Stories by WTTW News

The DNC is just days away — how Cook County courts are preparing. A judge rules on a request for a longer protest route closer to the United Center. And WTTW News explains the infamous Chicago parking meter deal.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are among eight teams across the U.S. receiving grant funding. Cancer is the second-highest killer of people in the U.S. after heart disease.

Prepare to get all nostalgic for the extremely recent past.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrea Wood ruled that the 1.4-mile march route proposed by Chicago officials was sufficient to ensure that the Coalition to March on the DNC can protest while Democratic delegates gather to celebrate their nominee for president.

The Democratic National Convention doesn’t get underway until Aug. 19, but the traffic headaches have already started with first of many street closures and parking restrictions.

Chicago officials had planned to open a new L station near the United Center more than four years ago, but numerous delays left some neighbors wondering if it ever would happen. Construction crews scrambled to finish work this month ahead of the DNC.

Both candidates unveiled their plans in Nevada, a state with one of the highest concentrations of tipped service workers in the country. 

Vice President Kamala Harris had a whirlwind week in which she formally secured the Democratic nomination and announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. For Illinois members of the U.S. Congress, that shift will change the tenor of the convention set to hit Chicago.

The best weapon to protect your eyes from the sun? Sunglasses. While many sunglasses promise “100% UV protection,” WTTW News was dubious. We wanted to put them to the test.

Here’s a look at the challenge facing the Chicago Police Department during the Democratic National Convention and the rules officers will have to follow during the protests that the gathering is sure to trigger.

The report, which concluded a three-year investigation, uncovered that at least 973 children died while under the care of these institutions, with many more expected to have suffered similar fates. These schools were established to forcibly assimilate Native American children — often through violent tactics.

What Chicago can expect for next week’s Democratic National Convention. And local indigenous leaders react to a report detailing tragedies at federal boarding schools. And the city’s long history with political conventions. 

Chicago routinely ranks among the most segregated big cities in America when measured by the dissimilarity index, a tool used to gauge how evenly distributed demographic groups are throughout a distinct geographic area.

Back in 2008 Eli Bauman was a young campaign organizer for then-candidate Barack Obama. Now, he’s written “44 – THE unOFFICIAL, unSANCTIONED OBAMA MUSICAL.”

The court filed the preliminary injunction order Friday, with Judge Andrea R. Wood writing that the court found a probable risk of irreparable harm from falling concrete attributed to the deteriorated masonry walls, ceilings, steel beams and window lintels at Stateville.

According to the Chicago Police Department, 33 people were shot in 28 separate shootings between Friday and Sunday evenings.

In addition to the politicians, delegates, protesters and attendees come significant security risks Chicago police and other law enforcement entities must tackle to keep people safe during the Democratic National Convention.

Cases that involved at least one officer with repeated claims of misconduct accounted for nearly 43% of the $384.2 million paid by taxpayers to resolve police misconduct cases between 2019 and 2023, according to the analysis.

The Ohio senator, in a series of taped interviews, said there was merit to Trump’s suggestion that presidents have more control of U.S. monetary policy and kept up the GOP line that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate, had exaggerated his military record.

These were common themes during the first big campaign swing for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the new Democratic ticket barnstormed through five battleground states this past week on a get-to-know-us tour.

They’ve now been on the space station more than 60 days, however, and NASA raised the possibility this week that they may remain there through early 2025 because of ongoing issues with their Starliner capsule.

“Mass Deportation Now!” declared the signs at the Republican National Convention, giving a full embrace to Donald Trump’s pledge to expel millions of migrants in the largest deportation program in American history.

Tensions run high during former President Donald Trump’s brief Chicago visit. Kamala Harris clinches the presidential nomination — who will be her running mate? And CTU pushes for more education funding. 

Firefighters found a dead woman entangled in machinery Thursday in a non-public baggage-processing area at O’Hare International Airport.

The Perseid meteor shower is back for its annual sky show, with peak viewing Sunday night into Monday morning.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has made threats to ramp up his efforts to send asylum-seekers to Chicago while the city is in the national spotlight. Local organizations and officials say they’re preparing for that possibility as the city approaches two years since the arrival of the first bus in Chicago.