Stories by Heather Cherone

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 22 counts alleging that he orchestrated a criminal enterprise for a decade while serving as Illinois’ most powerful politician.

Preservation Chicago has announced its annual list of most endangered buildings and landscapes, representing pieces of the city’s history most threatened with imminent erasure.

The overall number of trees in the region has increased, according to a 2020 tree census conducted by Morton Arboretum.  But not all trees are seen as equals. Some are invasive and prevent native trees and plants from flourishing. 

Guaranteed income or cash transfer programs have often been framed as resources to help pay for unexpected medical bills or rent. But now, a group of doctors is pitching the program as not only an anti-poverty strategy but an anti-violence strategy.

Illinois hotel leaders are proposing the Hotel Jobs Recovery Act, which would allocate funds to hotels across the state to rehire workers. The group is proposing $250 million to come from the state’s leftover American Rescue Plan Act funding, giving one-time grants of $1,500 per room for every hotel in Illinois. 

The former Illinois House Speaker and longtime chairperson of the Democratic Party of Illinois faces multiple counts that carry prison sentences of up to 20 years each. And advocates say Mike Madigan’s indictment should be a call for reform of state government.

DuSable Park has been a park in name only since Mayor Harold Washington dedicated the site, at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, in 1987. Wednesday, a design team was selected to bring the vision to life.

Vera Lytovchenko has become an internet icon of resilience as images of the concert violinist playing in the basement bomb shelter in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv have inspired an international audience via social media.

Supporters say the sites — also known as safe injection sites or supervised consumption spaces — are humane, realistic responses to the deadliest drug crisis in U.S. history. Critics see them as illegal and defeatist answers to the harm that drugs wreak on users and communities.

A trio of St. Patrick’s Day parades, a green river, Japanese drumming and environmental films usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago this weekend.

The Biden administration views the explosive popularity of cryptocurrency as an opportunity to examine the risks and benefits of digital assets, said a senior administration official who previewed the order Tuesday on the condition of anonymity, terms set by the White House.

The Chicago Bears are teaming up with the Lake County Forest Preserves to remove invasive buckthorn from the property surrounding Halas Hall in Lake Forest.

Amid a double-digit uptick in violent crime along Chicago Transit Authority train and bus lines this year, city officials say they’ll be adding additional officers and security guards on trains and buses around the city.

On Thursday, three months after a jury found him guilty of lying to police, actor Jussie Smollett returns for sentencing to the courtroom where he was found guilty of lying to police about an attack prosecutors contended he orchestrated himself.

It’s a new front as the U.S. attempts from afar to influence what’s happening in Ukraine. President Biden Tuesday announced a ban on all imports of oil from Russia. What consequences that may have abroad and here at home.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on your gas tank and your wallet. CTU responds to the district’s change in mask policy. A wave of anti-LGBTQ laws nationwide. And going green in Englewood.

Actor Lesley Nicol earned accolades for portraying the head cook Mrs. Patmore on six seasons of the television show “Downton Abbey” and in two movies. Now, she’s ready to premiere her new stage show in Chicago.

Residents and community leaders gathered in Englewood on Tuesday for the opening of the new Go Green Community Fresh Market. It’s designed to be as convenient as a neighborhood corner store but with fresh produce, a variety of healthy options, and meals cooked on site. 

Chicago Public Schools students will have the option of whether to wear masks, starting next week. The district’s mandate was originally maintained under a contract agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union — despite Illinois dropping masks for schools statewide last week. But Monday, the district announced it’s dropping that mandate.

Conservatives have argued that the bill is needed in order to give parents greater oversight over what students learn and discuss at school, stressing that LGBTQ-related topics should be left for families to discuss at home. Opponents, however, have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, arguing the ban it creates would negatively impact an already marginalized community. 

Back in the 1980s, the number of fish species found in the Chicago River could be counted on a single hand. Today, that number is up to 60 species, an increase in diversity that can be directly attributed to a decrease in wastewater pollutants, according to a new study from the Shedd Aquarium.

Johnny Clark, chef and owner at Chicago restaurant Wherewithall, is using his culinary skills to help keep Ukrainian culture alive while at the same time raising funds for the country. 

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs turns 100 this year. The organization was created in 1922 amid isolationist sentiment in the U.S. following World War I. In the years since, it has brought a long list of global leaders and experts to Chicago. 

A previous effort to renovate the Congress Theater sputtered out in 2020, even after the City Council agreed to give the project a $9.7 million subsidy.

“I don’t anticipate, you know, more serious consequences in terms of work stoppages,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said, “but we will continue to work together because we have it in both our best interests to keep our community safe.”

A federal judge last week sentenced Diego Vargas after he pleaded guilty to maliciously attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive device.