Stories by Alexandra Silets

The voters of Chicago have spoken, and the message is loud and clear: The next mayor needs new strategies to reduce crime. The two contenders for Chicago’s mayoral runoff, Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, have differing views on how to address crime and violence.

“This is providing the means for us to collaborate not only within the Chicagoland area but to really make a difference in biodiversity hot spots across the globe,” said Chuck Knapp, vice president of conservation research at Shedd Aquarium.

Opening statements in the trial of the “ComEd Four” — who are accused of illegally currying favor with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan — began Wednesday.

The Surface Transportation Board approved the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. Illinois congressional members and transit agencies previously expressed opposition to the move.

Drivers who park their cars in dedicated bicycle and bus lanes, as well as crosswalks, bus stops and no parking zones, will be ticketed if the infraction is captured by city cameras mounted on poles and on the front of buses and other city vehicles, officials said.

The proposal would launch the pilot program in dense neighborhoods and those pockmarked by vacant lots.

The ComEd bribery trial gets underway. The state’s high court hears challenges to the no-cash-bail bill that’s been put on hold. And debating NASCAR and other events closing Grant Park for most of the summer.

Coal ash, the byproduct created when plants burn coal for power, contains potentially dangerous materials like arsenic, mercury and cadmium that can endanger nearby water supplies. Since coal-fired power plants use a lot of water to keep their equipment cool, they’re often near bodies of water like Lake Michigan.

Grant Park could potentially be closed to the public for 40 days for July's NASCAR Chicago Street Race, including event setup and teardown. That's just one of many events blocking free access to the park this summer.

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas’ plan to reverse decades of disinvestment on the South and West sides of Chicago focuses on the creation of an independent community development authority that would limit tChicago City Council members’ control of zoning in their wards. 

The lawsuit over cash bail pits the state’s Democratic governor, attorney general and legislative leaders against roughly half of Illinois’ state’s attorneys, as well as county sheriffs. Both sides can agree on this much: The justices’ decision will have major ramifications on the future of the criminal justice system in Illinois.

Six members of the Chicago City Council will have to defend their seats during the April 4 runoff, including 29th Ward Ald. Chris Taliaferro, who fell 25 votes short of winning a majority of votes in his West Side ward.

Dozens of potential jurors were brought in for questioning in the case against ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist Mike McClain, retired ComEd executive John Hooker and ex-City Club of Chicago president and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty.

A shuttered Kmart will no longer serve as temporary housing for 658 asylum seekers currently living in Illinois. A source close to the situation said some of the migrants have found places to live independently while others will continue to stay at hotels, mostly in the south and southwest suburbs.

Part history, part imagination, and awash in clever verbal interplay, “Describe the Night” captures the spirit of Russian author and war correspondent Isaac Babel. The play follows certain aspects of his life and times — from his romantic attachments to his tense interaction with Soviet intelligence.

The proposal would require human service organizations that contract with the city and have more than 20 employees to agree not to fight efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

The plan would limit toxic PFAS chemicals to the lowest level that tests can detect. PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, are a group of compounds that are widespread, dangerous and expensive to remove from water.

The proposal would require human service organizations that contract with the city to agree not to disrupt efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

The Seng is a 34-unit condo building that aims to attract middle-income families previously priced out of the area. A three-bedroom unit might go for $333,000, the developer said, compared to the market average of $700,000 in the neighborhood.

Come next year, a new law will mandate nearly all Illinois employers give their workers a minimum of five paid days off, for any reason.

The trial of the “ComEd Four” — ex-CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist Mike McClain, retired ComEd executive John Hooker and ex-City Club of Chicago president and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty — will begin this week.

An update to a proposed plan to house migrants at an abandoned Chicago Kmart. What to know about the “ComEd four” federal trial beginning this week. And the fallout from the SVP Bank collapse.

Opponents of a toxic sludge landfill on Lake Michigan have filed a lawsuit to stop a plan by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to expand the dump by 25 vertical feet.

The facility is set to take over some 26 acres of Near West Side property that was part of the Addams-Brooks-Loomis-Abbott homes, known as ABLA. The Fire plans to build a “performance center” building and five and a half soccer fields.

The Homeland Security Department said the extension is for certain Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members who were let into the U.S. before the Uniting for Ukraine program started.

Over the last three days, the U.S. seized the two financial institutions after a bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California. It was the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual went under in 2008. How did we get here? And will the steps the government unveiled over the weekend be enough?