Stories by Heather Cherone

The City Council’s Zoning Committee voted 13-7 to send the proposal to the full City Council for a final vote, where Alds. Marty Quinn (13th Ward) and Greg Mitchell (7th Ward) used a parliamentary procedure to block a vote until the City Council’s next meeting.

The girl’s mother is now suing Chicago Public Schools as well as staff from Wildwood IB World Magnet School, alleging she suffered “extreme acts” of racial bullying and sexual abuse.

It marked the third consecutive year that a regulatory bill failed, the latest front in a legislative fight that largely pits the state’s legalized cannabis industry against its industrial hemp growers.

Less than seven months into the year, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $224.5 million to resolve nearly two and a half dozen lawsuits, exceeding the city’s budget to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct by more than $142 million, records show.

Speculation about the former first couple’s marriage has run rampant in recent months. Some of the rumors picked up steam after several public appearances where Michelle Obama did not join her husband, including President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

 President Donald Trump is lashing out at his own supporters as he tries to clamp down on criticism over his administration’s handling of much-hyped records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which Trump now calls a “Hoax.”

Senate Republicans on Tuesday advanced President Donald Trump’s request to cancel some $9 billion in previously approved spending, overcoming concerns from some lawmakers about what the rescissions could mean for impoverished people around the globe and for public radio and television stations in their home states.

A lifeguard is accused of shooting two teenage boys, one fatally, at the Douglass Park pool in June.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s decision not to seek a fourth term as the state’s chief fiscal control officer is likely to set off an intense race for a coveted statewide office and signals the start of the 2027 mayoral election cycle, even though the election is 587 days away.

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

A showdown at City Hall over aldermanic prerogative. And lessons learned from the deadly 1995 heat wave.

President Donald Trump’s administration is looking to block undocumented children from Head Start as part of ongoing efforts to limit access to federal benefits for immigrants without legal status.

Thirty years ago, a heat wave settled over northeast Illinois. By the time the heat relented, 739 people had died and the city was using refrigerated trucks as makeshift morgues.

Drought and intermittent cold spells likely played a role in the rough start, according to experts.

The City Council is set to take a final vote Wednesday on Sterling Bay’s $350 million plan to build two towers of more than 15 stories near the Chicago River.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents immigration court judges as well as other professionals, said in a news release that 15 judges were fired “without cause” on Friday and another two on Monday.

At these pop-up events, Chicago residents can obtain a free CityKey card and purchase a city vehicle sticker, dog licenses and residential parking daily permits.

President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans earlier this month curtailed federal tax incentives for the solar energy industry and for individuals and companies that purchase solar panels.

If approved by the City Council on Wednesday, the measure would weaken the decades-old tradition known as aldermanic prerogative that gives a City Council member the final authority over housing developments in their own wards.

The former Illinois House speaker is asking that he be allowed to stay out of prison during his appeal in the federal bribery case — an area of criminal law his attorneys say is among the most complex and “rapidly evolving.”

Many who’ve been through restrictive housing attest to extreme isolation and confinement in small, dark, windowless cells. Phone and tablet use can be restricted. Yard or outside time is limited.

It is unclear whether Mayor Brandon Johnson has enough political muscle to convince at least 25 alderpeople to buck the tradition that calls on them to mind their own business and vote along with the alderperson whose ward includes the project.

Elected officials are pushing back over masked immigration agents. And the uncertain future of a local campus group offering contraception.

Sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies are particularly common for college-aged people. A 2023 report from the CDC found that nearly half of all reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were among people aged 15 to 24.

Immigrant rights advocates have reported seeing some ICE agents wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves during raids. Advocates say that creates fear and hinders accountability.

The measure unanimously endorsed by the Ethics and Government Oversight Committee had the support of both Inspector General Deborah Witzburg and Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry after negotiations stretched into the weekend.