Stories by
McCarthy Fails for 3rd Long Day in GOP House Speaker Fight
| Associated Press
Pressure was building as GOP party leader Kevin McCarthy lost a seventh, eighth and historic ninth round of voting, tying the number it took the last time this happened, 100 years ago, in a prolonged fight to choose a speaker in a disputed election.
Chicago’s Christmas Tree Recycling Program Is Open Fir Business
| Patty Wetli
Live trees — well, not so live anymore — can be recycled at any one of 26 citywide locations, Jan. 7-21.
Share of Chicago Property Tax Revenues Claimed by TIF Funds Grew 15.5% in 2021: Report
| Heather Cherone
Demolishing the record set in each of the past two years, $1.22 billion poured into the city’s 129 TIF funds in 2021, according to a report from the office of the Cook County Clerk.
Ruling on Plans to Eliminate Cash Bail Across Illinois Could be Months Away
| Matt Masterson
An agreed motion released Wednesday shows that oral arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court between Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a group of prosecutors challenging the plan to eliminate cash bail will not be held until sometime in March.
Teen Charged in Fatal Shooting Outside Englewood Gas Station
| Matt Masterson
Rafael Harvey, 17, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted vehicular hijacking and other felonies after a shooting that left one man dead and another injured outside a Citgo gas station Tuesday.
10 Things to Do This Weekend: Jan. 6-8
| Kristen Thometz
Winter flower shows, fitness classes, hot coffees and teas and thousands of holiday lights usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.
Biden to Award Citizens Medal to 12 on Jan. 6 Anniversary
| Associated Press
President Joe Biden on Friday will present the nation’s second highest civilian award to 12 individuals involved in defending the Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and safeguarding the will of American voters in the 2020 presidential election.
Return of Chicago Cop Who Lied About Ties to Proud Boys Will Erode Trust in Police, Civil Rights Group Says
| Heather Cherone
Allowing the man to return to work as a Chicago police officer will “create an environment of impunity for other officers who may associate with violent groups and contribute to the erosion of trust between the public and law enforcement authorities,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Jan. 4, 2023 - Full Show
| WTTW News
Why Howard Brown Health staffers are on the picket line. An increase in opioid deaths in Cook County. The standoff on Capitol Hill in Spotlight Politics. And drying out for January.
Employees at Howard Brown Health Continue Strike Over Recent Layoffs; CEO Says Cost Cuts Necessary
| Amanda Vinicky
Howard Brown Health will next year mark 50 years of serving the health needs of the LBGTQ and HIV-positive communities. Going forward, it will do so minus about 16% of its workforce.
McCarthy Rejected for House Speaker with GOP in Disarray
| Associated Press
For a fourth, fifth and sixth time, Republicans tried to vote McCarthy into the top job as the House plunged deeper into disarray.
Participation in Dry January Continues to Increase as Individuals Look to ‘Evaluate Their Relationship with Alcohol’
| Blair Paddock
A total of 35% of legal-aged U.S. adults skipped alcohol for the entirety of January in 2022 — that’s an increase from 21% in 2019, according to food and drink research firm CGA.
Intuit Museum Awarded ‘Transformative’ $5 Million Grant to Support Outsider Art
| Marc Vitali
Intuit, the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, has been on Milwaukee Avenue near Chicago and Ogden avenues since 1999. The museum showcases artwork by self-taught and often marginalized artists who didn’t follow a traditional path to art-making.
US Job Openings Fell Slightly in November Yet Still High
| Associated Press
Yet the figures show there are nearly 1.8 jobs for every unemployed person, down from a peak of 2 but historically very high. Before the pandemic, there were usually more unemployed people than jobs.
Cook County Expected to Exceed 2,000 Opioid Deaths in 2022, Setting New Record
| Paul Caine
The key culprit appears to be the widespread availability of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Chicago Homicides Declined in 2022, But Total Still Among Highest Since ‘90s
| Matt Masterson
That total marks a double-digit percentage decline over each of the last two years, according to Chicago Police Department data, but would still sit as the fourth most homicides in the city since 1999.
Man Charged With Killing Woman, Wounding Her Sister in Shooting Outside River North Bowling Alley
| Matt Masterson
Jason McMahan was denied bail during a hearing Wednesday, one day after he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery stemming from the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Tashawnna Anderson.
Mega Millions Jackpot Climbs to $940M After No Winner
| Associated Press
The new jackpot will remain the sixth-largest jackpot in U.S. history.
Twitter Says It Will Relax Ban on Political Advertising
| Associated Press
Twitter banned all political advertising in 2019, reacting to growing concern about misinformation spreading on social media. The latest move appears to represent a break from that policy, which had banned ads by candidates, political parties, or elected or appointed government officials.
Jan. 3, 2023 - Full Show
| WTTW News
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on a host of issues facing the city. The latest on injured Buffalo player Damar Hamlin. The law eliminating cash bail is on pause. And the U.S. House Speaker vote devolves into chaos.
Future of Cash Bail to be Determined by Illinois Supreme Court. Here’s What Happens Now
| Amanda Vinicky
On New Year’s Eve, less than 12 hours before cashless bail was to take effect, Illinois Supreme Court justices put the elimination of cash bail in the state on hold indefinitely.
Chicago Model Building Company Has Spent 70 Years Making Ideas Reality
| Erica Gunderson
The business of Chicago-based Model Builders Inc. is in the details – precision-crafting models and prototypes of all kinds since 1950. As Model Builders Inc.’s Jeff Harris puts it: “you’re convincing the person that’s looking at it that it’s the real thing, shrunk.”
Suburban Woman Looks Forward to New Year Thanks to Heart Donor
| Joanna Hernandez
At the age of 51, Vicki Strawn suffered a heart attack. Living with cardiac problems came with limitations that made it difficult to walk or cook. Strawn finally got the call she’d been waiting for on May 16, 2021.
Kevin McCarthy Fails After Marathon Votes for Speaker of the House, Vows to Stay In
| Associated Press
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it takes to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound after becoming the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel from his fellow party members on the initial vote.
Explainer: What Happened to Buffalo Bills Player Damar Hamlin?
| Associated Press
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during Monday night’s game, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game against the Cincinnati Bengals that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Lightfoot Defends Plan to Open Temporary Shelter for Immigrants in Shuttered Woodlawn School
| Heather Cherone
Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended her decision to transform a shuttered school in Woodlawn into a shelter for immigrants bused to Chicago as part of an “all hands on deck” response to what she called a crisis manufactured by the Republican governor of Texas during an interview on Tuesday with “Chicago Tonight.”
Thanks to our sponsors:
Trending
Trump Plans to Send Texas National Guard, ‘Armed Military Personnel’ to Chicago: Pritzker
Eight People Killed by Gunfire Over Labor Day Weekend in Chicago: Police
Under Emergency Rule, Illinois Prisons Plan to Withhold Physical Mail in Favor of Electronic Scanning
ICE Strike Team, Troops Could Reach Chicago in 48 Hours: Gov. JB Pritzker
How Chicago’s Changes to Tipped Minimum Wage Are Impacting Businesses, Workers
Sign up for the WTTW News newsletter