Stories by Heather Cherone

A final vote on both proposals, which would create 104 units of affordable housing, by the full City Council is set for Wednesday.

A review by Illinois Answers Project of publicly available payroll data for 259 ward and committee staffers found that 65 council staffers received increases in their salaries between October and December 2024, representing more than $260,000 in taxpayer funds for bonuses. At least 20 staffers saw temporary bumps of at least $5,000 in one-time payouts.

A man is facing charges after authorities say he broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion in the middle of the night, set a fire that left significant damage and forced Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building during the Jewish holiday of Passover.

CTU officials on Monday morning announced that 97% of its members who voted last week cast ballots in favor of the contract proposal, a mark union President Stacy Davis Gates called “overwhelming (and) historic.”

The wait is on to see whether at least one, or possibly two, pairs of plovers will nest at Montrose Beach this year.

The Trump administration abruptly revokes visas for students at local universities. And state elections officials look into the Illinois Senate president’s campaign fund.

In a rare rebuke of a Democrat-sponsored bill, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voted against House Bill 3332, causing the bill to fail on a 49-51 vote. Bills require 60 votes to pass the House, and numerous Democrats voted against the bill or skipped the vote.

A bill that would reform the Prisoner Review Board passed the Illinois Senate on Thursday, aiming to protect victims and increase transparency about prisoner releases following years of controversy surrounding the board’s decisions.

Pair two of Chicago’s greatest cultural gems in a multifaceted program on the Symphony Center stage, and you have an ideal example of the city’s exceptional talent, writes Hedy Weiss.

President Donald Trump on Friday urged Congress to “push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day” in his latest dig at the semiannual changing of clocks.

While U.S. President Donald Trump paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on China and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying" and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin Saturday.

David Cerda calls camp “the theater of the ridiculous,” and this prolific camp counselor isn’t slowing down. A fixture on the Chicago theater scene since the ‘90s, Cerda has now written a semi-autobiographical play based on his upbringing in Northwest Indiana.

Archival record label Numero Group pays homage to the practice of music discovery while aiming to give new life to music that may have previously flown under the radar. For more than two decades, the label has reissued music and chronicled the stories of artists across a wide range of genres.

The 7-percentage point increase in the level of full compliance with consent decree CPD reached between July and December is the largest increase in the nearly six years that the federal court order has been in effect.

The rejection of the proposed settlement means the federal lawsuit filed by Reed’s family alleging that the city violated Reed’s civil rights will now head to trial.

Privacy concerns for undocumented immigrants filing taxes. Meet the new 35th Ward alderperson. And inside a local organization helping teens tell their stories.

On Monday, alderpeople approved Anthony Quezada with a 32-11 vote as the new alderperson of the 35th Ward, despite some opposition from City Council members over an anti-Black slur he wrote on a social media post in 2014.

The announcement comes after months of tension within IRS over the data-sharing plans and internal concerns from career officials about the legality of the collaboration.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is “evaluating” a request from the Republican chairperson of the U.S. House Oversight Committee about the state’s laws designed to protect undocumented immigrants.

The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee withdrew its records request during an emergency court hearing in Chicago after Northwestern professors sued the committee, claiming its investigation into the university’s law clinics violated their First Amendment rights.

“Our solidarity has brought us this far,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and union leadership wrote in an open letter to members. “Your vote decides what happens next.”

Every Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the must-see cultural events in Chicago.

On a warm Tuesday evening in late June 2019, state Sen. Emil Jones III walked out onto the patio at a suburban steakhouse and into an hourslong dinner that would set the table for alleged bribes.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods — specifically those sourced from China — are expected to heighten the prices of everyday tech products, from iPhones to laptops, cars and even smaller gadgets like headphones and computer mice.

The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief.

Top Republicans have argued the legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, is necessary to ensure only citizens vote in U.S. elections and “cements into law” Trump’s order.