Stories by Andrew Montequin

Questions remain about possible gaps in state oversight nearly a month after an investigation turned up 56 decomposing bodies at the South Chicago Chapel funeral home.

In recent months, automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) have gained national attention as critics voice concerns about surveillance of private citizens. ALPRs can read license plate data and record a vehicle’s make, model and color to help build a profile on a potential suspect in police searches.

Members of Teamsters Local 700 and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County has come to terms on a contract extension, ending a 16-day strike by approximately 230 forest preserve employees.

A federal judge has refused to toss out charges against a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent whom federal prosecutors allege operated in Chicago is a “serial rapist” after it was revealed those charges came from the same grand jury in the botched “Broadview Six” case.

Chicagoans are invited to vote on the next improvement to the city’s front yard, Grant Park.

The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen — a towering presence in 20th-century Catholicism, with pioneering broadcasts on radio and TV — has been made eligible for beatification, which is one step away from sainthood.

The city of Chicago in August saw its fewest homicides across any such month in more than a decade as the city’s violence levels remain in line with last year’s historic lows.

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

Campaigning at Chicago Fire Department stations appear to violate the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, which bans candidates for city office from “intentionally (using) any city property or resources of the city in connection with any prohibited political activity.”

Wednesday is expected to be a repeat of Tuesday, when the heat index reached 106 degrees at Chicago's Midway Airport and 103 degrees at O'Hare.

The city sues a South Side funeral home where dozens of improperly stored bodies were found. And local efforts to improve menopause care.

Three new Illinois laws seek to remedy some of the longstanding problems in women’s health care and education by shifting the topic of menopause out of the shadows and making it a main point of conversation.

Canada has announced $20 billion in tariffs on more than 700 U.S. goods, including steel, aluminum and dairy products. The retaliatory tariffs will take effect Sept. 8 and are a response to U.S. tariffs imposed Aug. 22 on Canadian wine, cement and hockey sticks, among other products.

The family of a man who was fatally stabbed on a Blue Line train early this year is suing the Chicago Transit Authority and a pair of private security firms, claiming the agencies failed to protect riders amid an uptick in violence.

The first death from West Nile virus in Illinois this year was reported in Chicago, the Chicago Department of Public Health announced Tuesday. CDPH also reported the first two human cases of West Nile virus in the city.

The last beluga whales remaining at a defunct marine park in Canada are now on their way to new homes in the U.S. A pair arrived at Shedd Aquarium on Tuesday morning.

The city of Chicago is suing the owners of the South Chicago Chapel, weeks after dozens of improperly stored, decomposing bodies were discovered at the facility in what city attorneys claim was an “immensely unsanitary” situation.

What is a TIF district and why are some researchers calling it a runaway tool? Plus, mosquitoes and ticks are breaking records this year — what you should know.

A growing population of invasive Asian tiger mosquitoes is leaving millions of people with itchy, painful bites. And severe summer storms have created more standing water, which is where mosquitos breed.

Tax Increment Financing Districts “reinforced the city’s historic economic inequities instead of reducing them — and all of this happened with little transparency or accountability from city planning officials,” according to the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago.

The Department of Homeland Security is planning a surge in its efforts to investigate voter fraud in select states starting Tuesday, according to internal federal guidance reviewed by CNN.

The Presidents Cup will be held at Medinah Country Club in the northwest suburbs on Sept. 22-27. It will be President Donald Trump’s first public appearance in the Chicago area since he was elected to a second term.

Anosh Ahmed, the former Loretto Hospital executive who allegedly fled the U.S. amid a federal investigation into his alleged fraud and money laundering schemes pleaded not guilty on more than a dozen charges Monday.

Incarcerated Illinoisans admitted to solitary confinement appear to no longer have access to outside communication, legal materials and educational programming through tablets, according to advocates.

It’s back to school for CPS students, but not without threat of midyear layoffs for teachers. And a look at the planned route for the so-called O’Hare Flyer express train.

Starting Saturday, thrill-seeking bike riders will get to test their skills on the newest additions to Big Marsh Park’s complex of BMX and mountain biking trails.