Stories by Associated Press

The agency’s main role is financial. Annually, it distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools and manages the federal student loan portfolio. Closing the department would mean redistributing each of those duties to another agency.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, was the only “no” vote among Republicans, mirroring his stands against Trump’s picks for the Pentagon chief and director of national intelligence.

CTU vice president Jackson Potter said the union is “very concerned” about Linda McMahon’s potential confirmation as she’s expected to carry out orders to essentially dismantle the Department of Education.

The upgrades at North America’s longest-running outdoor music festival will take place in phases over the next few years. Everything is expected to be renewed and enhanced by the 2029 season, when Ravinia celebrates its 125th anniversary.

A band of dry air crashed Chicago's snowstorm party Wednesday.

The latest survey from the monitoring team charged with enforcing the consent decree found that Chicagoans’ confidence in CPD and the reform effort is exceedingly low, despite a reform push that began six years ago.

Asked by reporters how soon he would like the department closed, President Donald Trump responded: “Oh, I’d like it to be closed immediately. The Department of Education is a big con-job.”

A split verdict in the landmark corruption trial of Michael Madigan. And what funding cuts could mean for local early childhood programs.

In a statement, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the verdict an “important message to anyone in government” that “if you choose corruption you will be found out, and you will be punished.”

Michael Madigan, once the state of Illinois’ most powerful politician during his decades-long run as Illinois House Speaker and chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, has now joined the long list of local and state powerbrokers convicted on federal corruption charges.

A federal judge on Wednesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump ’s plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program.

In the early morning hours of July 6, Massey called 911 to report a prowler outside her home, setting in motion events that left Massey dying on her kitchen floor and former Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson facing charges of first-degree murder.

Critics complain the independent agency, funded by the Federal Reserve System, lacks sufficient supervision and regularly exceeds its regulatory authority. Defenders argue the bureau’s watchdog mission has strong bipartisan support.

The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling R&B songwriter was convicted in 2021 in Brooklyn federal court of multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking.

A 20-second video released Wednesday by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office of a small City Hall room crammed with gifts his office accepted on behalf of the city is “not a substitute for public access to public property,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said.

Nora Leerhsen, who has worked at the CTA for more than 10 years, took over as its leader on Feb. 1.

“By applying the sales tax only to goods and a small number of services, Illinois is missing the ability to tax much of the spending within its borders,” the nonpartisan Civic Federation said in its latest report.

President Donald Trump pardons former Gov. Rod Blagojevich — how local politicians are reacting. And a project aimed at keeping invasive carp out of the Great Lakes is on hold.

“I support President Trump in many ways,” state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said, “but I don’t think he understands that this just signals that the corruption in Illinois is just accepted, rather than it has to stop.”

Housing and shelter, utility assistance, access to food and employment and income assistance were the most common needs for residents, according to 211 Metro Chicago program leaders.

No longer will gifts accepted by Chicago’s mayor on behalf of the city be covered by an “unwritten arrangement” dating back to the late 1980s during the administration of former Mayor Eugene Sawyer, Board President William Conlon said.

The state of Illinois has pressed pause on a barrier designed to keep invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes, saying it can no longer count on the federal government to honor its funding obligation to the $1.15 billion project.

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

Eight-hundred people who have filed complaints since May against juvenile detention centers in Illinois alleging they were sexually abused by employees. The Illinois lawsuits are part of a wave of complaints against juvenile detention centers nationwide including in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Hampshire.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Chicago area and much of northern Illinois from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 3 a.m. Thursday.

The jury of eight women and four men began deliberations late on Jan. 29. They have now completed 10 days of discussions without yet reaching a verdict.