Stories by Capitol News Illinois

Senate Bill 1181 explicitly adds news media as an entity protected under the state’s Citizen Participation Act, which prohibits “strategic lawsuits against public participation.”

Lawmakers voted along party lines Saturday to pass House Bill 3363, which would create the “Office of State Public Defender” that would primarily be responsible for providing public defender offices around the state with more resources.

Foreign-made steel and aluminum is used in household products like soup cans and paper clips, as well as big-ticket items like a stainless-steel refrigerators and cars.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday announced the expansion of its Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which combines the efforts of federal, state and local authorities to help stem violent crime.

The ban was supposed to take effect on July 1, but lawmakers voted with strong bipartisan majorities Sunday morning to pass House Bill 742 to push the ban back until July 2026.

An Aurora resident who staunchly maintained his innocence on a charge of alleged battery against a member of former Mayor Richard Irvin’s campaign team had his case dismissed by a Kane County judge on Wednesday.

The Congressional Budget Office has projected that President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” would increase federal deficits by about $2.4 trillion over 10 years.

Graceland Cemetery's newest residents — a litter of coyote pups — are causing a stir.

According to Chicago Police Department data, there were 36 homicides recorded throughout May 2025, a total that’s down 38% compared to the same month last year and down nearly 50% compared to May 2023.

President Donald Trump’s big bill making its way through Congress will cut taxes by $3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires carried another day of poor air quality south of the border to the Midwest, where conditions in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan were rated “very unhealthy” Tuesday.

Edmund White, the groundbreaking man of letters who documented and imagined the gay revolution through journalism, essays, plays and such novels as “A Boy’s Own Story” and “The Beautiful Room is Empty,” has died. He was 85.

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

The mayor reacts as state lawmakers fail to fund public transit. And the latest on COVID-19 vaccine guidelines.

At issue is a lower court ruling that found the Republican and two presidential elector nominees did not have standing to sue. The Supreme Court will likely hear arguments in the case in the fall.

Federal health officials issued new guidance last week on who should have the COVID-19 vaccine, and it no longer includes healthy children and healthy pregnant women.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration sent Congress a long-awaited request for lawmakers to cancel more than $1 billion in federal funds earmarked for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that disburses taxpayer funds to local NPR and PBS stations across the country.

In all, Chicago taxpayers spent $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.

Bradley Lund, 8, had been in a Springfield hospital since the collision at YNOT Outdoors five weeks ago, according to the Sangamon County coroner.

Chicago’s Office of Inspector General published a new report that found numerous issues with the city’s Gun Offender Registration Ordinance, which requires anyone convicted of certain firearm-related charges to register during their release from custody or sentencing.

About three-quarters of U.S. infants consume formula during the first six months of life, with about 40% receiving it as their only source of nutrition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite desire from Native Americans in Illinois, the ban on Native imagery for mascots in K-12 schools stalled in the Senate after it made its way out of the House.

The Hair Braiding Opportunity Act would have amended the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985 to strike a 300-hour training requirement, $30 initial licensing fee and $5,000 penalty for practicing without a license for hair braiders.

Over the past month, Trump has said he’d like to target two specific and very different companies — Apple and Mattel — with tariffs aimed at their key products over comments by their CEOs.

A naturalized U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty to receiving military training from the Islamic State group was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison.

Team owner Joe Mansueto will personally pay for the stadium, it was announced. Groundbreaking could take place in late 2025 with the stadium ready for play by the 2028 season.