Stories by Shelby Hawkins

Ben and Sam Luhmann, two teenagers from the Chicago area, have been documenting federal agents’ actions in Illinois and Minnesota.

The blitz is on as Indiana pushes to become the new home of the Chicago Bears. State lawmakers there are considering Senate Bill 27, which would allow a government authority to buy land and finance the construction of a new NFL stadium.

Clerk Mariyana Spyropoulos’ office has launched a new program that allows traffic citations to be transmitted to her office electronically, which she said will cut down on delays and improve overall efficiency.

The Trump administration has justified its dramatic midnight raid on a Chicago apartment complex by saying that it had intelligence that the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. New documents confirm in the government’s own words that what prompted the raid was more pedestrian: allegations that immigrants were squatting.

As the U.S. sheds manufacturing jobs, Illinois is accepting applications for $24 million in grant funding to establish training facilities at community colleges aimed at bolstering the state’s manufacturing labor pool.

U.S. District Judge James Hanlon on Tuesday ruled that Juan Espinoza Martinez is likely “at minimum entitled to a bond hearing and not subject to mandatory detention” after he was taken into custody last month.

The Chicago Park District has unveiled a bold and ambitious updated framework plan for Grant Park.

The Trump administration is reducing the number of immigration officers in Minnesota but will continue its enforcement operation that has sparked weeks of tensions and deadly confrontations.

Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.

Supporters argue that not opting in would leave money on the table that could otherwise go to support students in the state. Those opposed argue the program diverts public dollars to private schools while public schools remain underfunded.

The network monitors disease outbreaks across the globe and prepares countries to respond to those outbreaks.

Illinois weighs joining a new school voucher program. And we’re one on one with CPD raid survivor Anjanette Young.

A new Chicago Police Department policy that does not ban officers from serving no-knock warrants or from pointing guns at children during raids is now final.

The last bill still to be worked out covers the Department of Homeland Security where Democrats are demanding more restrictions on enforcement operations.

According to Chicago Police Department data, there were 29 homicides recorded in January. That’s the second lowest total for that month over the past decade and marks a 29% decrease over January 2025 (41 homicides).

After nearly a month spent in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, a Chicago father of three with epilepsy has been reunited with his family.

The seven-member Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability oversees the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Chicago Police Board and has the power to set policy for the Chicago Police Department.

Democrats are refusing to provide the votes House Speaker Mike Johnson needs to push the package forward as they try to rein in the Trump administration’s deportation operations after the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis.

A partial government shutdown is underway — what that means and how soon it could end. And a new effort lays the groundwork to prosecute federal immigration agents.

The Chicago City Council will vote Feb. 18 on a proposal that would allow the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to investigate whether CPD officers have violated city law by helping federal immigration agents.

January 2026 was notable for two significant departures from temperature norms in Chicago — in opposite directions.

After doing the same in Chicago, the boys are trailing agents in Minneapolis, following the epicenter of immigration enforcement in the U.S. as it’s shifted north to the Twin Cities.

Punxsutawney Phil and Woodstock Willie have issued competing prognostications.

“Abolish ICE” is one of 25 finalists that Chicagoans can vote on between Sunday and Feb. 14, with the top six vote-getters winning the honor of renaming one snowplow in each of Chicago’s six snow districts.

“If the federal government will not hold these rogue actors accountable, then Chicago will do everything in our power to bring these agents to justice,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Another government shutdown looms as Democrats demand an immigration enforcement cool-down. And changes are coming to SNAP, affecting hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents.