Stories by Dan Lambert

Astronomical summer officially begins at 3:50 p.m. on Thursday, when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, according to the National Weather Association. Thursday will see nearly 15 hours and 14 minutes of daylight.

Don Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in a two-page letter that cited intraparty “power struggles.” He also said he is concerned about the direction the party is taking under the current membership of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee.

Boaters and lakefront enthusiasts alike can join in on the fun at the Venetian Night boat parade on Saturday, July 20, at Lake Michigan’s Monroe Harbor. 

A court order requiring the Chicago Police Department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers should not be expanded to include traffic stops, eight alderpeople told the federal judge overseeing the push to reform the department.

A look at the Chicago’s efforts to launch a reparations program. And explore the racial disparities in building wealth.

A former Chicago White Sox second baseman turned artist is partnering with White Sox Charities for a one-of-a-kind Juneteenth collaboration. Micah Johnson worked with student athletes who are part of the Amateur City Elite program to design custom Juneteenth artwork

According to the study, Black households have a median net wealth of zero dollars compared to $210,000 for White families, and Black families have the lowest estimated rate of home ownership at 34% compared to 72% for White households.

Environmental and consumer advocates predict more legal protections from the heat in the near future, as climate change continues to wreak havoc.

The renewed effort is finally getting off the ground more than six months after Johnson agreed to earmark $500,000 in the city’s 2024 budget for the task force, the first time city officials have promised to use taxpayer dollars to do more than just promise to talk about what Chicago owes its Black residents as a result of the legacy of slavery and segregation.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office is scheduled to release a detailed proposal to close the gap in October, but officials have no plans to hike taxes, cut services or layoff workers to cover the projected gap, a spokesperson told WTTW News. 

Attorneys for Herman Williams — a former U.S. Navy member who served two tours in the Gulf War — announced Tuesday he has been awarded the certificate by the state following his exoneration in the 1993 killing of his former wife Penny Williams.

With their bulging red eyes and their alien-like mating sound, periodical cicadas can seem scary and weird enough. But some of them really are sex-crazed zombies on speed, hijacked by a super-sized fungus.

A one-off assignment to photograph Route 66 turned into a years-long labor of love. Now, his work highlighting a more complicated side of the highway memorialized in that famous tune is being shown at Uptown’s Chicago Center for Photojournalism, 1226 W. Wilson Ave.

It’s one of the biggest busts yet as federal agencies step up efforts to target the highest levels of Chinese money laundering rings that experts and officials tell CNN are the go-to partners for Mexico’s most dangerous drug cartels that traffic fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine into the U.S. 

The FDA sent a warning letter to Dollar Tree this month and placed Negasmart, the Ecuadorian distributor of WanaBana apple cinnamon pouches, under import alerts following the October 2023 recall of the products found to be contaminated with “extremely high” levels of lead and chromium.

Pushback on plans to close and rebuild two Illinois prisons. And documenting the reality of life along America’s famous Route 66.Pushback on plans to close and rebuild two Illinois prisons. And documenting the reality of life along America’s famous Route 66.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling confirmed that the victim died after he was shot around 3 p.m. Tuesday in the 2300 block of West Jackson Boulevard.

What happens when an endangered bird nests in a hayfield set to be harvested? A great debate has been swirling in Northwest Indiana. 

A new Biden administration policy announced Tuesday will give roughly half a million immigrants who are married to American citizens but lack legal status in the United States a pathway to citizenship for them and their children.

Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) said the plan, which is estimated to cost approximately $9.5 million per election, was designed to reduce the influence of “big special interest donors.”

With a budget crunch, union negotiations and other challenges ahead, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez appeared on “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the current state of CPS.

Multiple people have drowned in recent days as Chicagoans head to Lake Michigan to beat the heat. 

The city shelter has seen a 24% increase in the first five months of 2024. Advocates said a rise of intakes and a lack of adoption are contributing to the issue.

The leader of CPS on the district’s latest accomplishments and challenges. What’s behind an increase in animal euthanasia rates in Chicago. And looking at the city’s lofty place in the history of the skyscraper.

With “A Little Night Music” now on stage at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, WTTW News theater critic Hedy Weiss recalls seeing the original 1973 Tony Award-winning Broadway production of the musical.

Bump stocks became the focus of gun control debate following a 2017 mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas. A gunman used weapons equipped with bump stocks to fire more than 1,000 rounds into a crowd in a matter of minutes, killing 60 people and injuring more than 400.