Stories by WTTW News

More back-and-forth on whether President Donald Trump plans to send troops to Chicago. And the Federal Reserve considers cutting the interest rate — what you should know.

What was once thought to be a mainly coastal phenomenon is now showing up in most major cities in the U.S. and around the world.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is widely expected to cut its key rate by a quarter point to about 4.1%, which would be the first reduction since last December.

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules objected to the Illinois Department of Corrections’ emergency rule allowing facilities to electronically scan mail. The objection does not stop the department’s emergency rule, which paves the way for IDOC facilities to transition to scanning incarcerated peoples’ mail, instead of giving them physical mail.

FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with skeptical Democrats at a contentious Senate oversight hearing Tuesday, defending his record amid criticism that he has politicized the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency and pursued retribution against perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump.

Attention Chicagoans, brace yourselves because Chicago is sinking. Northwestern University researchers were the first to study underground climate change and its effects on urban infrastructure. They call it a “silent hazard.”

The Art Institute of Chicago is giving the artist her due with a solo show that surveys 75 years of the artist’s work. It is called “Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies.”

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday he can’t take “anything that (Trump) says seriously” and said he thinks Trump is “losing it” following another threat of a military deployment into Chicago.

Speaking to the New York Law School in Manhattan, the Supreme Court’s senior liberal encouraged people to get involved and lamented what she described as a lack of knowledge about fundamental aspects of American law.

Robert Redford, the Hollywood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, died Tuesday at 89.

The report offers “89 preliminary options to improve operations, generate new revenue, and pursue strategic opportunities, all while preserving city services” that could add between $1 billion and $2.1 billion to the city’s bottom line.

Chicago’s Mexican community celebrates despite an ICE crackdown. And the state of political discourse in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has spurred public discourse on political violence and the rhetoric that perpetuates it. Reactions to Kirk’s death range from anger and grief to indifference and relief, revealing the longstanding chasm in American political ideology.

Despite fears of enhanced immigration enforcement, the Little Village Mexican Independence Day Parade took place this weekend without any issues. On Monday, events continued for El Grito, an annual celebration marking Mexico’s independence.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order sending the National Guard into Memphis to combat crime, constituting his latest test of the limits of presidential power by using military force in American cities.

If your fall allergies have kicked in, ragweed is the likely culprit, but goldenrod often takes the blame.

A final vote on both proposals, which would create 786 new homes, including 237 units of affordable housing, is set for the Sept. 25 City Council meeting.

The vending machines will be located at the 47th Street Red Line station, Wilson Red and Purple Line station, Jefferson Park Blue Line station, Harlem/Lake Green Line station and the Central Park Pink Line station.

The meeting in Madrid is the fourth round of trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials since Trump launched a tariff war on Chinese goods in April.

The first global settlement of lawsuits tied to a single officer is now set for a final vote by the full Chicago City Council on Sept. 25.

“We need more information,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at a press event Monday in Chicago. “We’ve asked ICE for all of the information around it, they have given very little.”

“This should come from the top, yet with each new crisis in recent years, we are reminded that we cannot rely on President Trump to tamp down the anger and the passion in the aftermath of political violence,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “Instead, he actively fans the flames of division.”

Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, a popular two-term Republican credited with guiding the state into a period of greater financial stability in the 1990s, died Sunday, according to his family.

A small crowd attended the festivities outside the modest brick house in the village of Dolton, where the former Robert Prevost grew up after he was born in 1955 in Chicago.

An about-face from President Donald Trump as he focuses on a new city to send the National Guard to. And protests continue as immigration enforcement ramps up.

Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Chicago Democrat with a reputation for taking charge of energy and climate change legislation, will step down at the end of his current term.