Stories by Patty Wetli

Punxsutawney Phil and Woodstock Willie have issued competing prognostications.

“Abolish ICE” is one of 25 finalists that Chicagoans can vote on between Sunday and Feb. 14, with the top six vote-getters winning the honor of renaming one snowplow in each of Chicago’s six snow districts.

“If the federal government will not hold these rogue actors accountable, then Chicago will do everything in our power to bring these agents to justice,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Another government shutdown looms as Democrats demand an immigration enforcement cool-down. And changes are coming to SNAP, affecting hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents.

For the first time in five years, certain forms of student loan forgiveness will be taxable following a change in federal tax policy this year.

U.S District Court Judge John Tharp said that he reconsidered his decision to allow lawyers for Ebony Tate, her mother, Cynthia Eason, and four children to call former Mayor Rahm Emanuel after lawyers for the city once again vigorously objected.

In celebration of Black History Month, Chicago filmmakers will be showing their short films at Music Box Theater and Facets.

Forecasters are anticipating two rounds of lake effect snow to dump anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow on portions of northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, between Friday morning and Saturday evening.

Eight notable Italian Americans are finalists in a little-advertised contest.

Illinois law hasn’t kept pace with the introduction of high-speed e-bikes, e-scooters and other “micromobility” devices. Officials are trying to catch up.

The Canadian-born O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles “following a brief illness,” according to a statement from her agency, Creative Artists Agency. Further details were not immediately available.

Journalist Don Lemon and three other people were arrested Friday in connection with an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church and increased tensions between residents and federal officials.

“For too long, Gregory Bovino and his rogue federal agents have terrorized communities in Illinois and across the country, violated our people’s constitutional rights and unleashed violence at every turn,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability voted unanimously to select LaKenya White, a 26-year veteran of Chicago’s police accountability system, to lead the agency known as COPA.

A judge is ordering former Mayor Rahm Emanuel to testify in a trial over a botched police raid. And what’s at stake as the country awaits a Supreme Court ruling on the president’s tariffs.

The tariffs case took on added urgency because the consequences of the Trump administration’s policy were playing out in real time.

A trial, set to start Monday, will decide whether CPD officers traumatized two women and four children in August when a CPD SWAT team broke down the door of their apartment, pointed assault rifles directly at the kids and ordered one of the women to leave the house while unclothed.

Illinois has filed or joined 51 lawsuits against the Trump administration between January 2025 and January 2026, challenging a wide range of executive orders, funding freezes and regulatory changes.

As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, irate Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands on Wednesday, including that officers take off their masks and identify themselves and obtain warrants for arrest.

former Illinois sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a possible prowler outside her Springfield home.

Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.

Why the Cook County state’s attorney is reversing a policy on gun possession cases. And Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez announces his bid for Congress.

More than 300,000 Illinoisians who receive SNAP benefits could be affected, according to officials from the Illinois Department of Human Services.

The Chicago alderperson is running as an independent vying for the seat of outgoing U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García in Illinois’ 4th Congressional District.

In all, President Donald Trump’s decision to send federalized National Guard troops to six American cities cost approximately $496 million through the end of December, according to the report.

Anosh Ahmed, the former Loretto Hospital executive who allegedly fled to Dubai after he was charged in a $15 million embezzlement scheme, has been taken into custody in Serbia, according to federal prosecutors.