Stories by Andrew Adams — Capitol News Illinois

The measure is part of a broad package of election-related legislation which also includes a provision loosening restrictions on what political parties can do with campaign funds and a state-level response to a controversy in the south suburbs. 

Residents push back on a proposed trucking hub in North Lawndale. A landmark study seeks to know more about cancer risks and outcomes in Black women. And remembering the founder of a pioneering Chicago theater company.

A major long-term study launched by the American Cancer Society aims to better understand cancer risk factors and outcomes for Black women in the U.S, who continue to face disparities in cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survival.

The life and legacy of Val Gray Ward, founder of a pioneering Black theater company, was remembered this past weekend.

Developers are pumping the brakes on plans for a controversial logistics and distribution hub in North Lawndale. The project would tear down two buildings preservationists said are historically significant to make way for the nearly 250,000-square-foot facility.

While financing for the Chicago Bears’ proposed new lakefront stadium remains in doubt, opponents of the plan have sent an unequivocal “hands off” message regarding any use of lakefront property for private interests.

Sales of delta-8 and other hemp-derived snacks, drinks and products will continue unabated in Illinois despite potential safety concerns, after the state legislature adjourned early Wednesday morning without passing new regulations.

Sedgwick Williams, 47, and Tai Hon La, 34, were each convicted on kidnapping charges this month following a two-week trial in Chicago’s federal court building. Both men face a possible sentence of up to life in prison.

Despite holding 78 seats in the chamber, it took Democrats three tries to reach the 60 votes needed to approve more than $1.1 billion in revenue increases, including a tax hike on sportsbooks and businesses, to balance the $53.1 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2025.

The landmark case, the only one of four criminal prosecutions against the former president to reach trial, centered on allegations that Trump and his allies conspired to stifle potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 presidential campaign through hush money payments.

What the state’s $53 billion budget plan could mean for taxpayers. A push to establish a statewide public defender system. And the cicada invasion is here — what to know about our new neighbors.

Illinois is one of seven states that do not have a statewide public defender body. Currently, 60% of Illinois counties have no office of public defense and instead hire private attorneys on a part-time basis.

The Democratic National Convention, where the president would otherwise be formally nominated, comes after Ohio’s ballot deadline of Aug. 7. The party’s convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22.

While proponents of carbon capture technology say it is key to addressing climate change, it is often criticized for the risks it brings with it. A pipeline can burst, resulting in a flood of carbon dioxide for miles that can poison those caught in it.

If you wouldn’t eat a vegetable grown in that soil, don’t eat a cicada.

Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday published individual school-level budgets amid as some have expressed concerns about how the district’s new funding model could affect its selective enrollment and magnet schools.

An expansion of O’Hare International Airport’s Concourse C would add more gates and serve both international and domestic passengers, according to elected officials who unveiled design renderings Tuesday.

With five bedrooms and six bathrooms, the Georgian-style property, built in 1921, has plenty of space to accommodate hijinks like those from the iconic 1990 film.

Chicago’s city shelter is waiving adoption fees on weekends through the end of the year, in addition to waiving adoption fees for animals who have been in the shelter for more than 60 days.

The 5-year-old, Reig Ware, was fatally shot at around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of South Campbell Avenue.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is once again under the spotlight after a manager failed to consult a collections committee before purchasing a 21-star flag whose description as a rare banner marking Illinois’ 1818 admission to the Union is disputed.

The fiscal year 2025 spending plan, which came together over a stretch of late nights and closed-door dealmaking, spends $400 million more than what Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed in his February budget address.

Some of the early “They’re here!” excitement has definitely given way to “Wait, they’re staying for how long?” At the opposite end of the spectrum, Chicagoans are wondering why they got left out of the great 2024 emergence.

The Illinois House gave final approval Saturday to a pair of bills that limit the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage or steer individuals toward lower cost, and sometimes less effective, treatments and medications, strategies sometimes referred to as “utilization management.”

Amid the flurry of legislation was a measure prohibiting state universities from admitting students based on familial and donor ties, an expansion of the ban on sales of e-cigarettes to minors and a bill prohibiting stores from stocking alcoholic beverages near non-alcoholic lookalikes.

Chicago City Council bucks the mayor and votes to keep ShotSpotter. And it’s a wrap — almost — on the legislative session in Springfield.