Stories by Heather Cherone

The beloved festival, featuring the best of Chicago’s restaurant and culinary scene, will take place July 8-12, officials announced.

The 0.5% growth rate for 2025 was a sharp drop from 2024’s almost 1% growth rate, which was the highest in two decades and was fueled by immigration. The 2024 estimates put the U.S. population at 340 million people.

Expect a gradual warm-up — relatively speaking — by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Some 500,000 fans showed up to celebrate, withstanding a windchill of 25 below zero, to welcome the home team along a route that started at LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard and ended at Daley Plaza for a rally.

More work lies ahead in preventing shootings and in saving lives, according to stakeholders working to reduce violent crime and provide needed support to victims and their families.

A judge allows Chicago’s police misconduct agency to investigate fatal officer shootings. What’s behind the drop in homicides Chicago saw last year — and how to sustain that going forward.

Greg Bovino’s departure marks a significant public shift in federal law enforcement posture amid mounting outrage over the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents.

Though every state got roughly $200 million, states with smaller rural populations are getting more per person than those with more people in rural areas.

The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul sued the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month, five days after Renee Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs officer. 

Forty years ago on Jan. 26, 1986, the Chicago Bears won their first and only Super Bowl. Take a look back at that defining game.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s failure to name a new Ethics Board chair has infuriated good-government advocates who have demanded that he do more to combat Chicago’s reputation as the most corrupt of corrupt American cities.

Federal immigration officers shot and killed a man in Minneapolis Saturday, drawing crowds of angry protesters to the shooting scene in a city already reeling from two other shootings by federal law enforcement this month.

A jury acquits a Chicago man accused of placing a bounty on Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino. And the City Council moves to ban some hemp products.

If the investments proposed are approved in full by the ICC, ComEd expects residential customers to see an increased average cost of between $2.50 to $3 per month starting in 2028.

A federal judge has agreed to dismiss a class action lawsuit brought by Chicago journalists and protesters who sought to limit federal agents’ use of force amid expanded immigration enforcement operations.

This development marks a dramatic reversal from 2021, when the number of expressway shootings spiked at 310. Since then, incidents have dropped 80% to 61 shootings last year. Of the 89 shootings in 2024, 12 were fatal. In 2025, the number of shootings decreased by 31%, with no fatalities, police said.

An Illinois doctor indicted on murder charges in the December shooting deaths of his ex-wife and her dentist husband in their Columbus home pleaded not guilty to the killings in an Ohio courtroom.

Exploding trees have taken the country by storm. Let’s separate fact from fiction.

With an extreme cold warning in effect and actual air temperatures below zero in Chicago on Friday morning, several of the city's major cultural institutions have announced closures to the public.

The bitter cold rolls into Chicago, canceling some classes. And the Bears stadium saga is still playing out — where things stand.

The Chicago Bears’ season officially ended Sunday in an overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Rams, but the saga of the team’s future home is still playing out.

“Rieles y Raíces: Traqueros in Chicago and the Midwest” takes a closer look at Mexican railroad workers and how the roots they planted still shape communities today.

In all, $1.59 billion poured into the city’s 108 TIF funds in 2024, according to the annual report from the clerk’s office posted online Wednesday.

A 12-person jury reached its verdict Thursday afternoon in the case of Juan Espinoza Martinez, who was charged in a murder-for-hire plot after prosecutors alleged he offered $10,000 for someone to kill Greg Bovino.

Gov. JB Pritzker had directed agencies to “identify immediate spending reductions, including efficiencies that will result in reduced spending” in a September executive order.

The number of people visiting the temporary casino at River North’s Medinah Temple failed to grow from 2024 to 2025, leading to a 1.3% drop in tax revenues,