Stories by Nick Blumberg

The transit agencies came up with the doomsday models at the RTA’s behest, responding to calls from Springfield legislators who’ve demanded specifics about how bad it could get if transit goes over the fiscal cliff — as well as what public transportation could look like if lawmakers go beyond plugging the budget gap and drastically increase state funding.

Chicago Board of Education members kick the can on a budget amendment. And a new lawsuit alleges a pattern of illegal arrests by ICE agents in the Chicago area.

Temporary protected status (TPS) is a designation the U.S. government gives for countries it deems too dangerous to humanely send its citizens back to. Eligible migrants from designated countries can apply for protections from deportation if they arrived in the U.S. by a certain date.

The arrests allegedly violate a 2022 agreement between Chicago groups and the federal government detailing how U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers can make “collateral arrests,” where agents detain others besides those being targeted.

The decision to delay the vote is an acknowledgment that budget amendment does not have the support of at least 14 of the 21 CPS board members.

President Donald Trump has derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, completing its dismantling is most likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979.

A new notification system is being proposed at access points along the Chicago River to warn recreational users when untreated wastewater has entered the waterway.

More than 3.3 million travelers are projected to pass through the airports between Thursday and March 31, a 4% increase from the same period last year, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Earlier this year, the IRS announced that it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who didn’t receive their COVID stimulus payments.

Native American women have the highest rate of ovarian cancer. Black women with ovarian cancer have lower rates of survival compared to white women. Finding ovarian cancer early can lead to better chances of survival.

A Senate committee passed a bill this week that would give specialized training on human trafficking and establish coordination across multiple state agencies and partners.

Finland is the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday. Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.

In the news this week: Doctors in Switzerland are expanding their range of prescriptions to include visits to art galleries and museums. You don’t need a prescription to experience the arts in Cook County.

Universities brace for a loss in funding following federal anti-DEI orders. And the future of police reform amid changes at an agency tasked with investigating officer misconduct.

UChicago is among nearly 50 institutions under investigation for alleged racial discrimination related to DEI programs. Namely, the college’s partnership with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that aims to increase diversity in the business world.

Andrea Kersten recently resigned as chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA. The move happened after the city’s police oversight board issued a letter to Kersten saying it was planning to take a vote of no confidence in her leadership.

The items, which were stolen between 2009 and 2022, included such historic memorabilia as tickets to Masters tournaments in the 1930s, as well as T-shirts, mugs and chairs, according to prosecutors. Among the stolen legendary green jackets were those won by Palmer, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.

“None of these issues that they need to settle will be worth the consequence of six, seven days or how many ever days out of school,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

The measure, known as the Homeschool Act, would require families to notify their school districts when they decide to homeschool, and that parents or guardians who teach their kids at home have a high school diploma or equivalent.

“At the end of the day, DCFS is responsible for everything that happens to a child, for making sure the child is safe, for making sure the child has an appropriate placement, for making sure that the child isn’t treated like garbage by giving them garbage bags for their possessions,” said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert.

Chicago police executed a search warrant at the wrong address more than six years ago that left social worker Anjanette Young handcuffed and naked in her home as she was getting ready for bed.

There was significant growth in several enrollment categories, including a nearly 20% increase in students enrolled in dual credit programs, which allow high school students to earn college credits.

The images and other information released Wednesday by the European Space Agency’s Euclid observatory includes a preview of three cosmic areas that the mission will spy in finer detail, mapping the shapes and locations of galaxies billions of light years away.

It’s the latest development in a showdown between the Trump administration and the judge who temporarily blocked deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration. President Donald Trump has called for the judge’s impeachment as the Republican escalates his conflict with a judiciary after a series of court setbacks over his executive actions.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the forecast for Chicago includes a chance of almost anything and everything: rain, thunderstorms, wind and even snow.

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