Stories by Associated Press

The prison was closed in 1963 due to crumbling infrastructure and the high costs of repairing and supplying the island facility, because everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat.

The Trump administration says it is going to pay immigrants in the United States illegally who’ve returned to their home country voluntarily $1,000 as it pushes forward with its mass deportation agenda.

The 20 homicides recorded throughout the city last month were the fewest for any month in Chicago since February 2015 while marking the fewest for any April since 1962.

Many Democrats have been in and out of the spotlight as the party looks for effective counters to President Donald Trump. But two disparate figures, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have seen their national profiles rise by delivering messages that excite a demoralized party.

Jessica Vasquez, who served as former Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa’s chief of staff when he represented the 35th Ward on the Chicago City Council, will replace Ald. Anthony Quezada, who was tapped to take Ramirez-Rosa’s seat by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that the five officers collectively committed 47 violations of departmental rules designed to protect the rights of Chicagoans during two traffic stops and should be suspended for a total of 91 days, records show.

Black and Latino homeowners were forced to cover “a disproportionate share of the burden,” according to the latest analysis from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ research team.

Data obtained by WTTW News shows the overall number of bus and train operators who worked for the CTA last year neared its pre-pandemic peak of employees. As a result, the amount of overtime worked dropped.

Bits and pieces of Halley’s Comet, which last swung by Earth in 1986, will be visible as meteors in upcoming days. The Aquarid meteor shower will peak in the pre-dawn hours of May 5 and 6.

Klaus Mäkelä, a 29-year-old Finnish-born musician, will become chief conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2027. He has already demonstrated his winning connection with the CSO.

The governor calls on Democrats to step up their game in opposing the Trump administration. And Mayor Brandon Johnson visits Springfield with a wish list for Chicago — is it too late in the session to land a deal?

“Housing is obviously unaffordable for everyone, but it is especially the case for people who have records,” said Ahmadou Dramé, director of the Illinois Justice Project. “Without a stable place to live, you can’t begin to triage all the other challenges that a person has to be navigating.”

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, disgraced by a corruption scandal that landed him in prison yet heralded by some for clearing the state’s death row, has died. He was 91.

Alt Space Chicago is an art gallery that aims to involve the entire neighborhood. Co-founder Jordan Campbell calls it an artist-led engine that uses art and faith to galvanize the community.

The seventeen students and two drivers were transported to hospitals in the area for observation. All are in fair condition, according to police.

A jury convicted 73-year-old Joseph Czuba in February of murder and hate crime charges in the fatal stabbing of Wadee Alfayoumi, who was Palestinian American, and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen. The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield.

Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger said the Republican president’s order “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.”

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, which is also known as the fall of Saigon. The conflict killed millions of Vietnamese and 60,000 American service members.

Vietnam marks 50 years since the end of the war — we talk with local community members and veterans. And why a historic Chicago parade celebrating Mexican culture is canceled this year.

“It’s definitely a tradition we don’t want to lose but with this administration, it’s better to keep our people safe,” said Hector Escobar, president of Casa Puebla and the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce.

Nor will another statue of the Italian explorer return to Arrigo Park in Little Italy, under an agreement between Chicago’s Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans and the Chicago Park District to resolve a lawsuit.

Supporters from a diverse coalition of local grassroots organizations and labor unions marched the streets to protest the Trump administration’s policies. May 1 is known as May Day or International Workers’ Day.

Driverless trucks are officially running their first regular long-haul routes, making roundtrips between Dallas and Houston.

Nine Illinois police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024 were honored at a ceremony in Springfield.

The driver of a car that barreled through a building used for a popular after-school camp in central Illinois, killing three children and a teenager, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and may have had a medical emergency, police said Thursday.

Bogdana Chkoumbova, who was named the district’s chief education officer in 2022, has spent more than two decades in CPS, beginning as a teacher before moving on to become a principal, network chief and eventually one of the top district leaders.