Stories by Matt Masterson

Tuesday marked the second day of opening statements in the landmark trial as Michael McClain’s defense team had its opportunity to present its opening statements to jurors inside the Dirksen Federal Building.

Rafael Yáñez, who ran unsuccessfully to represent the 15th Ward on the Chicago City Council in 2015 and 2019, is set to join the board.

To faculty, new protest rules threaten freedom of speech — and the freedom to think, both central to university life. This semester, some of the most visible demonstrations have involved professors speaking up for the right to protest itself.

TreeHouse Foods Inc., of Oak Brook, Illinois, said the updated recall includes all products made at a factory in Ontario, Canada, and sold at stores including Albertson’s, Aldi, Dollar General, Kroger, Publix, Target, Walmart and others. 

Sports betting is raking in record revenues across the United States as the industry skyrockets in popularity. This includes in Illinois, which represents the third-largest sports gambling market in the country.

A push to lower Chicago’s default speed limit. Counting the cost of sports gambling. And a restaurant fights to lift a century-plus ban on selling booze.

Selling alcohol has been banned in a section of the ninth precinct of the 47th Ward — between Montrose, Damen, Lincoln and Sunnyside avenues — since 1907.

Once eligibility is confirmed, city staff will deliver a free compost bin to residents’ homes, according to a news release announcing the initiative. Each ward will receive an initial allocation of 20 bins.

Chicago’s default speed limit could drop to 25 miles per hour from its current baseline of 30 after a panel of alderpeople on Monday backed the measure aimed at getting drivers to slow down.

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, here come the ladybug swarms.

The final two alternates were selected Monday, meaning opening statements in the trial of Madigan and his longtime confidant Michael McClain went forth at the Dirksen Federal Building with a 12-person jury and six alternates.

ProPublica has traced these mass-mailed newspapers to a “pink slime” network known for misinformation and its financial ties to right-wing super PACs and billionaires.

Eboni Booth’s deeply moving 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Primary Trust” is now receiving its Chicago premiere at the Goodman Theatre.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen faces a challenge this year from Republican Judge Joe McGraw in what analysts say is the only "competitive" congressional race in Illinois. Sorensen narrowly won the seat in 2022 after the district was heavily redrawn, but he enjoys a big fundraising advantage over McGraw.

The presidential race in North Carolina is playing out in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and alongside a governor's race in which the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, has seen his campaign collapse amid multiple controversies, potentially splintering GOP unity.

Thelma Mothershed Wair worked in the East St. Louis, Illinois, school system for 10 years as a home economics teacher and for 18 years as a counselor for elementary career education before retiring in 1994. 

Voters in Chicago and suburban Cook County can look up their voter information online, where voters can verify their voter registration, locate their polling place, view a sample ballot and check the status of a vote-by-mail ballot.

The designated “landing zone” for buses from Texas at Polk and Desplaines streets in the West Loop will only operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. starting Tuesday and close by the end of the year, officials announced.

This week’s schedule of overnight lane closures is a repeat of last week’s as pavement marking continues on sections between LaSalle Drive and Hollywood Avenue.

The city of Chicago has spent more than $4 million paying outside attorneys to fight a lawsuit that slams the city for failing to make its affordable housing program accessible. In addition to the legal costs, the case could also jeopardize the city’s chance at millions of dollars in grant money. 

Demolishing the record set in each of the past three years, $1.3 billion poured into the city’s 127 TIF funds in 2022, according to a report from Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough.

What a possible White Sox sale could mean for Chicago. And CPS board members skip out on the City Council.

Homewood residents and supporters gathered at Homewood Brewing Company, 18225 Dixie Highway, to attend a ribbon-cutting celebration for the brewpub, which is holding a soft opening Friday and Saturday before operating at extended hours next week.

For 23 years and through more than 80 productions, Hell in a Handbag has brought slightly raunchy but good-humored fun to a variety of stages. They’ve dragged themselves from the tiny space in Mary’s Attic to the mainstage at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.

The State Board of Elections said Friday that a record 353,166 people cast ballots at more than 400 early voting sites statewide on Thursday, compared to 348,599 on the first day in October 2020.

Michigan is one of three “blue wall” states that, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will help decide the election, and the diverse voting blocs are key to winning the state.