Stories by

John Lausch, who has served as U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois since 2017, is planning to leave the office in “early 2023,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced during an unrelated press conference Thursday.

In recent years, Chicago Public Library has reached major milestones — becoming one of the first big city libraries to eliminate late fees and allowing more than 100,000 formerly blocked accounts to start anew.

The Chicago Bears hired Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren as their president and CEO on Thursday, bringing him back to the NFL to help lead a founding franchise after three years running one of college athletics’ marquee conferences.

The Chicago Police Department re-published a crime bulletin and video showing a person of interest who is being sought in connection with the teenager’s killing. Thursday marks one year since the fatal shooting.

Illinois’ leadership has shifted, with a fresh group of 177 lawmakers sworn in to office on Wednesday.

Assault weapons, abortions and pay raises: the latest from Springfield. A new bill could allow Chicago principals to unionize. Did the Lori Lightfoot campaign run afoul of ethics rules? And the Chicago Public library turns 150.

“We’re looking for enthusiastic, curious and hard-working young people eager to help Mayor Lightfoot win this spring,” according to an email obtained WTTW News that was sent to Chicago Public Schools teachers’ work email addresses.

Politicians have blasted the notion of banning gas stoves after a federal regulator seemed open to it. It turns out, there are no plans to shut off the stoves for now — but there are significant concerns about their health risks.

Chicago principals could soon have a seat at their own bargaining table. The bill would allow principals to unionize but not strike.

Jeff Beck first came to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds and then went out on his own in a solo career that incorporated hard rock, jazz, funky blues and even opera.

A Cook County judge sentenced Joseph Cabrera to 24 months probation after he pleaded guilty to a charge of recklessly discharging a firearm. He had previously faced other serious charges, including attempted murder.

A lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has led to U.S. egg prices more than doubling over the past year and hatched a lot of sticker shock on grocery aisles.

The road to city landmark status for Promontory Point starts at Thursday’s meeting of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Supporters have been fighting to protect the lakefront peninsula for more than 20 years.

The new jackpot drawing on Friday night will be another milestone in the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration is lifting a ground stop on flights across the U.S. following a computer outage early Wednesday that resulted in thousands of delays and hundreds of cancellations quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law Tuesday night , hours after it passed the legislature on the final day of the General Assembly’s session, and roughly six months since the July 4 mass shooting at the Highland Park Independence Day parade.

According to NASA, the comet would last have been seen in the night sky more than 10,000 years ago — millennia before the birth of human civilization — and it may never pass this way again.

Medical debt affects 27% of Cook County residents. Of those, 42% are people of color.

Wastewater sampling has been a key early-warning tool for detecting spikes in the spread of COVID-19, and now Illinois is making its data available to the public through an interactive online dashboard.

Lawmakers no longer have to walk through metal detectors before gaining access to the House floor. And any time they do vote, they will have to do so in person — no more voting by proxy from home. Those are just some of the changes.

Chicagoans are all too familiar with having to sit in traffic. A recent report shows that the average Chicago-area driver spent 155 hours in traffic last year. That's the highest number in North America and second highest in the world.

What's the new GOP-run house going to be like? We talk with two local congressmembers. The latest on the assault weapons ban in Springfield. How to erase medical debt. And we take a look up at the sky, where you'll see a bright green comet.

Fields, the No. 11 overall pick in 2021, emerged as one of the NFL's most exciting players in his second season. But he was drafted by former general manager Ryan Pace — not current GM Ryan Poles.

“This was probably the most terrifying thing these victims ever experienced in their life,” Judge Ankur Srivastava said during a court hearing Tuesday while explaining why he was denying bail for 22-year-old Sederick Wright.

The funding, established through the 2022 climate and health law signed by President Joe Biden, marks the largest environmental justice grants the agency has ever offered.

Lincoln Park Zoo announced it welcomed not one, not two, but three lion cubs on Monday. The zoo had been on lion watch since early December, when staff confirmed 4-year-old African lion Zari was pregnant.