Stories by Shelby Hawkins

While there is skepticism among some in the Jewish community over the sincerity of the Trump administration’s policies, some others are welcoming the actions as a positive step forward and the nation’s most aggressive push against anti-Jewish hate yet.

Across Illinois, protests have been gaining strength since the proposed cuts were revealed. They range from veterans protesting last month at the Capitol in Springfield to demonstrations by nurses and staff at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago.

Mayor Brandon Johnson Johnson declined Monday to say whether Chicago police officers should continue making traffic stops for minor violations to find evidence of an unrelated crime.

The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings following Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday. In a chaotic scene, journalists shouted questions about the mood inside and whether there was unity.

The cost of tuition and fees for statewide undergraduates on average has risen 10% higher since FY09 than if it had simply kept pace with inflation. For graduate students, that discrepancy is 16%.

With no other Democratic candidates announcing campaigns for the 2026 primary by Monday morning, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton secured the endorsement of two of the state’s top Democrats before fielding any competition.

The latest tactic in Chicago's ongoing war against rats is to attack the problem at the source — with birth control instead of poison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois late last week filed a motion informing U.S. District Judge John Blakey that it will not move forward with a planned forfeiture trial following the speaker’s conviction in February.

City officials agreed in June 2023 to expand the consent decree to include when officers can stop and search Chicagoans, which are officially known as investigatory stops.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announces he won’t seek another term — setting off a scramble for the rare open seat. And Mayor Brandon Johnson is sounding the alarm on city finances.

Just one day into her campaign to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin in the U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Friday received a key endorsement from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, nearly eight years after he first tapped her to be his running mate.

In Illinois, DCFS contracts with community-based foster agencies in order to house and provide services for children in state care. The department reported that the state had about 20,000 foster children in 2024, with more than 4,000 of them in the care of community-based foster or group homes.

Charles Green, 44, was charged Friday with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated arson after he allegedly started the fire that led to Meyer’s death.

The federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students around the U.S. after many filed court challenges against the Trump administration crackdown, government lawyers said Friday.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced on social media the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, who he said “intentionally misdirected” federal agents away from a man they were trying to take into custody at her courthouse.

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County has mapped the largest specimen of each tree species identified in the preserves and has made it easier for people to find these “champions.”

A judge sentences the gunman in the Highland Park parade shooting. Pushback against federal funding cuts to university research. And Juliana Stratton launches her campaign for the U.S. Senate.

The 21-member board voted to approve the deal during its monthly meeting at Chicago Public Schools’ Loop office Thursday — the last step necessary to finalize the new labor agreement.

“We’re cutting off the pipeline to the workforce in science in the United States,” said Dr. Linda Forst, a professor at UIC. “So, it’s bad news for these students immediately, but it’s bad news for the United States over the long haul because we don’t have a new workforce coming through.”

Chicago police officers would not be banned from making traffic stops based on minor registration or equipment violations that are designed to fund evidence of “unrelated” crimes, under a new policy unveiled Thursday by Chicago Police Department leaders.

“For too long, the middle class has been centered on the campaign trail but sidelined when it comes to real governance,” newly announced U.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said.

The senator, who’s served 16 years in Springfield since he replaced his father was charged with three counts of bribery and lying to the FBI. Before they began deliberating Monday, jurors heard eight days of arguments, evidence and testimony, including from Jones himself.

Double-crested cormorants have been thrilling Chicagoans lucky enough to witness thousands of the birds streaming along the Lake Michigan shoreline — wave after wave, lasting for several minutes — as they migrate further north.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, which accused the Republican administration of giving “unconstitutionally vague” guidance and violating teachers’ First Amendment rights.

Standing on his backyard deck Thursday – the same place where he declared his 1996 candidacy for U.S. Senate – Illinois’ senior Sen. Dick Durbin reflected on his decision to retire after four decades in Congress.

After 12 years, the class action lawsuit over living conditions at Stateville Correctional Center that helped bring the prison to a close was settled Thursday.