Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Thousands of educators from across the country are coming to Chicago to discuss and debate public education policies. The National Education Association is holding its annual meeting here. Amanda Vinicky spoke to the union president about her plan for the future of schools, including emotional learning, standardized testing, and addressing mass shootings in schools. 

Illinois environmental groups were quick to condemn the Supreme Court’s limits on the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and placed the state in opposition to the justices’ stance. 

A day after R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison following his racketeering conviction in New York, a federal judge has denied a request to throw out additional charges against the R&B singer ahead of his upcoming trial in Chicago.

Climate change and the alarming trends of species extinction and habitat loss demand that conservation organizations think big. So The Land Conservancy of McHenry County stepped up its game.

By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.

Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, is joining three other women — the first time four women will serve together on the nine-member court. President Joe Biden nominated Jackson in February, a month after Stephen Breyer, 83, announced he would retire. 

President Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office in January 2021. But lower courts ordered it reinstated in response to a lawsuit from Republican-led Texas and Missouri. The current administration has sent far fewer people back to Mexico than did the Trump administration.

The Illinois Child Care for All Coalition is calling for publicly-funded universal child care, saying it is unavailable and unaffordable for many in the Prairie State. 

The day after Illinois Republicans handily selected farmer and state Sen. Darren Bailey as his general election opponent, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled glimpses of what’s to come

Our Spotlight Politics team has much more on last night's primaries, and how the key races are shaping up for November. We'll also get their take on yet more explosive revelations from the Jan. 6 hearings in Washington.

Whether it be catching the wind on the Centennial Wheel at Navy Pier or dancing to the hums of waters splashing at Buckingham Fountain, contemporary artist Paul Brourman is eager to pay tribute to a city he’s called home for the last 30 years, and some of his favorite landmarks with his new series “Chicago Looks Good On You.”

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi was able to fight off challenger Kari Steele, putting him one step closer to a second term in office.

Republican Tom DeVore won yesterday and is looking to replace incumbent Kwame Raoul, who is seeking reelection. DeVore, an attorney, has been behind several lawsuits against the state over mask and other COVID-19 mandates, leading to some tough words from the governor.

Should she prevail against her Republican challenger, Justin Burau, in the general election in November, Ramirez wants to focus on environmental issues as well as Medicare for All and immigration reform.

The general election campaign has officially begun, as Darren Bailey prepares to take on J.B. Pritzker. Plus, we talk with some of yesterday’s other winners and analyze the results.

A warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham — identified as “Mrs. Roy Bryant” on the document — was discovered last week by searchers inside a file folder that had been placed in a box, Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The city plans to upgrade 15 miles of existing protected bike lanes and add 10 new miles by the end of this year, and upgrade the remaining existing lanes protected by bollards or other means by the end of next year.

An audience of 12,000 people poured into Millennium Park Monday evening to hear maestro Riccardo Muti lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a thrilling performance of works by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky on the Pritzker Pavilion stage.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul was in Chicago Wednesday to announce the launch of Crime Gun Connect — an online platform that allows police departments to access gun trace records more efficiently than ever.

R. Kelly has been jailed without bail since in 2019. He’s still facing child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, where a trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 15.

A pop-up street art festival, summer workouts, circus acts and the sounds of nature usher in the holiday weekend. Here are a dozen things to do in and around Chicago.

Rejected bids included a $500 million offer from MAT Asphalt, which faced strong opposition from environmental justice advocates. The city announced it will issue a revised solicitation for asphalt production in the fall “to better address environmental and public health concerns.”

Fresh off an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, downstate farmer and state Sen. Darren Bailey appears to have coasted to a win the six-way Republican contest for Illinois governor. We take a look at the statewide election results and what they mean for November. 

CNN is projecting former public defender Kathy Salvi to defeat Casey Chlebek, Peggy Hubbard, Robert Piton, Jimmy Lee Tillman II, Anthony Williams and Matthew Dubiel in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

Both candidates are current U.S. Representatives — Casten in the 6th District, Newman in the 3rd District — and are facing off in the 6th District, which includes many of Chicago’s western suburbs.

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis conceded to first-term Republican Mary Miller in the hotly contested GOP race in the 15th Congressional district, saying it’s been “the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Illinois.”