Stories by WTTW News

CPD’s plans to handle mass protests ahead of the DNC. How will Chicago spend the millions in remaining COVID-19 relief dollars? And an uncommon path to law school.

Illinois legislators passed 469 measures this year. The bulk of those items will likely become law, pending action from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But in some cases, what lawmakers left on the table is equally significant as what passed.

“I am heartened by the progress CPD has made,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. “I think Chicagoans should be heartened. I think there are persistent concerns. I think there is time to address them.”

The Chicago Police Department has fully met just 7% of the consent decree’s requirements, according to the most recent report by the team monitoring CPD’s progress.

Benard McKinley is preparing to begin law school at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law. He graduated from college while serving 22 years in prison for a crime he committed when he was 16 years old. 

Following the release of “My Favorite Thing is Monsters” in 2017, graphic novelist Emil Ferris was dubbed “one of the most important comics artists of our time.” Now Ferris is back with “My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two,” which continues the tale of Karen Reyes, a 10-year-old misfit who thinks of herself as a werewolf.

The measure takes effect immediately because the new policy is triggered when arrests for illegal entry reach 2,500. About 4,000 people already are entering the U.S. each day. 

The Field Museum has more than 10 million specimens in its insect collection and — believe it or not — not a single 13-year periodical cicada among them. So what better time than now to fill that gap?

Chicago police officials on Tuesday announced first-degree murder and armed robbery charges against 32-year-old Divonte Calhoun and Justin Redmond, 41, nearly a month after the killing of 24-year-old Zet Rodriguez.

The charges were filed against attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, 62, and Jim Troupis, 70, and former Trump aide Mike Roman, 51, who allegedly delivered Wisconsin’s fake elector paperwork to a Pennsylvania congressman’s staffer in order to get them to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021.

Not only did the Chicago Bears and White Sox fail to win state funding for new stadiums before the General Assembly’s session ended last week, the teams shouldn’t expect to notch a legislative win later this year.

The state law that currently mandates licensing requirements for locksmiths is expected to sunset in January 2029, thanks to legislation passed in Springfield. Some fear that will result in problems for consumers, while others say it is needed deregulation.

Democrats who control the General Assembly pushed the measure through the legislative process and Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed it into law in a matter of days last month, arguing that slating is unfair to voters who didn’t get a say in a primary contest. 

Florida-based Fresh Start Produce recalled the cucumbers, which shipped from May 17 through May 21. The cucumbers were sent to retail distribution centers, wholesalers and food service distributors.

A GOP-led subcommittee has spent over a year probing the nation’s response to the pandemic and whether U.S.-funded research in China may have played any role in how it started — yet found no evidence linking Fauci to wrongdoing.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who has used fertility treatment to have her two children, introduced a bill called the Right to IVF ACT, which would also make it more accessible through insurance as well as for military members and veterans.

One-on-one with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. And upcoming deregulation for locksmiths has some consumer advocates worried. 

“This is abuse that occurred at the hands of those who were hired to protect and educate the residents of these facilities,” attorney Todd Mathews said Monday. “Instead, they created a horrific environment and performed unspeakable acts on these survivors.”

Through the end of May, there have been 204 homicides and 979 shootings, both of which are the lowest totals for any year in Chicago since 2019.

The Progress Pride flag raised Monday at Daley Plaza features rainbow-colored stripes along with black and brown stripes to symbolize marginalized LGBTQ+ communities of color. The blue, pink and white stripes symbolize transgender and non-binary members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) is set to launch in October and will broadcast Chicago Bulls, White Sox and Blackhawks games along with other content through traditional cable providers, streaming services and over-the-air broadcasts, according to a Monday announcement.

The historic November races are part of a multi-year transition that is hard to explain to voters. Special interest groups are taking notice. And questions loom about how the new 21-member board, triple the current size, will govern.

A man who was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in the Back of the Yards neighborhood Sunday was among at least three people killed by gunfire across Chicago over the weekend.

In all, Chicago spent $202 million on a host of programs including affordable housing, mental health, violence prevention, youth job programs and help for unhoused Chicagoans through March 31, records show.

Robert Smigel may be best known as the breeder behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the crass canine puppet whose jokes make Don Rickles look housebroken. We sit down with him before his Chicago show. 

The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, which formed in the fall of 2022, claims House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s refusal to engage in collective bargaining since then is a violation of the Workers’ Rights Amendment.