Stories by WTTW News

The latest in the weekend shooting death of a Chicago police officer. A major new climate change report. New research on the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. And business headlines from Crain’s.

There were more than 45 separate shooting incidents over the weekend, according to police, including two mass shootings and the killing of Chicago police Officer Ella French on Saturday night.

Three officers assigned to the police department’s Community Safety Team were conducting a traffic stop on a vehicle near 63rd Street and South Bell Avenue at around 9 p.m. Saturday when they were fired upon, Chicago’s top cop said at the news conference.

As journalists, we often work to avoid becoming part of the stories we cover. But sometimes, the story is part of us. Last month, my friend Sonya Anderson’s stepson was shot and killed, just two days before his 19th birthday. We sit down for an intimate conversation about gun violence.

The retired Harvard Business School professor and Englewood native talks about some of the ideas in his new book, “A Letter to My White Friends and Colleagues: What You Can Do Right Now to Help the Black Community.”

One-on-one with a local nonprofit leader working with young men of color whose stepson was recently killed. A guaranteed income pilot program. How white people can help reduce the wealth disparity. 

Senators were laboring Sunday toward eventual passage of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, resigned to stay as long as it takes to overcome Republican holdouts who want to drag out final votes on one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities.

A new initiative in the nation’s capital is one of five ATF efforts underway nationwide — the others are located in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and New York City — in cities experiencing significant gun violence.

Motorists put the pedal to the metal during the pandemic and police are worried as roads get busy with the final stretch of summer travel.

Census Bureau statisticians and outside experts are trying to unravel a mystery: Why were so many questions about households in the 2020 census left unanswered?

A year after being taken to task by the city’s Office of Inspector General for inefficient weed-clearing practices, the Department of Streets and Sanitation has made some improvements but still has work to do, according to a follow-up report released last week.

The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States crossed 100,000 new confirmed daily infections Saturday, a milestone last exceeded during the winter surge and driven by the highly transmissible delta variant and low vaccination rates in the South. 

Efforts to make transit accessible across communities. A controversial new Target warehouse. And does the city make the cut in clearing weeds from vacant lots?

The city’s transportation department has been installing a new grid of bike routes in Belmont Cragin and Hermosa as part of the Chicago Works Capital Plan to modernize infrastructure and improve access to and safety of transportation.

The Senate moved closer to passing a $1 trillion infrastructure package Saturday after lawmakers from both parties came together and voted to clear a key procedural hurdle, but the action soon stalled out as opponents tried to slow the rush to approve one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities.

Nothing about the summer was easy for the U.S. men’s basketball team, and neither was the gold-medal game. The Americans expected nothing less. And in the end, their Olympic reign lives on.

The Chicago White Sox had prized reliever Craig Kimbrel on the mound with a three-run lead and a win they needed in sight. They managed to come out on top. But only after things took one wild turn.

The governor institutes a full pre-K through 12 mask mandate. The city’s casino process gets delayed. The governor’s race could get a new entrant. And fire sale Cubs take on the surging Sox.

Under the action, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through Jan. 31, 2022. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period, and debt collection efforts will be suspended. Those measures have been in place since early in the pandemic but were set to expire Sept. 30.

The process to get a Chicago casino is taking longer than originally anticipated. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday the city would extend the deadline for interested parties to submit proposals to build and operate the casino.

Reports of sick and dying birds have tapered off since first coming to light in late spring. Illinois was not affected and wildlife officials reiterated that it's OK to have bird feeders and baths in outdoor spaces — just be sure to keep them clean. 

Former President Barack Obama has scaled back his 60th birthday bash set for this weekend at his Martha’s Vineyard home off the Massachusetts coast due to the surge of infections blamed on the delta variant of the coronavirus, his office said Wednesday.

Even people who have recovered from COVID-19 are urged to get vaccinated, especially as the extra-contagious delta variant surges — and a new study shows survivors who ignored that advice were more than twice as likely to get reinfected.

Opponents of the Obama Presidential Center’s construction in Jackson Park suffered another legal setback Thursday in federal court.

United Airlines will require employees in the U.S. to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by late October, perhaps sooner, joining a growing number of big corporations that are responding to a surge in virus cases.

The latest on new state pot licenses. Live in Rogers Park. More businesses mandate vaccines for employees. A Chicago police officer is charged in a shooting. And preventing drowning off the lakefront.