Stories by Associated Press

While Trump and his lawyers prepared for his defense, the prosecutor in his hush money case defended the grand jury investigation that propelled him toward trial, while congressional Republicans painted it as politically motivated.

The National Weather Service said starting around 2 p.m. Friday, the Chicago area is expected to see destructive winds and the possibility of tornadoes that could cause extensive damage.

For the first time in history, a former president of the United States is indicted. Redevelopment in the Back of the Yards. A major shift in City Council. And dangerous weather on the way.

Chicago’s Invest South/West project is underway in the Back of the Yards. A $58 million mixed-use development, known as United Yards, will include retail, a health clinic, brew pub and affordable housing.

Where have all the young girls gone? That’s the theme of a new production at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Playwright Mary Bonnett wrote her production, “Mia,” in response to her experiences working with the Ojibwe tribe in Wisconsin.

Led by former allies of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the successful push to rewrite the rules for the City Council — which served as a rubber stamp for decades under Mayors Richard J. Daley, Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel — is the result of years of effort to transform it into a legislative body determined to set policy for the entire city.

It becomes the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president and a jolt to Trump’s bid to retake the White House in 2024.

River cruises, egg hunts and a beer festival usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

Chicago Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman committed Major League Baseball’s first pitch-clock violation in the third inning of Thursday’s opening day game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Fidel Marquez, the government’s witness, continued testifying for the fourth day, now under cross examination from defense attorneys seeking to show how their clients’ actions were above board when they tried to garner Madigan’s support on legislation in Springfield.

Handicapping the mayor’s race six days away from the election. Priorities of the business community for the next mayor. What the FDA’s over-the-counter approval of Narcan means. And Chicago’s transit system as … art.

Polls show Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, and Paul Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, running neck and neck with a large portion of voters undecided.

Artist Rachel Steele mixes sounds she recorded live on public transit and out in neighborhoods with musical instruments reflective of the city’s different cultures. Her show, "Soundpost: Remixing Transit," is on display at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this Thursday.

The Chicago business community has been battered a bit over the past few years — from COVID-19 closures to fleeing corporate headquarters. For many business leaders, public safety weighs heavily in the conversation about Chicago’s business future.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling the leading version of naloxone without a prescription, setting the overdose-reversing drug on course to become the first opioid treatment drug to be sold over the counter.

The Rosenberg Moon Habitat made by Rockford-based Ingersoll Machine Tools has been crowned the winner of Illinois’ 2023 Makers Madness contest.

A seemingly relentless series of severe storms, likely with deadly tornadoes, are forecast to rip across parts of America’s Midwest and South over the next couple weeks, especially Friday, meteorologists said.

Winners will be announced June 5 at the Lyric Opera.

City Council members act quickly to cement some of their power before the next mayor comes in. Where the candidates stand on education. And the latest on a suburban bakery harassed for drag shows.

The next mayor will face a number of education hurdles, including the transition to an elected school board, a new teachers union contract, securing school funding and the end of a moratorium on school closures.

It’s been more than six months since hundreds of migrants arrived in buses from the Texas border. At Grace and Peace Church in North Austin, a congregation is helping asylum seekers through their journeys.

The proposal – which has not yet been debated in public – could get a final vote on Thursday as part of supporters’ push for a quick vote before the runoff between Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson set for April 4.

UpRising Bakery and Cafe owner Corinna Sac plans to relocate her business after months of harassment, protests and threats. The attacks came after the cafe announced plans last July to hold two family-friendly drag shows as part of an event series.

Mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas made their case to voters at a packed forum held in Pilsen, and the words “crime” and “police” didn't come up once.

Fidel Marquez, the government’s star witness in the “ComEd Four” bribery trial, continued his testimony for a second day Tuesday as he detailed how former utility officials allegedly conspired to corruptly influence Michael Madigan.

The three proposals would invest $550 million in the Loop to build 1,059 apartments in what is now mostly empty office space, including 317 units set aside for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans as part of an effort to reduce segregation in Chicago in return for $188 million in city subsidies, officials said.