as required by department rules, a department spokesperson told WTTW News.

“Our approach understands that homelessness is not an issue of personal failing, but of historical discrimination and structural barriers that have driven inequality for Black families across the nation, and of course, right here in Illinois,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday.

Environmental advocates in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana applauded a tough new slate of Environmental Protection Agency rules for coal-fired power plants — rules that cover local generating stations that are already offline or slated to be phased out.

Sin and salvation form an odd power couple in Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls,” a true classic of American musical theater that’s tuneful and fresh nearly 75 years after it premiered. And Drury Lane Theatre’s new staging of the beloved 1950 musical finds the funny in its sturdy old bones.

Failing to tackle a looming $730 million budget hole for CTA, Metra and Pace could have “potentially debilitating” effects on disinvested Chicago area communities that rely on transit – but boosting funding for public transportation without drastic governance reform would be a major failure, a new report says.

There were about 3.6 million babies born in 2023, or 54.4 live births for every 1,000 females ages 15 to 44, according to provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Weinstein, 72, will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape. But the New York ruling reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures — an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein.

Chicago Cubs reliever Luke Little said he had to change his glove before he entered Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros because of an American flag patch.

Imani is the son of Chicago's beloved late piping plover lovebirds, Monty and Rose.

Plans for a new Bears stadium on the lakefront. What’s behind changes at Rainbow PUSH. And we look back at the very first “Chicago Tonight” — which aired 40 years ago tonight!

The Rev. Frederick Haynes III announced last week he would step down as president and CEO after just months on the job. It has raised questions about the future of the historic civil rights organization.

For the Chicago Bears, this week may just turn out to be one of the most significant in the history of the franchise.

Forty years ago, John Callaway went on the air with the very first edition of “Chicago Tonight.” Watch him interview then Mayor Harold Washington on April 24, 1984.

The imprint has been a quirk of a residential block in Chicago’s North Side neighborhood of Roscoe Village for years, but it found fresh fame in January after a Chicago comedian shared a photo on the social media platform X.

Mayor Brandon Johnson enthusiastically endorsed the plans for a new stadium, calling the renderings of the futuristic oval-shaped stadium with a translucent roof “miraculous.”

Attorneys for the players on Wednesday announced that a judge has granted a motion to consolidate their various cases with that of ex-Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Black and Brown communities in Illinois are up to 200% more likely to live near a distribution warehouse than the overall statewide population, according to a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund on the state’s “warehouse boom.”

The Chicago Pride Fest, a celebration of LGBTQ+ life & community, is set for June 22-23 in the city's landmark LGBTQ+ neighborhood Northalsted.

Earned Wage Access apps extend small short-term loans to workers in between paychecks so they can pay bills and meet everyday needs. On payday, the user repays the money out of their wages. Between 2018 and 2020, transaction volume tripled from $3.2 billion to $9.5 billion.