Stories by Heather Cherone

A key vote by the Chicago City Council’s Rules Committee could come as soon as Thursday on a measure that would ask voters during the March primary whether Chicago should remain a sanctuary city.

North America’s eponymous birds — those named for people — will all receive new names. The decision made by the American Ornithological Society has drawn praise from some quarters and provoked vehement opposition elsewhere.

In the old Bloomingdale’s store, there’s plenty of elbow room to tour this museum-quality show filled with sets, memorabilia and props. 

Get ready for fun with this guide to neighborhood street fests, art shows, outdoor concerts and cultural celebrations of all sizes across Chicago and the suburbs.

Since January 2020, the numbers of homeless veterans have fallen 11% and have gone down 55% over the past 13 years, according to a government count. That's in sharp contrast with the general homeless population.

A powerful alderperson gets stripped of plumb roles after confrontation with his colleague. And jury selection underway in the Ed Burke trial as COVID-19 sidelines proceedings for a week.

The Biden administration has started to grant temporary protected status to almost 500,000 Venezuelan migrants who are already in the country — quickly making them eligible to work. Meanwhile, advocates are pushing for work permits for more than 180,000 undocumented immigrants in Chicago who have been in the city much longer.

The four former Commonwealth Edison officials convicted this year for their efforts to bribe ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan are seeking to push back their sentencing dates, but federal prosecutors claim there’s “no good reason” to do so.

More parents are questioning routine childhood vaccinations that they used to automatically accept, an effect of the political schism that emerged during the pandemic around COVID-19 vaccines, experts say.

President Joe Biden put on a red United Auto Workers shirt on Thursday as he celebrated a labor deal that will reopen the Stellantis plant in Belvidere, Illinois.

Lawmakers battle over the future of Chicago’s school board. DACA recipients push for action on federal health insurance coverage. And calls for work permits for longtime undocumented immigrants.

There are still more than 3,000 migrants living in or around Chicago’s police stations and airports. As the city struggles with how to find temporary shelter for everyone, Mayor Brandon Johnson has called on places of worship to assist.

State lawmakers left the capitol on Thursday without finalizing a plan to put in motion the 2021 law that seeks to diminish mayoral control over Chicago Public Schools. Competing plans from the state Senate and House are cause of the delay.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced plans to expand health care coverage to those enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. But the proposed change has yet to be finalized, leaving thousands of young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children in limbo.

Once the proposal takes effect Dec. 31, Chicago workers will be able to take more sick leave than workers in New York City and Los Angeles. They will also be able to take time off for any reason, not just if they or a family member falls ill, unlike workers in any other U.S. city.

Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd Ward) posted a tweet Thursday morning to X, formerly known as Twitter, that read: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.”

State Sen. Rob Martwick, the measure's author, praised Mayor Brandon Johnson for confronting Chicago’s pension woes. The bill ensures that all retired Chicago police officers get a 3% annual cost-of-living increase, regardless of whether they were born before or after Jan. 1, 1966.

A new exhibition focuses on photographs that remind us of the vastness of human culture. It’s a striking blend of art, journalism and storytelling. More than 80 large-format prints represent the career of Steve McCurry, a photography Hall of Famer and a controversial figure to some.

Approximately 1,500 men, women and children are sleeping in thin tents outside police stations across the city, officials said.

Officer Craig Lancaster, an active member of the Chicago Police Department, has reportedly been charged with aggravated battery following a May incident with 14-year-old JaQuwaun Williams outside Gresham Elementary School.

Donors receive state income tax credits for their contributions to the Invest in Kids program, which helps some 9,600 students across Illinois attend private and trade schools. But barring last-minute legislative action, authorization for the program runs out at the end of 2023.

The racketeering trial of former Ald. Ed Burke is on hold for at least a week after an attorney in the case tested positive for COVID-19, the judge in the case said Thursday.

The newly created Department of Reentry would have a budget of $5 million and four employees charged with helping formerly incarcerated individuals in Chicago get what “they need to thrive in this city,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is backing the creation of a new subcommittee to study reparations and is agreeing to earmark $500,000 in his 2024 spending plan to fund the panel’s work.

Students at private schools across Illinois are at risk of losing their scholarships. Why food insecurity is on the rise. And how the Grandyman is giving back to local kids.

According to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, one in five households in the Chicago area is facing food insecurity. A national report found that 17 million households were food insecure at some point in 2022.