Stories by Acacia Hernandez

Jurors in the trial of Antioch native Kyle Rittenhouse have now completed three days of deliberation and still no verdict. This comes as demonstrators made their voices heard outside the Kenosha County Courthouse again, and as the outspoken judge in the case admonished a member of the news media. 

A far-right paramilitary organization has found success in recruiting law enforcement officers in America’s largest cities, according to an investigation from NPR that shows active officers in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago on membership rosters. 

Articles of colorful clothing and ornaments tell the story of the person who wears them. The whole ensemble is called regalia, and it helps preserve the heritage of an entire community. A local photographer with roots in the Potawatomi Nation documents her people and their legacy.

The leaders of the Chicago City Council’s Black and Latino caucuses sparred Thursday as a compromise over the boundaries of the ward map that will shape Chicago politics for the next decade remained elusive.

Beginning June 1, 2022, juror pay — which has not increased for decades — will increase from $14.50 per day to $30 per day, while travel stipends will increase from $2.70 per day to $5 per day.

The members of the panel will return on Friday morning to resume their work. Unlike on previous days, they had no questions and no requests to view any evidence Thursday in the politically and racially fraught case.

The rail bypass goes into service Friday, carrying CTA Brown Line trains over Red and Purple line tracks and eliminating a 114-year-old transit bottleneck. 

The full U.S. Senate is set to consider Rahm Emanuel’s nomination to serve as President Joe Biden’s ambassador — but if the former Chicago mayor is confirmed, it will happen without the support of at least two progressive Democratic senators.

The cost of a Thanksgiving feast for 10 is up 14% from 2020, according to an annual survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

“I know this is a complicated fact pattern,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said, “but in looking at the facts as alleged by the state, it’s as if these two defendants tried to copy every armed robbery movie out there, right down to the double cross.”

The new effort will be “trauma-informed and services-oriented,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office. Organizations will be invited to submit proposals to run the effort early next year, officials said. 

While defense attorneys characterized the first man Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot as “irrational and crazy,” to bolster their claims Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, mental health advocates say such depictions add to the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to authorize emergency use of the experimental pill, which has been shown to significantly cut the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among people with coronavirus infections.

A live report from Kenosha as a jury deliberates the fate of Kyle Rittenhouse. Changes for the city’s gang database. Potential relief for some student loan borrowers. And Spotlight Politics.

Judge Bruce Schroeder did not immediately rule on the request, the second mistrial motion from the defense in a week. 

The mayor’s choice to lead the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has caused some controversy with City Council members.

Michael Salvatore, a fifth-generation Chicagoan, opened Heritage Bikes & Coffee in Lakeview in 2012. The business combines two things he loves while paying homage to his family and the city’s cycling history.

The student loan debt crisis is now up to $1.7 trillion. Many federal loan borrowers were temporarily relieved of repayments during the pandemic, but they’re set to resume Feb. 1. And there’s no movement on canceling student debt.

The Chicago City Council voted 29-18 on Wednesday to grant the Chicago Police Board the power to overrule the Chicago Police Department and remove a Chicagoan from its gang database.

The latest proposed contract maintains the 10% immediate raises that the last deal offered, and it makes what the United Auto Workers union called modest changes to the details of Deere’s internal incentive pay program for workers.

Brookfield Zoo is in the midst of a seahorse baby boom and caught the arrival of its newest little ones on camera. Dad made it look easy.

Holiday lights, intricate artwork, butterfly yoga and stand-up comedy usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez on Wednesday said his team is beginning to set up plans and solidify a specific health metric that can be used to decide when to shut down in-person learning within a school or across the district itself.

The increasingly heated debate over the presence of certain books in school libraries was aired at a Downers Grove school board meeting this week.

Illinois has intentionally reduced its prison population, and made changes to sentencing laws to reduce offenders’ time behind bars. Now some victims’ family members are calling for the state to reverse directions when it comes to those who murder children.

The leaders of the Chicago City Council’s Black and Latino caucuses said Tuesday that they could endorse a new Chicago ward map with 18 wards with a majority of Black voters and 15 wards with a majority of Latino voters.