Stories by Heather Cherone

Chester Wilson, 59, was former Ald. Carrie Austin’s chief of staff when he was indicted in July 2021 alongside his boss, once one of the most powerful politicians in Chicago.

The proposal passed the House with an overwhelmingly bipartisan roll call and is expected to receive a vote in the Illinois Senate later this week. It comes amid a startling rise in violence and threats aimed at public officials.

The DOJ filed the motion with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday afternoon, hours before Bovino was set to appear at the Dirksen Federal Building to meet with U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis.

The city of Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois are joining forces to appeal the Trump Administration's denial of federal disaster relief funds that would have supported the recovery from a pair of severe flooding events this past summer.

An Illinois jury on Wednesday convicted a former sheriff’s deputy of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 asking for help.

Medical debt is often the most disputed part of a consumer’s credit report, because insurance payments can take time, and oftentimes patients do not have the means to fully pay a medical bill if insurance is not covering a procedure that has already taken place.

Wednesday’s decision brings the Fed’s key rate down to about 3.9%, from about 4.1%. The central bank had cranked its rate to roughly 5.3% in 2023 and 2024 to combat the biggest inflation spike in four decades.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is lauding a reported move by Glock Inc. to discontinue its existing line of pistols that can be converted into illegal machine guns after the city filed suit against the firearms manufacturer.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday expressed skepticism about some of the revenue streams House Democrats pitched in a transit rescue bill filed late Tuesday night.

Kat Abughazaleh, who is running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, and Catherine “Cat” Sharp, who is running to represent the 12th District on the Cook County Board, were indicted alongside 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt and three others.

Cook County forest preserve police will be increasing their patrols on trails after bikers harassed and assaulted other park visitors in separate incidents last weekend at Busse Woods and LaBagh Woods.

Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.

A judge grills Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino over immigration agents’ use of force. And Chicago’s faith leaders are speaking out on immigration enforcement.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, released a statement on immigration last week. “Let me be clear. The Church stands with migrants,” Cupich said. Here’s where four more of Chicago’s faith leaders stand on the issue.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino to appear in her courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

According to charging documents, he stabbed a 17-year-old male passenger in the shoulder and another 17-year-old male passenger in the back of the head with a metal fork following meal service.

Starting Saturday, cards that SNAP beneficiaries use to buy groceries will not be reloaded after the Trump administration said last week it won’t use a roughly $5 billion contingency fund to keep funding the program next month.

An Illinois jury has begun deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of a sheriff’s deputy who shot Sonya Massey, a Black woman in her home who had called 911 for help and was later killed because of the way she was handling a pan of hot water.

WTTW News recently explored some of Chicago’s independent costume shops that are open year-round and can help outfit any customer’s dreams — or nightmares.

Here’s a look at the history of tear gas and why it remains so controversial.

The Chicago crackdown, dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” began in early September. Masked, armed agents in unmarked trucks patrol neighborhoods, and residents have protested in ways big and small against what they see as their city under siege.

What to know about a court-ordered study on how Chicago police officers are being deployed. And a look at how local law enforcement is responding to federal agents in the city.

“States, generally speaking, are not allowed to limit what federal officers do,” DePaul University law professor David Franklin said. “The federal government, federal law definitely limit what federal officers can do.”

Required by the terms of the consent decree, the federal court order designed to compel CPD to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers, the study is on track to be completed on time, by the end of the year, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said.

The scariest thing about Halloween is the number of pumpkins that wind up in landfills every year. Enter the pumpkin smash. Collected gourds will be taken to compost facilities.

The once-every-two-year spectacle is the formal kickoff to campaign season, with candidates for state, federal and judicial offices filing hundreds to thousands of signatures to secure their place on the March 17 primary ballot.