Stories by Andrea Guthmann

You’ve probably been hearing about the Chicago Bears and White Sox stadium goals. They’re not the only ones making a pitch for publicly financed stadiums.

These cultural districts include ethnic enclaves in Chicago and historically Black neighborhoods in Champaign and Springfield.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for the Chicago region, much of northern Illinois and parts of northeast Indiana, through 10 p.m. Tuesday.

A sea of Chicago police officers and officials filled Judge Ursula Walowski’s fifth-floor courtroom as opening statements got underway at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Tuesday, more than two and a half years after Officer Ella French was killed.

The company is closing 150 underperforming stores — 50 by the end of 2024 and the other 100 over the next few years. By 2026, it will have just 350 Macy’s stores, the company announced.

On Monday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint against Kroger’s $24.6 billion deal to acquire Albertsons and a federal lawsuit that asks a judge to block the merger for now.

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we’re posting daily “dupes” — invasives that can easily be confused with native species. Today we’re tackling crayfish.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC, is facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, and Congress has until March to secure funding. Illinois would need about $24 million in additional funding for the 2024 fiscal year to serve its eligible population.

A ballot measure aimed at addressing homelessness is thrown into question. Possible budget cuts for a federal food assistance program. And debating school resource officers. 

 In a unanimous vote last Thursday, they decided to eliminate uniformed police officers from the 39 public high schools that still have them.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’s “reluctant” to use taxpayer funds to help the White Sox move from Bridgeport to the South Loop.

“Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” host Joanna Hernandez spoke to those working directly with Chicago’s unhoused population to understand what work is being done, the barriers to finding help and some possible solutions.

The nonprofit Chicago South Side Birth Center will mark the city’s second active midwife-led birth center, but the first for the South Side. Advocates say the Black-led center offers safe birthing alternatives in a medically underserved area of the city. 

The trips underscore immigration’s central importance in the 2024 presidential race, for Republicans and increasingly for Democrats, particularly after congressional talks on a deal to rein in illegal migration collapsed.

The economy looks set to grow 2.2% this year after adjusting for inflation, according to the National Association for Business Economics. That’s up from the 1.3% predicted in the association’s prior survey, which was conducted in November.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County confirmed a second pair of eagles are incubating eggs in a newly-built, enormous nest.

A Cook County judge Monday allowed proceedings before the Chicago Police Board to resume as he prepares to rule on an effort backed by the city’s largest police union to upend the system used for 60 years to punish officers.

The forecast for last week of February has a little something for everyone. Buckle in for a wild ride.

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we'll be posting daily "dupes" — invasives that can easily be confused with native species. 

According to the Chicago Police Department, four people were killed by gunfire and another 17 people were wounded in separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Jury selection in the trial of Emonte Morgan is set to begin Monday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building — more than two and a half years after he allegedly shot and killed the 29-year-old police officer.

Wrongful convictions have long been the most expensive kind of police misconduct in Chicago, costing taxpayers $29.25 million in 2024, or nearly 40% of the total amount spent to resolve allegations of police misconduct, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

Dartmouth College, and Rice, Vanderbilt and Northwestern universities agreed to pay a total of $166 million to settle claims filed in a 2022 class action lawsuit alleging the schools colluded on the amount of financial aid awarded to students, while favoring applicants from wealthier families. 

The slugger can opt out of the deal after each of the first two seasons, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because the agreement was pending a physical. 

The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is two- to threefold greater than in other high-income countries, and it has only increased in recent years, according to a new evidence review.

The Illinois Courts Commission said Adams County Judge Robert Adrian “engaged in multiple instances of misconduct” and “abused his position of power to indulge his own sense of justice while circumventing the law.”