Stories by Associated Press

The special was shot live at the Vic Theatre in Chicago where Meyers got big laughs when talking about mundane things like not knowing how to fold a stroller and the risks of playing board games with his children, who are 8, 6 and 3 years old.

Thousands of Aztec marigolds grown in the University of Illinois Chicago’s research garden will play an integral role in Saturday’s Day of the Dead celebration on Chicago’s lakefront. 

Residents on the city’s Northwest Side may be losing access to programs provided by a local community organization. The nonprofit Hermosa Neighborhood Association says it’s set to lose state funding in June. As the grant end date approaches, community organizers are working to figure out what comes next.

Chicago has a new shelter plan for migrants and unhoused residents. And are efforts to save monarch butterflies doing more harm than good? A new study suggests that’s the case.

Chicago is set to overhaul its migrant shelter system by the end of this year, capping guaranteed beds at 3,800 for asylum seekers who have been in the city for less than 30 days. This shift is part of the new One System Initiative, designed to streamline services for both migrants and long-term unhoused residents.

“Day of the Dead LIVE!” is running Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at the Harold Washington Library. The free show will feature larger-than-life puppets, stilt-walkers, skeletons, ghosts and aerialists — plus classical music from pianist Llewellyn Sánchez Werner.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert Tuesday warning that dozens of people reported eating the Quarter Pounder sandwich at McDonald’s before becoming sick.

The seven new board members, appointed by Johnson earlier this month, were sworn in during Thursday’s agenda review committee meeting. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who was also present at Thursday’s meeting, has seen questions swirl about his continued employment with the school district.

An official with knowledge of the decision who was not authorized to speak on the record ahead of a planned press conference confirmed that Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón would recommend resentencing for the brothers.

The DNA of Bruce Lindahl, who is believed to have killed as many as a dozen women and girls, was confirmed to be on Kathy Halle’s clothing, authorities said.

The City Council will also weigh paying $325,000 to resolve a separate lawsuit filed by a man who was shot and wounded by a Chicago Police officer in March 2018 while suffering a mental health crisis.

Ronnie Baker Brooks, son of blues legend Lonnie Brooks, is a soulful singer and guitarist. He just released “Blues In My DNA” on Chicago’s independent Alligator Records — his father’s home label for many years.

In all, Chicago taxpayers spent $201.8 million to resolve 43 lawsuits brought by more than three dozen people wrongfully convicted based on evidence gathered by the Chicago Police Department since 2019, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

Chicago’s police misconduct agency identified a troubling pattern of traffic stops months before Dexter Reed’s death. And we visit a new brewpub in south suburban Homewood.

In 1966, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Chicago’s West Side to protest against discriminatory housing practices. The neighborhood went into an uproar following his assassination in 1968, resulting in numerous riots and looting. “When the West Side Burned” outlines the destruction and struggle to recover.

A letter sent to police officials from COPA on March 27, six days after Reed’s death, shows that the agency had evidence that officers were routinely engaging in misconduct that violated Chicago Police Department rules and put Chicagoans at risk of a violent encounter with officers for at least a year. 

United Nations human rights investigators said in a statement: “These heinous alleged human rights violations appear to a significant extent to be rooted in systemic racism and have disproportionately affected people of African and Latin American descent.”

As scammers find new ways to steal money and personal information, consumers should be more vigilant about who they trust, especially online.

Devan Flax, 21, faces assault, robbery and firearm charges in the suburban Forest Park incidents from November 2023. He’s also charged in connection with the robbery of a Berwyn pizzeria employee that same month.

Chicago Stars FC will continue to use the Red Stars name and crest for the remainder of the season before fully transitioning to the new brand at the start of the 2025 season.

An impending fiscal cliff has led to calls from some lawmakers and transit advocates for reform — perhaps as drastic as merging CTA, Metra, Pace, and RTA into a new regional agency. That’s an idea the current transit agencies say is the wrong move.

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

Testimony gets underway in the historic corruption trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan. And we sit down with leaders from the Chicago area’s transit agencies as they face a fiscal cliff.

“Are those who are accountable really going to be held to that responsibility of putting me into prison?” asked Jimmy Soto, who is believed to have served the longest wrongful conviction sentence in Illinois history. “I don’t know. But I hope people understand this is just one step towards trying to get justice for me.”

“People are realizing Election Day is now right around the corner and now taking advantage of these early voting options to get their civic duty out of the way,” said Max Bever, director of public information at Chicago Board of Elections.

Prisons in Illinois are currently facing a staffing crisis, according to a new report from the John Howard Association. It found understaffing greatly increases the amount of lockdowns and staff overtime and impacts the overall health, safety and well-being of staff and incarcerated people.