Stories by Associated Press

Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year.

In a surprise move Monday, Crimo III told the court he wishes to proceed pro se and will act as his own attorney. The 23-year-old also invoked his right to a speedy trial — pushing what had been expected to be a February 2025 trial date up to Feb. 26, 2024.

The vote on Monday by the City Council’s Finance Committee, which came over the objections of at least seven alderpeople, means the full City Council will once again consider resolving the lawsuit filed by Darius Cole-Garrit’s family.

The Michigan city has tracked an “unprecedented” reduction of homicides as of November 30, down 18% in the first 11 months of 2023 compared to that period last year, according to a joint news release from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Detroit mayor’s office. The city reported 228 homicides this year as of Nov. 30, compared to 278 homicides during that period last year.

Despite scores of noise complaints from residents jolted awake by garbage trucks, private trash haulers have been slapped with just five tickets for illegal pickups during quiet hours over the last two years, according to a WTTW News data analysis.

Call “The Nose” the quintessential opera of the absurd. The show is receiving an elaborate Chicago Opera Theater production in a wildly zany, two-performance-only run.

On display at the Newberry Library are selections from “History of the Indian Tribes of North America,” a set of early 19th century books rich with imagery. It’s one of the earliest and best records of what Indigenous people, including Seneca and Black Hawk, actually looked like.

Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause, although research suggests it is a body’s prolonged overreaction to an infection or other jolt to the immune system.

Disability advocates say the change would artificially reduce their numbers by almost half. At stake are not only whether people with disabilities get vital resources for housing, schools or program benefits but whether people with disabilities are counted accurately in the first place, experts said.

Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson at odds over migrant camp in Brighton Park. Ed Burke trial focuses on alleged Burger King shakedown. And the Bears are reportedly looking at land near Soldier Field for a potential stadium.

The measure does not allow new large-scale power generation facilities like the six plants that are already operational in the state, but rather allows for new smaller-scale emergent technology.

Forty-four counties in the state were at an elevated level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to CDC data for the week ending Nov. 25. Cook County remains at a low level for COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Ryan O’Neal was among the biggest movie stars in the world in the 1970s, who worked with many of the era’s most celebrated directors including Peter Bogdanovich on “Paper Moon” and Stanley Kubrick on “Barry Lyndon.”

Authored by Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th Ward), the measure expands the city’s hate crime ordinance, which was last updated more than 30 years ago.

Regulators on Friday approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease that doctors hope can cure the painful, inherited blood disorder that afflicts mostly Black people in the U.S.

The new rules, issued Thursday, came several days after the president of the Better Government Association warned Mayor Brandon Johnson that the administration’s efforts to restrict access to meetings of the City Council were “inequitable and likely illegal.”

Prosecutors capped their case revolving around the Burger King near 41st Street and Pulaski Road by playing a recorded call between ex-Ald. Ed Burke and former mayoral candidate Gery Chico from June 2017.

Chicago utility Peoples Gas is requesting a multimillion-dollar bump to its already record-high rate increase approved by regulators last month. Consumer and environmental advocates have pushed back strongly against the request.

A new state health report pinpoints racism as a public health crisis while also noting Illinois needs to improve in the areas of maternal and infant health, mental health and substance use disorders.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, when you spend $100 at a small business, $48 stays in the community versus when you spend the same $100 at a big-box store or national retailer, only $14 stays.

A team of researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago set out to explore what makes ice tick. Specifically, how does ice stick to surfaces?

As reports surfaced Thursday that the Bears were exploring Soldier Field’s south parking lot as a potential site for a new stadium, opposition immediately mobilized.

Tackling a huge drop in public transit funding. Reflecting on the work of Juanita Irizarry as she steps away from Friends of the Parks. And how a new initiative is driving holiday foot traffic to commercial corridors.

WTTW News stopped by Big Mich, a family-owned company that specializes in house-made micheladas and is now making chamoy at its Willowbrook headquarters. There’s an original lime flavor, plus strawberry and mango.

Shedd is one of only 11 institutions in North America with the resources to give a rescued sea otter pup a home.

“BOOP! The Musical” is clearly on its way to Broadway with an absolutely starry performance by Jasmine Amy Rogers, an actress who can sing and dance up a storm in a role that is sure to fly her into the spotlight, writes WTTW News theater critic Hedy Weiss.