Stories by Matt Masterson

Chicago education officials this week could vote to approve more than $800,000 in payments to settle a pair of lawsuits filed in response to a 2015 carbon monoxide leak at a Northwest Side elementary school that left several dozen students and staff members hospitalized.

“If we didn’t take it, it would’ve gone to the scrap heap,” Gary Marine, Melrose Park’s director of public works, said of the historic Kiddieland sign that now lives in the Melrose Park Public Library parking lot.

Police in the city of Joliet and Will County said they did not know of a motive for the killings, but said the man knew the victims. The FBI’s fugitive task force was assisting local police in the search for the suspect, Joliet Police Chief William Evans said.

The result was a setback for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who finished second despite investing significant time and financial resources in a state famous for its independent streak. She’s the last major challenger after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ended his presidential bid over the weekend.

Concerns over whether Chicago bet too big on casino revenue. An escalating spat between local officials over shelters for migrants. And we take you inside a call center connecting Chicagoans to local resources.

Have you heard of 211? It’s a free hotline connecting Chicago and suburban Cook County residents to everyday services — from housing resources to utility payment assistance.

While similar measures are already in place in New York City, Los Angeles and dozens of smaller cities, it is unclear whether the push for Chicago to join those cities will succeed, even with the backing of Mayor Brandon Johnson.

The temporary Bally’s casino in River North’s Medinah Temple brought in just over $3 million in tax revenue last year. That’s almost $10 million short of what former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration projected.

Maher Kassem, 63, was detained in jail following a hearing Tuesday after he was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

A group of Illinois lawmakers have a proposal that would ban a handful of common additives in food made and sold in Illinois starting in 2027. California last year became the first state to ban the substances that are common in mass-produced and ultra-processed cereals, candies, salad dressings and sodas.

On Tuesday, the clock was again set at 90 seconds to midnight — the closest to the hour it has ever been, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which created the clock in 1947.

Christopher Nolan’s three-hour opus, viewed as the best picture frontrunner, received nods for best picture; Nolan’s direction; acting nominations for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt; and multiple honors for the sweeping craft of the J. Robert Oppenheimer drama. 

With Ron DeSantis ending his 2024 campaign and endorsing Donald Trump on Sunday, the Tuesday primary becomes the first one-on-one matchup between Trump and Nikki Haley.

Repeated misconduct by Chicago police officers cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The latest on the Chicago White Sox eyeing a new home. And looking ahead to the Republican presidential primary race in New Hampshire. 

Discussions are being held with developers and city officials on an early plan to bring a new Chicago White Sox stadium to vacant land known as The 78 south of the Loop. 

The full Chicago City Council is set to vote Wednesday on the proposal crafted by Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th Ward), who has been fighting the proliferation of dollar stores for nearly a decade. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday he’s “deeply concerned” that Chicago is not going to add bed space, as the flow of nearly 35,000 asylum seekers who’ve come to the city since August 2022 shows no signs of abating. 

Archer Daniels Midland Co. said it’s working with outside counsel and the audit committee of the company board to complete an investigation of accounting practices within its nutrition business and it pulled guidance for the unit.

Ryne Sandberg, a Chicago Cubs legend and Hall of Famer, announced that he is battling metastatic prostate cancer.

Snowprah Windfrey and Micicle Jordan are among the pun-heavy contenders just announced as finalists in Chicago’s second annual Name a Snowplow contest.

Two Chicago Fire Department paramedics found the former Marine “face down on the floor” but failed to provide emergency medical care or take him to a nearby hospital, according to the lawsuit filed by his family.

The Edmonton Oilers signed Corey Perry for the remainder of the season, adding the veteran winger early two months since the Chicago Blackhawks terminated his contract for unacceptable conduct.

According to the Chicago Police Department, eight people were shot — one fatally — in seven separate shooting incidents between Friday evening and Sunday night.

Cases that involved at least one officer with repeated claims of misconduct accounted for 60% of the cost borne by taxpayers to resolve police misconduct cases between 2019 and 2022, according to the analysis by WTTW News.

The new Workers Owed Wages website attempts to connect workers with potential unclaimed back pay.

Prosecutors in Douglas County, Kansas, charged Terrence Shannon Jr. on Dec. 5 with rape or an alternative count of sexual battery. After an arrest warrant was issued, the university suspended him on Dec. 28 from “all team activities, effective immediately.”