Stories by Heather Cherone

Allowing CPD to spend unlimited sums of taxpayer money is a “crazy way to run a city,” said Justin Marlowe, a professor in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and the director of the Center for Municipal Finance.

What a redistricting push in Illinois could mean for the midterms as voters in California consider redrawing districts. And a move to end automatic extensions of some immigrant work permits.

Republicans and Democrats are in an escalating national fight over congressional seats. Some members of Congress are pushing for Illinois to redraw its districts to get another Democratic seat.

The Grainger Center for Conservation and Science, projected to cost $50 million to build, will be a space for conservators across departments to collaborate, conduct research, teach and preserve the Art Institute’s collection, according to the museum.

From his use of chemical agents to a helicopter raid on an apartment building, Greg Bovino defended the approach of U.S. Customs and Border Protection as appropriate and necessary for what he says are threats his agents have faced in Chicago.

Let’s hand it to the moon, it makes skywatching easy.

Left-hander Shota Imanaga became eligible for free agency when the Chicago Cubs declined an option to keep his contract by guaranteeing $57 million for the 2026-28 seasons and he turned down a $15.25 million option for 2026.

Mayor Brandon Johnson blocked the city’s watchdog from searching for gifts he accepted on behalf of the city without reporting them as required, as required by the city’s ethics ordinance, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said Tuesday.

Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative who became one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, has died at 84.

The proposal is opposed not only by business groups but also labor organizations, including the Chicago Federation of Labor, which are concerned that the measure would snarl new and expanding businesses in red tape, preventing them from creating new jobs.

Some SNAP funds will be released as the government shutdown drags on. And meet the Adler Planetarium’s new president.

The museum is celebrating its own history as the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere by preparing for its centennial celebration in 2030.

The government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged into a new month.

The MacArthur Justice Center and the ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit alleging ICE officials are denying detainees access to their attorneys and subjecting them to mistreatment and overcrowding. Federal officials have denied those accusations.

The tree lighting ceremony will take place Nov. 21 in Millennium Park.

Get ready for fun with this Chicago festival guide to neighborhood street fests, art shows, outdoor concerts, cultural celebrations and summer events of all sizes across Chicago and the suburbs.

Key legal principles at the heart of conservative challenges to major initiatives in the Biden years are driving the arguments in the fight against Trump’s tariffs, which is set for arguments at the high court on Wednesday.

The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.

The first big electoral test of Trump’s second term is taking shape, when Virginia and New Jersey will elect governors, California will vote on a measure to redraw its congressional maps, and New York City will pick its next mayor.

State lawmakers ride to the rescue for Chicago-area public transit. And federal prosecutors file charges against anti-immigration enforcement protesters.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis had ordered Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino to appear in her courtroom every weekday at 6 p.m. to recap the events of the day and inform her of any use of force.

Chicago has a number of towering timekeepers, some of them works of art, some of them landmarks, and all of them a reminder that time never stands still.

The suit, brought on behalf of Broadview detainees by the MacArthur Justice Center and the ACLU of Illinois, claims ICE officials have “cut off detainees from the outside world” by preventing them from making confidential phone calls to their lawyer or a prospective lawyer.

“From the public health perspective, it is about protecting the children and protecting adults who don’t really know what is in the products they’re consuming,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige said.

The program serves about one in eight Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. Word in October that it would be a Nov. 1 casualty of the shutdown sent states, food banks and SNAP recipients scrambling to figure out how to secure food.

The filibuster is a longstanding parliamentary tool that halts action on most bills unless 60 senators in the 100-member chamber vote to move forward. Over the years, it has stymied policy priorities for Democrats and Republicans alike.