Stories by WTTW News

Community groups prepare for federal troops in Chicago. And the city’s minimum wage for tipped workers is going up — a look at the impact.

While Mayor Brandon Johnson and advocates say phasing out the tipped minimum wage helps the city’s lowest-paid workers, critics worry about the higher labor costs facing restaurants.

HBCUs, or historically Black colleges and universities, have been around for more than 188 years. They were founded out of necessity when predominantly White institutions barred Black students from attending.

The Chicago Stars will play at the Evanston stadium on Sept. 7 for their “Lakefront Faceoff’ match against the Orlando Pride before moving to the stadium for the entire season in 2026.

“I’m deeply concerned, uncertain, about what the future looks like at the moment, but as you can see, fighting like hell to make sure we don’t fall into the abyss as a result of unconstitutional actions by the president,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.

The change comes after debate over the safety of physical mail. IDOC states that these emergency rules are intended to prevent the smuggling of contraband and hazardous substances into correctional facilities.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of 15-year-old Marjay Dotson and 14-year-old Jeremy Herred, comes more than two months after the teens were shot in Douglass Park during an encounter with a 55-year-old lifeguard.

The One Book, One Chicago program brings together residents to read the same book, with book clubs and other related programming held across Chicago Public Library locations citywide.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as an “immoral” intrusion on people’s rights bordering on “slavery.”

President Donald Trump affirmed that the United States will keep a robust military presence in Poland as he had a warm meeting Wednesday with Karol Nawrocki, the new president of the American ally in Europe.

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

The latest on troops being deployed to Chicago. And violent crime is down in the city — how the FBI has been helping local law enforcement.

Chicago police data shows overall violent crime in the city is down by about 22% in the first half of the year compared to 2024. There have also been 31% fewer homicides and 36% fewer shootings between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is experiencing chaos unlike anything ever seen before. Meanwhile, there’s also growing concern in the medical community over changing vaccine guidelines and the cancellation of cutting-edge vaccine research.

President Donald Trump is preparing to send members of the Texas National Guard as well as “armed military personnel” to Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 58 total people were shot in 37 separate shootings between Friday and Monday evenings.

The 211 call center will be home to more than 50 full-time staff connecting residents to resources such as housing, access to food and utility assistance. The center, 7247 S. South Chicago Ave., is located at the tech workforce hub Xchange Chicago.

The Chicago Housing Authority Board of Commissioners delayed a vote to formally appoint former Ald. Walter Burnett to lead the agency.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a new memoir defends her vote reversing a half century of national abortion rights, declaring that Roe v. Wade usurped the will of the American people and “came at a cost.”

The Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the state itself.

The organization, which has helped pay for PBS, NPR, 1,500 local radio and TV stations as well as programs like “Sesame Street” and “Finding Your Roots,” will be awarded the Television Academy’s Governors Award.

Chicago-Based Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after a merger of the brands created one of the biggest food manufacturers on the planet.

The order comes after California sued, saying the troops sent to Los Angeles over the summer were violating a law that prohibits military enforcement of domestic laws.

Despite a long stretch of hot and humid days early in the month, August as a whole finished with below normal temperatures, according to the Chicago office of the National Weather Service.

Even as the financial toll of decades of police misconduct is likely to grow in the coming months, Chicago exhausted its annual budget of $82.2 million months ago and had spent nearly triple that amount by July 31, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

“We do not want to see tanks in our streets,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We do not want to see families ripped apart. We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans. We don’t want to see homeless Chicagoans harassed or disappeared by federal agents.”