Stories by WTTW News

Money tips as we ride a wave of high inflation. The reasons why CPS enrollment is declining. A Pilsen hardware store opens its doors for the next generation. And we dance our way to a salsa festival.

As record-high inflation impacts every American’s wallet, Latino spending patterns mean they could be feeling the pinch even more.

Competition from big-box stores and a lack of successors has forced many small family-run businesses in Chicago to close their doors. But the owner of a longtime fixture on 18th Street is nailing down plans to ensure his store has a different fate.

After having to go virtual last year The Chicago International Salsa Congress is back this weekend. A four-day event celebrating Afro Latin music and dance. 

Appeals court rules against Pritzker’s school mask mandate. A mask melee in the general assembly. Lightfoot’s gang ordinance moves forward. And another Chicago alderman found guilty in federal court.

Daunte Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, said after the sentencing that Potter “murdered my son,” adding: “Today the justice system murdered him all over again.” She also accused the judge of being taken in by “white woman’s tears” after Potter cried during her pre-sentencing statement.

Russian misinformation is building up to a false justification for Putin to move against Ukraine, Biden said, accusing Russia of ceasefire violations in the “rapidly escalating crisis.”

Officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health rejected the permit because of the “potential adverse changes in air quality and quality of life that would be caused by operations, and health vulnerabilities in the surrounding communities.” 

Hader Garcia, 18, was arrested and charged this week with one count of first-degree murder stemming from the fatal Dec. 18 shooting of 36-year-old ​​Richard Robinette. Garcia was denied bail during a hearing Friday afternoon.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday heralded NATO unity during the escalating Ukraine crisis and warned Russia that the U.S. and Western allies stood ready to respond with tough sanctions if President Vladimir Putin moves forward with an invasion of Ukraine.

The ruling declared the governor’s appeal moot because a General Assembly committee declined on Tuesday to reissue rules from the Illinois Department of Health requiring masks to be worn in school buildings. 

Residents respond to a new report about the General Iron operation on the South Side. City Hall weighs the mayor's plan to go after gang money. Accelerating inflation. And theater critic Hedy Weiss.

As a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine looms, residents in the neighborhood are feeling the impact acutely. Many have family still living in Ukraine and feel limited in what they are able to do to help them.

Theater critic Hedy Weiss joins “Chicago Tonight” to share her thoughts on five shows currently playing on Chicago-area stages. 

Patrick Jake O’Rourke was a Toledo, Ohio native who evolved from long-haired student activist to wavy-haired scourge of his old liberal ideals, with some of his more widely read takedowns appearing in a founding counterculture publication, Rolling Stone.

A proposal from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs advanced Thursday over the objections of progressive alderpeople and civil rights groups. The 10-4 vote by the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee tees up a showdown over the controversial measure at Wednesday’s full City Council. 

Musician, friend to Mozart, music teacher to Marie Antoinette, and skilled fencer. These are just a few of the accolades that describe the man known to be the first Black composer of the 18th century.

Early this week, a city assessment said the proposed Southside Recycling plant would not have an adverse effect on resident’s health. But advocates, who’ve been protesting the plant, disagree.

Retail sales jumped 3.8% from December to January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, a much bigger increase than economists had expected. Though inflation helped boost that figure, most of January’s gain reflected more purchases, not higher prices.

A new play about the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Pride Arts Center imagines her final reflections on a remarkable life. 

Joseph Igartua, 37, has been charged with one count of reckless discharge of a weapon and three counts of stalking. All of those charges are felonies and Igartua was ordered held without bail during a hearing Thursday.

The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee voted 13-7 to send the recommendation from city attorneys to the full City Council for a final vote on Wednesday. 

The Chicago Park District’s state-of-the art track and field center at Gately Park in Pullman, which opened in 2021, owes its existence to decades of pushing and prodding by the late Conrad Worrill. Now it’s named for him.

Christopher Hillas, 43, was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct following an incident in which he was allegedly captured on body camera video punching a man multiple times during a pat down on Christmas Eve.

The Chicago City Council is set to pay $1.4 million to the family of a toddler who was struck and killed by a car driven by a man being chased by police.

Tremell Neloms, 18, was denied bail during a hearing Thursday after he was charged with first-degree murder in the fatal Jan. 18 shooting of Rauner College Prep freshman Caleb Westbrooks.