Stories by WTTW News

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood announces she will not run for Senate. And the budget deadline in Springfield is quickly approaching — we hear from state lawmakers about their priorities.

It’s crunch time in Springfield, with the deadline to pass the state budget for next fiscal year less than two weeks away. Lawmakers are working to hammer out a balanced spending plan amid federal funding uncertainties and mounting pressure from agencies asking for more money.

Chicago's piping plover pair, Imani and Sea Rocket, are officially expecting.

When caught early, prostate cancer is highly survivable, but it is also the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. About one in eight men will be diagnosed over their lifetime with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

The “Lincoln’s Legacy” collection up for auction features 144 items chronicling Lincoln’s personal and political life, from manuscripts and artifacts from his time as a lawyer in Illinois to his presidential campaign, leading the country during the Civil War and his ultimate assassination.

“I’ve decided the most powerful way for me to defend our values and hold Donald Trump accountable is to help Democrats win back the House,” U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood said in a statement.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has routinely touted his efforts to appoint the most racially diverse cabinet in Chicago history, told Pastor Byron Brazier he was pursuing a strategy to “ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business.”

Llovana Torres, 26, has been charged with one count of aggravated battery to a victim under the age of 13. A judge on Monday ordered that she be detained in Cook County Jail pending trial.

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke called on legislators to pass a bill that would amend the terrorism article of the state’s criminal code to include language protecting reproductive health care facilities.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, is a federal law that requires a museum or institution to publish public notices if any human remains or funerary objects it holds belong to a tribal nation.

The 82-year-old former president’s diagnosis — an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones — is the latest chapter in his family’s tragic history. Each episode has played out in very painful and public ways.

Benjamin Ritchie, 45, has been on death row for more than 20 years after being convicted in the fatal shooting of Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney during a foot chase. Unless there’s last-minute court action, Ritchie is scheduled to be executed “before the hour of sunrise” at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to state officials.

Starting later this year, new episodes will run on Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day. No specific premiere date was immediately announced. Select past episodes will be available on Netflix worldwide.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, also gave the Augustinian pope a copy of two of St. Augustine’s most seminal works, “The City of God" and “On Christian Doctrine,” the vice president’s office said. Another gift: A Chicago Bears T-shirt with Leo’s name on it.

If the plan backed by Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling wins the endorsement of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee at the meeting set for 1 p.m. Tuesday, a final vote could take place as soon as Wednesday.

Chicago-born Leo officially opened his pontificate by taking his first popemobile tour through the piazza, a rite of passage that has become synonymous with the papacy’s global reach and mediatic draw.

The WNBA is investigating racial comments directed toward Angel Reese by fans during the Chicago Sky’s loss to Caitlin Clark and the Fever at Indiana on Saturday, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his personal office Sunday, and it has spread to his bones.

Mayor Brandon Johnson marks two years in office. And the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on birthright citizenship.

We asked experts what to do when you see something in the Chicago River that doesn’t belong there.

Leaders from more than 100 Chicago arts groups met this week to discuss the state of the arts, new collaborations and how to fight back when creativity is under attack.

The Chicago Transit Authority ran one of its vintage railcars Friday morning as part of its Heritage Fleet program, which aims to preserve and celebrate retired railcars and buses going as far back as the early 1900s.

Illinois’ 2015 law prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies engaging in the Boycott, Divest, Sanction, or BDS, movement against Israel, making Illinois the first U.S. state to enact such legislation, with dozens of other states following suit.

The announcement is a major blow to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who fully embraced the Bears’ vision for a reimagined Museum Campus and endorsed the team’s call for taxpayers to pick up approximately $2.4 billion of the total $4.75 billion cost of the project.

A new book that alleges White House aides covered up Biden’s physical and mental decline has put the questions about Biden’s health back in the spotlight, months after former Vice President Kamala Harris lost to President Donald Trump.

The hard-right lawmakers are insisting on steeper spending cuts to Medicaid and the Biden-era green energy tax breaks, among other changes, before they will give their support to President Donald Trump’s “beautiful” bill. They warn the tax cuts alone would pile onto the nation’s $36 trillion debt.