Stories by Heather Cherone

The 223-page report memorializes the work of 11 subcommittees that began meeting in mid-April, and dovetails with much of progressive agenda laid out by Johnson and echoes his call for new investment on Chicago’s South and West sides. 

Chicago’s pension problem getting worse. How roller-coaster weather is affecting crops. And reviewing the one-two punch of the Fourth of July and NASCAR in Spotlight Politics.

In the pantheon of Chicago disc jockeys, Dick Biondi was a superstar. In a 2003 appearance on “Chicago Tonight,” he recounts his meeting with The Beatles.  

June is expected to go down as one of the 10 driest months in the state’s history. Farmers are already seeing an impact on their crops and consumers are likely to see an impact soon.

Brandon Johnson announced that Jianan Shi, the executive director of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education since 2019, will serve as the board’s president after former president Miguel del Valle stepped down after his term expired last week.

In all, Chicago owes $35.4 billion to its four employee pension funds representing police officers, firefighters, municipal employees and laborers, according to the 2022 Certified Annual Financial Report. 

According to police figures, there were nine people killed across Chicago between Friday at 6 p.m. and Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. during a busy holiday weekend. In total, 57 people were shot in 45 separate shooting incidents during that time.

The Fourth of July holiday has accounted for the most mass shootings of any other days of the year in nearly a decade, according to a CNN analysis of the Gun Violence Archive’s mass shooting data since 2014.

Federalism — allowing each state to chart its own course within boundaries set by Congress and the Constitution — is at the core of the U.S. system. Now, some wonder whether that’s driving Americans apart.

Cities across the U.S. from Medford, Oregon to Tampa, Florida have been hovering at all-time highs, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Beijing reported nine straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 95 F.

This July 4 in Highland Park, one year after seven people were killed and dozens more wounded in a mass shooting, the sounds of marching bands and cheers were replaced by a much more solemn gathering.

Since the mass shooting at last year’s Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois has moved swiftly on gun control measures. The most controversial has been the ban on so-called assault weapons.

We launch WTTW News: A Safer City. The new series will examine the region’s struggle with crime and violence. Today, a live report from Highland Park on the mass shooting’s impact a year later.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering was marching in last year’s Fourth of July parade when gun shots began to ring out. In the year since, she has seen the town come together in its time of need.

Highland Park’s community emergency response team, or CERT, made up of residents from all walks of life — doctors, businesspeople, scientists — had a vital role to play in response to the mass shooting. 

It seemingly took a hometown tragedy to make it happen, but in January the statewide assault weapons ban Illinois legislators who represent Highland Park spent almost a decade fighting for became law – one of several measures Illinois legislators took in direct connection to the shooting.

“Like everything I inherited, I’m a teacher, I will assess and grade it," Mayor Brandon Johnson said, promising an “open process where other folks get a chance to weigh in.”

The last time Chicago saw nearly 9 inches of rain was Aug. 13-14, 1987, according to the National Weather Service. On average, the city gets 3.7 inches of rain during all of July, according to the National Weather Service.

Among wealthy nations, the U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality, which is defined as a death during pregnancy or up to a year afterward. Common causes include excessive bleeding, infection, heart disease, suicide and drug overdose.

Since 2016, thousands of Americans have been wounded in mass shootings, and tens of thousands by gun violence. Beyond the colossal medical bills and the weight of trauma and grief, mass shooting survivors and family members contend with scores of other changes that upend their lives.

The number of people shot in Chicago dropped more than 10% in the first six months of this year, as compared with the same period last year, according to police data. The number of shootings is down 6.4%, according to police data.

Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting that left seven dead and 48 more wounded, and 22-year-old Robert Crimo III remains in custody after being indicted on 117 felony charges — including 21 counts of first-degree murder.

On Monday, WTTW News launches a new initiative, “A Safer City.” In an effort to help facilitate the complicated but necessary conversation around violence, we aim to explore violence in all its forms with depth and nuance.

Starting a business from scratch takes a lot of work — not to mention capital. A startup initiative from Google is helping Black and Latino entrepreneurs reach their goals.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, a policy that withstood challenges reaching as far back as 1978. Now, higher education institutions wishing to achieve racially diverse student bodies have to find a new way forward.

Already wildfires are consuming three times more of the United States and Canada each year than in the 1980s, and studies predict fire and smoke to worsen.