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People in the country illegally are largely ineligible for federal public benefits such as food stamps, student loans and financial aid for higher education. But for decades they have been able to access some community-level programs such as Head Start and community health centers.

According to data from the city and Chicago Police Department, total violent crime is down at least 22% thus far in 2025, while there have been 90 fewer homicides and more than 400 fewer shootings compared to last year.

The National Weather Service is warning of an ongoing threat for flash flooding in the Chicago region through Saturday.

Texas and the rest of the nation are mourning as the death toll rises to 120 almost a week after catastrophic flooding devastated parts of the state over Fourth of July weekend.

Michael McClain, 77, a former Illinois representative lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison, was convicted of bribery conspiracy and willfully falsifying the utility giant’s books as part of the “ComEd Four” trial in 2023.

The 10-year summer average of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate extreme index, which tracks hurricanes, heavy rain, droughts and high and low temperatures, is 58% higher than it was in the 1980s.

In all, Chicago taxpayers have spent more than $120.3 million since January 2019 to resolve 31 lawsuits filed by Chicagoans injured during police pursuits, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

Judge Joseph LaPlante issued a preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s order and certified a class action lawsuit including all children who will be affected. The order, which followed an hour-long hearing, included a seven-day stay to allow for appeal.

For more than four decades, Jackie Wilson has said he was tortured into confessing to two Chicago Police officers by disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge.

If approved, it would be the eighth lawsuit filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of Guevara’s misconduct to be resolved at a cost of more than $95 million to Chicago taxpayers.

City lawyers reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit filed by Gilbert and Hester Mendez midway through a federal civil trial after Peter Mendez, who was 9 at the time of the no-knock raid, told a jury that he was traumatized by Chicago police officers’ decision to point a M4 assault rifle and other guns at him and his 5-year-old brother.

A circus hits town this week, leading the way for a wide spectrum of spectacle. Throw in the odd cultural curveball, and you have no reason to stay at home this weekend.

For nearly a decade, national guidelines have recommended introducing safe forms of peanut-containing foods to infants to help reduce allergy risk; however, a new study by Northwestern Medicine found that many families aren’t receiving that guidance from their pediatrician.

Officials are calling out federal immigration agents, saying they targeted a local museum. And an uncertain future for some local hospitals amid cuts to Medicaid.

This weekend house music lovers will dance, shake and bounce to celebrate 35 years of the Chosen Few Picnic and Festival in Jackson Park, where the event first started back in 1990. About 40,000 fans are expected to be at Saturday’s event.

With funding at risk, hospitals are warning they might have to close — and leave communities without badly needed access to care.

Chicago and Illinois officials gathered at the West Side museum Wednesday morning to decry the “government overreach” they said took place a day earlier.

President Donald Trump has described Jair Bolsonaro as a friend and hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020.

Newly exposed tracks and rail ties, excavated during construction, were part of what was once one of the world’s largest streetcar systems.

Reported losses to job scams increased more than threefold from 2020 to 2023. In the first half of 2024, they topped $220 million, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The CDC said the national case count surpassed 2019, when there were 1,274 cases for the year and the country almost lost its status of having eliminated the vaccine-preventable illness. That could happen this year if the virus has nonstop spread for 12 months.

Nearly 30,000, or more than 40%, of Planned Parenthood of Illinois patients use Medicaid to access health care services at Planned Parenthood’s health centers, according to the organization.

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

Former Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin is too sick to stand trial on charges that she took bribes in the form of home improvements including new kitchen cabinets and granite countertops from a developer and lied to federal agents, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning at 9:46 p.m. Tuesday night for Chicago and Cicero and the situation quickly escalated.

President Donald Trump’s so-called “big beautiful bill” pledges to fill those gaps, setting aside $12.5 billion to modernize the air traffic control system.