Stories by WTTW News

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.”

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis was first elected to represent the district in 1996 and recently secured the endorsement of President Joe Biden. He’s highlighted the work he’s done in Congress to bring home resources for his constituents, but faced criticism by Kina Collins and some of her backers for missed votes and a lengthy tenure.

Jonathan Jackson, the son of famed Civil Rights icon Jesse Jackson, emerged from the crowded field to win the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional district to replace U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.

Shocking Jan. 6 testimony. The latest as polls close on the Illinois primaries. Cook County at high risk for COVID-19. And behind an obscure governmental agency with offices on the ballot today. 

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi defeated challenger Kari Steele in his bid for a second term in what was the county’s most expensive and high-profile Democratic primary contest on Tuesday.

Amanda Vinicky was outside 69 W. Washington, where work was being done to put together the election totals, as polls closed in today’s primary election.

Urban Autism Solutions, an organization on the West Side, is working to empower young adults on the autism spectrum to learn life skills. The 1.2- acre produce farm is a hands-on program teaching young adults the basics of farming with a goal of enhancing their social and vocational skills.

Delia Ramirez will face the lone Republican in the race, Justin Burau, in the November general election.

In what’s been called “the battle of the billionaires,” some of the country’s wealthiest men are trying to influence Illinois’ Governor’s race. That includes the current Governor, Hyatt hotel heir J. B. Pritzker, whose campaign is largely self-funded. 

Cassidy Hutchinson quoted Trump as directing his staff, in profane terms, to take away the magnetometers that he thought would slow down supporters who’d gathered in Washington. In videotaped testimony played before the committee, she recalled the former president saying words to the effect of: “I don’t f-in’ care that they have weapons.”

Researchers at Lincoln Park Zoo are surveying which ticks are present in the Chicago region, looking for clues about the effects of climate change and urban sprawl, and busting myths in the process.

Pfizer and Moderna tested shots updated to better match the omicron that surged over the winter, but that first mutant has disappeared — replaced by its genetically distinct relatives. The two newest omicron cousins, called BA.4 and BA.5, together now make up half of U.S. cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With only 55% of lifeguard positions filled, the Chicago Park District is limiting access to “underutilized” beaches in order to redeploy staff to neighborhood pools, 37 of which will open July 5.

In the Republican race for governor in Illinois, Darren Bailey, a farmer endorsed by former President Donald Trump, wants to end the state’s right to abortion except for instances in which the mother’s life is in danger. He doesn’t support exceptions for rape or incest. His opponent, Richard Irvin, has said he would allow abortions in instances of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is at risk.

What’s next for abortion rights advocates and opponents after Friday’s ruling? Previewing the big political races on primary election eve. And a new PBS documentary goes in depth on the youth mental health crisis.