Stories by Associated Press

The substantial half-point hike in its benchmark short-term rate that the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday won’t, by itself, have much immediate effect on most Americans’ finances. But additional large hikes are expected to be announced at the Fed’s next two meetings, in June and July, and economists and investors foresee the fastest pace of rate increases since 1989.

Anchored a mile off Navy Pier, Chuoy the Buoy fills a Chicago-sized gap in shoreline monitoring. Swimmers, boaters, anglers, researchers and meteorologists alike will benefit from data collected close to the city’s lakefront.   

Thirty-six residents of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home died in November 2020 as part of a COVID-19 outbreak. A new report from the state’s auditor general finds that IDPH neglected to respond to the outbreak at the state-run facility until for many, it was too late.

After being closed for more than 20 years, a former Catholic school in Greater Grand Crossing is being rebuilt into a new arts incubator for the Rebuild Foundation. Arts Correspondent Angel Idowu takes us to that groundbreaking for an inside look at the city’s newest cultural hub. 

House Republicans are calling for an audit of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. And the agency's own director, Marc Smith, has been held in contempt of court nine times.

Lightfoot’s support for a casino on what is now the Chicago Tribune printing plant and newsroom near Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street will bounce the roulette ball to the Chicago City Council to consider Bally’s plan.

A move to Arlington, Virginia, would put Boeing executives close to officials for their key customer, the Pentagon, and the Federal Aviation Administration, which certifies Boeing passenger planes.

Swarms of gnat-sized midges, which look like mini-mosquitoes, minus the bite, have been reported along the Chicago lakefront. But in this case, “swarm” is relative. 

Chicago Women in Trades helped organize what they say is the regional unions’ first class of all women in 140 years. The Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council’s pre-apprentice program will put participants on the path to becoming a union-card-holding carpenter.

The 1913 Consumers Building at 202 South State St., and its neighbor, the 1915 Century Building, were designed by two of Chicago’s most storied architecture firms. But multiple federal agencies have concluded the towers’ locations just east of the Dirksen Federal Building render the country’s largest federal courthouse vulnerable to attack and pose too much of a security risk to keep.

Supreme Court political fallout. The state joins a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service. The fight to preserve historic loop buildings. And a renovated Chicago theater readies for its closeup.

The potential to roll back established abortion rights already has emerged in states with divided political control, including Pennsylvania and Virginia. California and Colorado are pushing to protect abortion access in their constitutions, a stronger step than passing a law. 

The federal lawsuit Illinois joined charges the Postal Service with botching its review of a plan to buy as many as 165,000 new delivery trucks in an effort to modernize its fleet. The contract calls for just 10% of those trucks to be electric vehicles.

The Biden Administration has floated vague proposals to eliminate billions in collective student debt. It could set a limit of anywhere between $10 and $50,000 and apply only to non-wealthy earners. The details have yet to be ironed out, but not everyone is on board with the idea.

Police officials, including Superintendent David Brown, have repeatedly told members of the Chicago City Council that the new gang database — dubbed the Criminal Enterprise Information System — would be up and running shortly, only to see those deadlines repeatedly missed without explanation. 

President Joe Biden, embracing deficit reduction as a way to fight inflation, stressed that the dip in the national debt would be the first in six years, an achievement that eluded former President Donald Trump despite his promises to improve the federal balance sheet.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said a court order published Wednesday is preventing the release of any materials stemming from the non-fatal March 28 shooting of 28-year-old James Callion.

Arriving at the very moment the Supreme Court appear to be poised to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision of a half-century ago, this haunting musical is infused with an intensity and a cry for help in the very midst of a retroactive movement.

Colorful flowers, cabaret shows, dance performances and circus acts usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago this weekend.

The latest on the leaked opinion from the Supreme Court, potentially overturning Roe v. Wade, we hear from lawmakers and advocates. Plus, Chicago bids for the Democratic National Convention, and more.

A convention hosted in Chicago would “invite the nation to explore the Land of Lincoln and Obama,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. 

Illinois law would protect abortion rights, but how will lawmakers tackle this thorniest of political issues at the federal level?  And what does it mean for the upcoming midterms?

Aurora Mayor and GOP gubernatorial hopeful Richard Irvin supported a successful 2018 effort to shutter the Aurora Election Commission – a move that gives him a role in deciding whether certain candidates stay on city ballots.

It’s not surprising that the court, which has a strong conservative majority after former President Donald Trump appointed three justices during his single term in office, would seek to curb abortion rights. However, the breadth of the draft opinion startled advocates and sent shockwaves through American politics.

The draft opinion leaked to Politico and confirmed by the chief justice as genuine calls the Roe decision “egregiously wrong” and would return “the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives” – meaning to Congress and to the states. 

The four Matrix films set new standards for visionary moviemaking, and now artifacts from them and other movies are up for bid in an auction with a cause.