Stories by WTTW News

City Council resumes in-person meetings. What’s next in the push for civilian police oversight. A look at Chicago’s gang problem. And making pot licensing equitable in Illinois.

The Illinois legislature has just over a month left in its spring session. On the docket is a fix for how the state awards licenses to operate in the legal cannabis industry. Consumers may not notice it, but the licensing process has been plagued with issues.

Federal prosecutors defended their decision to hit Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward) with a 14-count corruption indictment in a court filing released Wednesday, saying Chicago’s longest-serving aldermen is “thoroughly corrupt and worthy of prosecution.”

The 42-8 vote was a victory for Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who promised during the campaign to overhaul the city’s laws to reduce the affordable housing gap of nearly 120,000 homes in Chicago. 

In Chicago, some are calling for new limits to the police department’s foot pursuit policy after an officer shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo last month. And a coalition of groups are pushing an ordinance that would establish broad civilian oversight of Chicago police.

Former real estate agent Dina Lewis moved from New York City to Chicago in 2018. Soon after, she decided to pursue a professional endeavor that was personal to her: designing clothing for kids with special sensory needs. We visited the design studio of Minor Details to learn more.

As gangs were targeted by police and federal authorities using anti-racketeering laws from the 1970s onward, many gang leaders were incarcerated in federal prisons. That left behind a more fractured and anarchic gang culture, say gang experts.

Black and Latino residents of suburban Cook County, who are more likely to contract COVID-19 and experience severe illness and die, are getting vaccinated at a slower pace than whites and Asians, according to public health officials.

After celebrations were scratched in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Earth Day is back in 2021 with in-person events designed to raise awareness of environmental issues.

One of the largest reports on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy bolsters evidence that it is safe although the authors say more comprehensive research is needed

More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced school closures around the city, Chicago Public Schools says it is planning to resume in-person learning full time for students this fall.

Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would invest $25 billion to convert the nation’s fleet of gasoline- and diesel-powered school buses to electric vehicles, building on a component of President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan to improve children’s health.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced new employer tax credits and other steps to encourage people reluctant to be inoculated to get the COVID-19 vaccine as his administration tries to overcome diminishing demand for the shots.

The fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant, a Black teenager seen on video charging at two people with a knife, came within minutes of the verdict in George Floyd’s killing — causing outrage by some over the continued use of lethal force by Columbus police.

President Joe Biden said the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd “can be a giant step forward” for the nation in the fight against systemic racism. But he declared that “it’s not enough.”

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine in suburban Cook County just got a little easier. Mass vaccination sites in Tinley Park and Matteson will accept walk-in appointments through Saturday in an effort to remove barriers to vaccination, according to officials.

At numerous natural areas across the forest preserve district, low-lying “spring ephemeral” plants are flowering in the kind of sunlight they haven’t enjoyed in decades, thanks to ecological restoration projects.

A sense of relief was palpable across the United States on Tuesday after a jury found former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in killing George Floyd. But when it came to what’s next for America, the reaction was more hesitant. 

Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.

Derek Chauvin is found guilty of murder. City Council debates police reform. Combating misinformation on social media. Music venues prepare to reopen. And Technicolor textiles at the Art Institute.

History, music and photography are all stitched together in a show at the Art Institute of Chicago. We visit the pandemic-delayed exhibition “Bisa Butler: Portraits” to get the story behind these Technicolor textiles.

Four aldermen say the guilty verdicts will likely avert large protests and civil unrest in Chicago — while acknowledging they have much more work to do to reform the Chicago Police Department, particularly in the wake of the police shooting death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

Unfounded rumors erupted on social media over the weekend about the alleged resignation of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. We talk about how rumors spread on social media and how journalists should cover them.

A recent bungled federal aid rollout worth 16 billion dollars for music venues and theaters across the country is adding more strain to a stressful situation.

More than 3,000 National Guard soldiers, along with police officers, state police, sheriffs deputies and other law enforcement personnel have flooded the Minnesota city in recent days. It leaves many wondering: How much is too much?

Aldermen on Tuesday advanced a plan designed to boost the number of affordable homes across Chicago by requiring developers that get special permission from the city or a subsidy to build more units and pay higher fees.