Stories by WTTW News

The founder of a run club on going your own pace. How our highway system gets its exit numbers. And a chat with Peter Sagal of "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!"

Thousands of people thronged a Jerusalem cemetery to pay their respects to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose face became one of the most recognizable symbols of the nearly year-old hostage crisis.

Three people were pronounced dead at the Forest Park station, an above-ground stop on the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line. The fourth victim died at a hospital.

Illinois saw 86 successful union petitions in 2023, up from 67 the year before. Those are the two highest totals in a 10-year period dating back to 2014. The prior eight years ranged from 25 to 62 successful petitions.

DuSable Lake Shore Drive between Lawrence and Hollywood avenues will be shut down overnight this week for resurfacing. Start planning your alternate route.

The school year starts, and already CPS leaders are buried in homework. Work begins on Chicago’s permanent casino. And the city stares down a nearly billion-dollar deficit.

The federal judge who ruled Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th Ward) violated the First Amendment by blocking six critics from his official Facebook page admonished him Friday for approaching her in June at a funeral even as the case remains pending.

Drivers began a work stoppage on Aug. 16 over low wages and unfair labor practices by employer SCR Medical Transportation. Roughly half of the 600 drivers on strike serve CPS students, including students with special needs.

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer and the official end of the Chicago Park District’s outdoor swim season.

It wasn’t just politicians and celebrities who took the stage at last week’s Democratic National Convention. Advocates shared their stories about how gun violence has impacted their lives and inspired them to take action. Edgar Vilchez, 19, was one of those speakers.

The program allows undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card and eventually citizenship without leaving the country, a process known as “parole in place.” The White House estimated about 500,000 people were eligible for the program. 

“We make sure that all our bilingual books are written by Latino authors and that they speak to our experiences,” Laura Romaní said.

“I fell hard for Monty and Rose, the first piping plovers I ever met, and I can now bring my love and passion to their offspring and kind,” Tamima Itani told WTTW News.

Chicago is facing a nearly billion-dollar budget shortfall. A local anti-violence advocate fresh off the DNC stage. And how a Chicago business owner is helping kids access bilingual books.

Workers are continuing their protest over the state’s plan to close and rebuild Stateville Correctional Center, citing concerns over safety and job stability.

The NASCAR Chicago Street Race will return to the city next summer for the third year in a row. The Chicago Street Race Weekend will take place July 5-6, 2025.

It’s one thing to read about the male turtle’s mating “dance.” It’s another to witness it with your own eyes.

Estelle Glaser Laughlin carried a lifelong message of optimism despite coming of age during a terrible time in history. She died this week at the age of 95.

The delays have changed where students enrolled, with many students forced to pick a college with limited information about their financial picture.

Picture your holiday decorations with an actual figure from the Marshall Field’s window displays — a boy riding an old-fashioned bicycle or Christmas carolers or even a miniature version of the famous Marshall Field’s clock. Thirty mechanized figures can each go to the highest bidder.

“There are sacrifices that will be made,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

A look at how Black men could impact the outcome of this year’s presidential race. And we explain the history of redlining and how it began in Chicago.

Vice President Kamala Harris made her case for the presidency last week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago where she zeroed in on a problem plaguing many Americans: affordable housing.

Pew Research projects more than 34.4 million Black Americans will be eligible to vote this November. Black men are emerging as a potentially key voting bloc in this year’s presidential race.

Human cases of the West Nile virus, spread by a bite from an infected mosquito, is typically at its highest in August and September, according to Rebecca Lee Smith, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

A state commission is soliciting submissions for a new Illinois flag.