Stories by Marc Vitali

Between superheroes and super friends, ballet dancers and a champion bulldog, this week’s picks bring a cast of characters worth getting to know.

That massive growth funneled $5.84 billion into the special districts designed to spur redevelopment and eradicate blight, according to five years of reports on TIF districts published by the Cook County Clerk’s Office examined by WTTW News.

The City Council approves the centerpiece of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s affordable housing plan. And voting begins for the next pope — what to know about the conclave.

The project aims to turn a disused rail line into a path for walking, biking and gathering. Organizers hope to honor the area’s cultural significance and help improve the community’s health outcomes and opportunities.

Casey Means has no government experience and dropped out of her surgical residency program, saying she became disillusioned with traditional medicine. She founded a health tech company and makes money from dietary supplements, creams, teas and other products sponsored on her social media accounts.

With all the pomp, drama and solemnity that the Catholic Church can muster, 133 cardinals on Wednesday began the secretive, centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

Chicago faces an affordable housing shortfall of more than 119,000 units, and more than half of Chicagoans spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, making them burdened by housing costs.

A federal judge in New York issued a preliminary order Tuesday blocking the Trump administration from cutting off states’ access to hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds for public schools, including more than $77 million for Illinois.

Two hours in the state capital was enough for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to criticize Illinois’ immigration laws and its governor while invoking the 2023 murder of a local progressive activist.

As Illinois residents scrambled to meet the Real ID deadline, many instead ran into long lines, appointment shortages and confusing documentation rules. Public records reveal widespread frustration — especially among seniors — as the rollout strained DMV systems across the state.

The report says Illinois graduates who transferred from a community college take out, on average, 38% more debt than those who start at four-year schools. Transfer students also attempt an average of nine more credits during their college career than those who don’t transfer.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has represented the 8th Congressional District since 2017. He was born in India and grew up in Peoria. He earned a law degree from Harvard and has worked in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and led a small tech company in the Chicago suburbs.

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

What happens if you don’t have a Real ID when TSA begins enforcement measures tomorrow. And Illinois is pushing back against cuts to Head Start.

Amid falling birth rates, the administration is thinking up potential incentives for future mothers that include: a $5,000 postpartum baby bonus, and a “National Medal of Motherhood” for women who have more than six children.

Parents who otherwise would not be able to afford child care rely on Head Start when they work or go to school. The program operates across all 50 states and supports more than 600 child care centers and 28,000 children across Illinois.

The Secretary of State’s Office is seeing “ridiculously long lines” at DMVs of residents who incorrectly think the office will stop issuing Real IDs after May 7, according to Alexi Giannoulias.

They don’t have a vote in the pope’s election, but nearly 900 superiors of the world’s female Catholic orders met in Rome on Monday to chart a course forward, a few miles from where cardinals will gather in a conclave to choose a successor to Pope Francis.

Hundreds of rare, extraordinary and often erotic artworks fill a new exhibition, and many have never been seen in the United States. “The First Homosexuals” is a greatly expanded version of a 2022 show that now takes up all three floors of the Lincoln Park exhibition space Wrightwood 659.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is set to appear June 12 before Congress alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. All three are Democrats.

“I won’t rush to judgment, but I will say this as the chief executive of this city: Constitutional policing ensures that our public employees are adhering to a standard that reflects our values. If you don’t do that, you won’t have a place in the city government,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday.

More closures are expected to take place during May as part of ongoing construction to the Kennedy Expressway, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced.

Travelers who aren’t Real ID compliant by the upcoming deadline this week will still be able to fly but should be prepared for extra scrutiny, the head of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a resident of south suburban Matteson, has represented Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District since 2013 and recently served a short stint as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

The United States is the home country for 10 of the 133 cardinals eligible to vote for the next pope. That’s more than any nation except Italy, home to 17 of the electors who will gather Wednesday for the Vatican conclave to choose the successor to Pope Francis.

Chicago organizations feel the impact of Trump’s cuts to AmeriCorps programs. And a new book says we fundamentally misunderstand the causes of gun violence.