Stories by Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois

The nearly three-dozen pensioners and 17 individual pension funds that sued have already lost twice in lower court. But their attorney was insistent the retired police and firefighters were wronged when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law – passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Now in its seventh week, the war has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank, and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.

This year, don't head to your Thanksgiving gathering empty-handed. Take these wild turkey fun facts with you, and use them to fill awkward silences.

Thanksgiving travelers should expect to gobble up traffic over the next few days, with AAA forecasting 2.46 million vehicles to hit the roads in Illinois — some 60,000 more drivers than last year.

Ryan Field is getting a revamp after a narrow Evanston City Council vote. What the city’s new 60-day shelter limit means for asylum seekers. And a historic day for Northwestern University’s newest graduates.

Last week, the Northwestern Prison Education Program graduated its first cohort of students. The graduates are the first in the country to earn bachelor’s degrees from a top 10 university while incarcerated.

Evanston residents are getting a new neighbor: an $800 million rebuilt Ryan Field. Evanston City Council on Monday voted yes on the field revamp and on a controversial zoning change to allow concerts.

While portions of the pipeline’s plan have yet to be finalized, it was generally proposed to run from two ethanol production facilities owned by Archer Daniels Midland in Iowa and terminate near Decatur, home to ADM’s North American headquarters.

About 3 in 10 U.S. adults (32%) who will celebrate Thanksgiving this year say turkey is their favorite dish in the holiday feast, according to a new poll. Stuffing or dressing (19%) and mashed potatoes (6%) come in second and third.

Calumet Fisheries, the iconic South Side seafood restaurant, caught fire Tuesday afternoon and suffered “extensive” damage.

The new exhibition “American People” is the first solo retrospective of artist Faith Ringgold in Chicago. This vivid and revealing show is not only rare — it’s must-see.

The new statute forbids officials convicted of “a felony, bribery, perjury or other infamous crime” from holding local or state level elected positions.

The annual Chicago Thanksgiving Parade steps off for the 89th year on Thursday.

Safety officials investigate a CTA train crash that injured nearly 40 people. And celebrating 50 years on air with radio legend Terri Hemmert. 

Terri Hemmert is the Queen of Chicago Rock and Roll radio and a proud member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This year, she celebrates 50 years since she first walked into the doors at WXRT.

Tommy Orange’s novel, “There There,” has been chosen as the latest selection for the Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago program. The book, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, tells the story of Native American life, not as it existed centuries ago, but as it does now.

The jury heard the first direct testimony from someone who prosecutors allege Burke sought to extort by weaponizing his powerful position as chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee and the longest serving member of the City Council. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released a new plant hardiness zone map, and significant swaths of the country — Chicago included — are now in warmer zones.

Reflecting on the impact political cartoonist and activist Danny Sotomayor had on the AIDS epidemic in Chicago during the 1980s and 1990s. 

Only two weeks ago, an industry-shaking $1.8 billion verdict in an antitrust class-action case was handed down, finding the National Association of Realtors and two brokerage firms liable for conspiring to keep commissions artificially high. 

Three debates for next year’s presidential general election are set to be held in college towns in Texas, Virginia and Utah between Sept. 16 and Oct. 9, with the lone vice presidential debate happening in between in Pennsylvania.

Over the last five years, agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have employed a new seek-and-destroy strategy that uses turncoat carp to lead them to the fish’s hotspot hideouts.

At least three teenagers were fatally shot over the weekend across Chicago, including a pair of 14-year-old boys killed in the Chatham neighborhood Sunday and a 16-year-old boy who died Saturday.

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Jimmy Carter during his one term as U.S. president and their four decades thereafter as global humanitarians, has died at the age of 96.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said the Chicago Transit Authority train was traveling at 26.9 mph on Thursday when it struck the snow-removal equipment, which was on the tracks conducting training for the winter season.

Officials at the Illinois State Board of Education say they’re receiving more requests for increased funding for next year than the state could possibly afford, and they’re bracing for the possibility that budgets will start to tighten in the near future.