Stories by Heather Cherone

President Donald Trump in January pardoned more than 1,500 people who were convicted of attacking the Capitol as part of an effort to overturn the 2020 election, including a former Chicago police officer.

Uptown People’s Law Center and Equip for Equality filed a class action lawsuit against IDOC Director Latoya Hughes on behalf of the nearly 13,000 people with mental illness in the state’s prisons — approximately 44% of the population.

Speaking at an Economic Club of Chicago luncheon Wednesday, Powell said that despite the instability, the nation’s economy is still in a “solid position,” in particular its labor market. But he acknowledged that while the rate of inflation is slowing, the sharp price increases consumers have faced over the last several years are still hitting Americans in their pocketbooks.

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to contain an epidemic in a tight-knit, religious community in West Texas have run counter to established public health strategies deployed to end past epidemics.

From a mother who lost her first-born baby, a son who never got to know his father, and a young man so badly injured that he still struggles to breathe, three decades have not healed the wounds from the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.

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

A war of words between Chicago’s mayor and the White House. And the Trump administration is targeting major law firms — we explore the constitutional questions it raises.

Some of the nation’s largest law firms have recently been faced with a stark choice — cooperate with the Trump administration or face punitive executive orders.

The 82-year-old Democrat has largely avoided speaking publicly since leaving the White House in January, which is typically the tradition for immediate past presidents.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s efforts to strip federal funding from cities like Chicago with laws on the books designed to protect undocumented immigrants amount to “terrorism” and vowed again to fight the federal government.

President Donald Trump is forging ahead with his aggressive tariff campaign, moving on from “reciprocal” tariffs to the sector-specific tariffs he promised.

House Bill 2627, sponsored by state Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, would regulate the mink industry at the state level, creating mink farm licensing and requirements. But proponents and opponents have two vastly different opinions on what the bill really aims to do.

ER boarding is a symptom of the U.S. health care system’s struggles, including shrinking points of entry for patients seeking care outside of ERs and hospitals prioritizing beds for procedures insurance companies often pay more for.

“Look, we have inherited quite the mess,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said, emphasizing that many of the lawsuits allege misconduct that occurred decades ago.

A new 4K restoration of Filipino director Lino Brocka’s film “Bona” will make its Chicago premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center on April 21. The screening will be introduced by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor José Capino, whose research contributions led to the film’s restoration.

While the IRS has already received a majority of the 2024 federal income tax returns typically filed by Tax Day — 101.422 million as of April 4, to be precise — U.S. tax filers are expected to send in tens of millions more by today.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg recommended the employee, who was not identified in keeping with the city’s rules, be terminated. But leaders of the Department of Water Management reprimanded the construction laborer, according to Witzburg.

State councils have been working on programming for America250, an initiative marking the milestone anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But the Republican administration’s deep cost-cutting effort across the federal government has led the National Endowment for the Humanities to cancel its grants.

The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday announced Martinez as one of three finalists for the job as its next commissioner. He and the other candidates will each interview for that role Thursday in a public meeting before the board.

Pushback across campuses as international student visas are revoked. And Geoffrey Baer explores the lakefront in a new special.

From its many beaches to the tours and cruises, Chicago’s lakefront continues to make its mark on the city’s culture and identity.

Illinois hosts one of the largest international student populations in the nation, ranking fifth, with more than 55,000 international students, according to a 2024 Open Doors report.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas plans to invoke a rarely used rule at Wednesday’s Chicago City Council meeting to force representatives of Mayor Brandon Johnson to answer questions publicly about their plan to handle police misconduct lawsuits.

The bill’s future is uncertain as it draws fierce opposition from homeschool families, a threat against its sponsor prompting a police investigation and shaky support from Democrats.

Trump administration officials emphasized that Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that the U.S. has no say in his future.

Harvard University rejected the Trump administration’s demands for policy changes at the school on Monday, putting nearly $9 billion in federal funding at risk.