Stories by Heather Cherone

Irene Chavez died while in police custody on Dec. 18, 2021. Eleven officers are set to be disciplined for failing to prevent her death, as first reported by WTTW News.

With the latest action, the administration said it has canceled $167 billion in student debt for nearly 5 million Americans through several programs.

Alcohol is still more widely used, but 2022 was the first time this intensive level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking, said the study’s author.

The bill would authorize the state to hand over what is now Shabbona Lake and State Park to the tribe for $1. It also allows the tribe and the Department of Natural Resources to enter into a land management agreement under which the land would remain open to the public for recreational use for an unspecified period.

Ratings have been historic. ESPN’s broadcast of Clark’s opening night game when the Indiana Fever played the Connecticut Sun had the highest viewership for a WNBA game on the network.  ESPN picked up the Chicago-Indiana game on June 1 that will feature the first meeting between Reese and Clark.

Advocates who have been pushing to eliminate statewide what is called the subminimum wage acknowledged Tuesday that their efforts to pass the measure during the General Assembly’s spring session won’t move forward.

Seven months after Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch advanced a measure that would allow legislative staff to unionize, members of his own staff on Tuesday blasted the speaker for allowing the bill to languish.

Reaction to dramatic changes in how Chicago will fund its public schools going forward. And our Spotlight Politics team on the looming deadline to pass a state budget.

Chicago’s school funding model is changing. Instead of basing school funding on student enrollment as the district has done for the past decade, Chicago Public Schools is now taking a needs-based approach.

Periodical cicadas use trees’ lifecycles to “count” years. But when trees get duped by climate change, so do the insects. Could it lead to new broods?

Carbon capture and sequestration technology is used to take carbon dioxide — a powerful greenhouse gas — and move it through pipelines before storing it deep underground. Several groups are pushing for a bill that would regulate the emerging technology at the same time some companies are pitching pipeline projects to state regulators.

Attempts by private groups or individuals to get into a water provider’s network and take down or deface websites aren’t new. More recently, however, attackers haven’t just gone after websites, they’ve targeted utilities’ operations instead.

The nursing home industry is still reeling from COVID-19, which exacerbated pre-existing challenges in long-term care — difficulties hiring and retaining staff and a population more reliant on government-funded care chief among them.

SEIU Local 73 says it represents more than 11,000 CPS support staff, including special education classroom assistants, custodians, crossing guards, bus aides, security officers and parent workers. CPS and the union had been negotiating on a contract for a year.

Donald Trump’s lawyers rested their defense Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.

Raphael Hammond, 37, has been charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun in connection with the shooting, the Chicago Tribune reported.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer will hold an all-day hearing on June 11 to hear testimony from Chicagoans about CPD’s use of traffic stops and whether the court should have authority over the policy governing when officers can stop motorists.

Law enforcement is sounding the alarm on guns that are still in the hand of residents who shouldn’t legally have them. A City Council battle around ShotSpotter. And the cicadas are finally here — what you need to know.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is seeking $10 million from state lawmakers to tackle what he calls in a recent report “A Firearm Regulation Crisis.” 

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has announced its plan to host a cicada-themed art show during the Illinois State Fair and is seeking entries from the public, looking for interpretations of cicadas or broods.

The chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court sought arrest warrants Monday for leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over actions taken during their seven-month war.

From his entertaining pitching style to his trips to Dunkin' Donuts — “Either I order a small iced latte or a medium,” he said — Shota Imanaga has moved with a purpose in his acclimation to the big leagues. And he is making it look easy at the moment.

The massive emergence of 17-year cicadas has started in Chicago and the surrounding region. Here's what to look for next.

According to Chicago Police Department figures, 45 people were shot, 1 fatally, in 31 separate shooting incidents recorded between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Ald. David Moore told WTTW News he will force a vote on an order that accuses Mayor Brandon Johnson of having “usurped the will of the City Council and their ability to represent constituents” by canceling the city’s contract with SoundThinking, which operates the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system.

In the world premiere play “Turret,” humans dwell at the bottom of the food chain, and their days at the top are a distant memory.