Stories by Matt Masterson

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has tapped former alderperson Michael Scott Jr. as a new member of the Chicago Board of Education, barely a month after the former Committee on Education and Child Development chair stepped down from the City Council.

Ald. Harry Osterman (48th Ward) announced Friday that he will not run for re-election to represent Edgewater on the Chicago City Council in 2023. Osterman is the third member of the Chicago City Council to announce they will not run for re-election next year, joining Ald. James Cappleman (46th Ward) and Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward). 

In an unpublished memoir obtained by The Associated Press, Carolyn Bryant Donham says she was unaware of what would happen to the 14-year-old Till, who lived in Chicago and was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he was abducted, killed and tossed in a river. 

The Museum of Ice Cream hosts the grand opening for its Chicago location this weekend bringing 14 dessert-inspired installations and a playground of creativity — just in time for National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 17.

One-on-one with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on the Wrigley Field lawsuit and more. Economic recovery in the Pullman neighborhood. And the history of state's rights amid recent Supreme Court decisions.

Chicago’s Pullman and West Pullman areas were once industrial communities where workers lived and worked. The neighborhoods on the Far South Side have since experienced an economic downfall, but over the years people have pushed for growth to improve the quality of life. 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, alongside Sen. Dick Durbin, met with residents and members of March Fourth, a gun safety advocacy group, Tuesday to hear more about their experiences as well as discuss policy solutions.

The concept of federalism — the idea that the federal government’s authority is limited, and other powers retained for the states — is a cornerstone of modern conservatism. But historically, states’ rights have also been used as cover to allow southern states in particular to discriminate against African Americans and other marginalized groups.

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee is set to meet at 3 p.m. Friday to consider a reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith, the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. With the committee’s endorsement, a final vote could come on Wednesday.

Chicago Department of Public Health officials recommend that residents wear masks indoors and on public transportation to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19 and ensure they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

Some laws prohibit abortion at the point of the “first detectable heartbeat” while others restrict abortion at 15, 22 or 24 weeks of pregnancy. This means determining how far along someone is in pregnancy — gestational age — has become more important, because there is a smaller window of time to secure the procedure in about half of the states in the U.S.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois filed a civil suit against the Cubs, alleging the team discriminated against people with disabilities in renovating Wrigley Field under its extensive reconstruction endeavor known as “the 1060 Project.”

From cash payouts to issuing extensive reports and building a bureaucratic system to examine what reparations could look like, here is what some local and state governments have done so far.

A slate of progressive candidates prevailed in Democratic primary contests across the Chicago area, despite facing concerted criticism for backing criminal justice reform efforts. Their success has the potential to reshape the 2023 Chicago municipal elections.

A live report from the Highland Park vigil honoring the victims of last week's mass shooting. Plus, record high inflation. An increase in domestic violence. And "Native Truths" at the Field Museum. 

During the height of the pandemic in 2021, domestic violence cases saw a sharp increase in Illinois. The numbers come from a new report released earlier this week by The Network an advocacy group against domestic violence.

Accusations of witness tampering against former President Donald Trump. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

Monday was like Christmas in July at the Field Museum, where staff unpacked crates of newly arrived fossilized meteorites, holding 460-million-year-old secrets.

Consumer prices soared 9.1% compared with a year earlier, the government said Wednesday, the biggest yearly increase since 1981, and up from an 8.6% jump in May. From May to June, prices rose 1.3%, another huge increase, after prices had surged 1% from April to May.

The Highland Park community comes together to heal. Amanda Vinicky has a live report.

Police Superintendent David Brown on Wednesday said 28-year-old Jabari Edwards was arrested in Burlington, Iowa and will face two counts of attempted murder stemming from the June 1 shooting.

Music festivals, beefy burgers, colorful creatures and tasty tacos usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability in a statement Wednesday said it has learned an officer who was facing a possible termination, has instead resigned from the Chicago Police Department. Due to that, COPA also released its investigatory findings from the July 2020 incident and recommended that Officer Nicholas Jovanovich, Sergeant Kevin Gleeson and Lieutenant Godfrey Cronin all be fired from the department.

More than 30 years ago, a group of Northwestern University medical students started a youth development program with the goal of improving the lives of children living in poverty. New research finds one such program that provided youth with long-term support is associated with reduced poverty in early adult life.

A painfully honest look at the relationship between a husband and wife, and a father and his two sons, the play captures a sense of the generational turmoil in one Pittsburgh family. And, along the way, Wilson subtly presages the more overtly revolutionary era that will unfold in the 1960s.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Wednesday urged potential donors and surviving victims to use caution and be on alert for scams related to the July 4 shooting that left seven people dead and dozens more wounded.