Stories by Ben Szalinski — Capitol News Illinois

Lawmakers and labor unions have both expressed concern that benefits for Tier 2 employees are inadequate and that some workers in that category are in line to receive benefits out of compliance with federal law.

Gun rights advocates once again are asking a federal appeals court in Chicago to overturn Illinois’ ban on assault-style firearms and large-capacity magazines in a case that may be destined for the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump called protesters in Los Angeles “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday as he defended deploying the military on demonstrators opposed to his immigration enforcement raids.

R. Kelly was convicted in two separate trials — one in New York, another in Chicago — of racketeering conspiracy and child pornography charges.

Chicago native Natasha Olguin has been named deputy commissioner of the Chicago Film Office.

“The people of Los Angeles and surrounding areas have taken a courageous stand against Trump’s reign of terror targeting immigrant families,” according to organizers in a social media post about the planned protest.

An immigrant man who was falsely accused of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump can be released from a Wisconsin prison on bond, an immigration judge in Chicago determined Tuesday.

The Army birthday celebration had already been planned for months. But earlier this spring, President Donald Trump announced his intention to transform the event — which coincides with his 79th birthday — into a massive military parade.

Concerns over the president’s deployment of the National Guard to stop protests in California. And how the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum are impacting businesses in Illinois.

Businesses and manufacturing are starting to feel the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs that took effect Wednesday. The Trump administration is putting a 50% tax on these metals when they’re imported from other countries.

This appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor.

The “Clean Slate” Act, which could have sealed thousands and potentially millions of nonviolent criminal records in Illinois, had bipartisan support but failed to pass in the final flurry of legislative action this spring, the sponsor says.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday dismissed an expert panel of vaccine advisers that has historically guided the federal government’s vaccine recommendations, saying the group is “plagued with conflicts of interest.”

Sly Stone, the revolutionary musician and dynamic showman whose Sly and the Family Stone transformed popular music in the 1960s and ‘70s and beyond with such hits as “Everyday People,” “Stand!” and “Family Affair,” has died. He was 82

If private landowners don’t remove invasives alongside natural areas, species like buckthorn will persist in forest preserves and parks, regardless of habitat restoration efforts.

A bill passed in this year’s legislative session would rewrite the definition of a “forcible felony” to allow Illinois State Police to use images obtained from automatic license plate readers in cases involving human trafficking and involuntary servitude.

On Monday, scores of scientists at the agency sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, challenging “policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Purpose” won best play, and Kara Young took home the award for best performance by and actress in a featured role for the production that first opened in Chicago in 2024. The play moved to Broadway and is running in New York through Aug. 31, 2025.

Trash and recycling companies aren’t allowed to make pickups in Chicago between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. For nearly two years, WTTW News has been tracking numerous companies flouting the law and documenting a tsunami of complaints from residents.

The officer, a 36-year-old woman and mother of a young daughter, was killed during a foot pursuit, according to Police Superintendent Larry Snelling.

A chaotic scene as federal agents make a surprise mass immigration arrest. And Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’s confident public transit will get the funding it needs — but who will pay?

The DOGE victories come amid a messy breakup that started shortly after Elon Musk’s departure from the White House and has included threats to cut government contracts and a call for the president to be impeached.

State lawmakers sent Gov. JB Pritzker a $55.2 billion budget on May 31 that raises $1 billion in new revenue and increases spending by more than $2 billion in fiscal year 2026 compared to the current year.

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the classic English children’s novel by Lewis Carroll, could hardly be more familiar to audiences of all ages. But the Joffrey Ballet version of the story is a wonderfully innovative take on the classic tale.

A bill that would lift long-standing restrictions on small poultry farmers in Illinois, reducing red tape and transforming the way local farmers process and sell their products, is heading to the governor.

President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban on citizens from 12 countries added new questions about the impact on the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, which depend on hosts opening their doors to the world.