Stories by Associated Press

Legal experts say the Republican president’s claim that he can fire Lisa Cook, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, is on shaky ground. But it’s an unprecedented move that hasn’t played out in the courts before, and the Supreme Court this year has been much more willing to let the president remove agency officials than in the past.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias raised concerns and announced Monday that an audit found Customs and Border Protection had accessed Illinois data, although he didn’t say that the agency was seeking immigration-related information. A 2023 law the Democrat pushed bars sharing license plate data with police investigating out-of-state abortions or undocumented immigrants.

Local leaders push back against calls to send the National Guard to Chicago. And what do the city’s crime stats really show?

Chicago Police Department data shows that compared to last year, violent crime in the city is down 22% through the end of July. There have been 36% fewer shootings, and homicides are down 32%.

Experience360 is the first satellite branch for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, which is currently under renovation. The new space in River North, just steps from Marina Towers, opens to the public Tuesday.

Federal officials are continuing to press their demand for Illinois’ unredacted voter registration database, which includes sensitive personal information, and are now giving state officials until Monday, Sept. 1, to comply.

President Donald Trump signed an order threatening to freeze federal funding to governments and jurisdictions that have eliminated the use of cash bail as a means of holding defendants in jail pretrial. Local officials say the system put in place in Illinois in 2023 is working.

Gov. JB Pritzker vowed Monday to stop President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago, dismissing Trump’s latest pledge to combat crime as cover for an unconstitutional federal overreach.

The statement in it is noteworthy not only for its content but for its overall existence; a fierce approach toward critics by the Trump administration has caused many in the federal government to hesitate before locking heads with the White House.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued an injunction late Friday to that will prevent the Trump administration from blocking funding for some of the nation’s largest cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Boston and Baltimore.

A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force.

President Donald Trump again floats the idea of sending troops to Chicago. And residents call for aid after getting slammed with storms and flooding.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he takes Trump’s statement seriously, but claimed the city has not received any word from federal authorities about the deployment of any additional law enforcement into Chicago.

In response to the uproar over a Proud Boys message displayed on a billboard near Central Community High School, the United Methodist Church has a simple message: “Hate Divides, Love Unites.”

Two bills aimed at further protecting reproductive rights in Illinois were signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday, expanding protections to health care providers and making contraception and medication abortion more accessible to college students.

Extreme heat isn’t just uncomfortable; it’s the top cause of weather-related fatalities nationwide.

A state law designed to prevent lawsuits that curtail public participation in government now explicitly protects the news media.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros announced Friday the creation of a new section within the Northern District of Illinois’s Criminal Division that will be dedicated to the prosecution of health care fraud.

The bones of Istiorachis macarthurae, named in honor of record-breaking British sailor Ellen MacArthur, were uncovered on the Isle of Wight, a small island just off the south coast of England, where it roamed more than 120 million years ago.

With lots of money approved by Congress this summer starting to flow into ICE, the agency is in midst of a huge hiring effort as it aims to get thousands of new deportation officers into the field in the coming months.

The impact big data centers are having on the Great Lakes water supply. And Veterans Affairs staff speaks out after losing union protections — what it could mean for local veterans.

The Trump administration cut union contracts for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees earlier this month as part of a larger effort to strip federal workers of union protections.

A funhouse of art and technology, the WNDR Museum started as a pop-up in 2018 and then became a fixed destination in the West Loop. WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali explored the space.

The high court majority lifted a judge’s order blocking $783 million worth of cuts made by the National Institutes of Health to align with Republican President Donald Trump’s priorities.

The lawsuits allege that United and Delta long have been aware of consumer complaints posted on social media about the windowless seats yet continued charging extra for window seats without windows.

On Thursday, Brookfield Zoo announced that Amelia Gray, an 8-year-old female, will be making the move from the Oregon Zoo to Chicago’s suburbs, where she’ll also be paired up with 5-year-old Hudson.