Days after announcing it was ending the government’s annual food insecurity report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture placed about a dozen researchers, supervisors and administrators on paid administrative leave.

A federal judge in Chicago sentenced Yousef Abu Alhawa to 42 months in prison after he pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and tax charges.

More than 1 million Illinois residents have benefitted from an educational program that teaches SNAP recipients about nutrition.

Compared with eligible people who were not participating in the U.S. Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, SNAP participants showed a slower decline in cognitive function during a 10-year period, essentially maintaining up to three additional years of cognitive health, according to a new study.

Hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans could lose benefits from a federal food assistance program while the state will be required to cover more costs under changes passed in the latest domestic policy plan.

“This is an abomination. This is sinful. It’s unholy,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “This bill is a fundamental attack on our democracy and our way of life.”

At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations.

In Illinois, 1.9 million residents receive SNAP benefits, including more than 891,000 people in Cook County. Approximately 3.4 million Illinoisans are covered by Medicaid.

President Donald Trump’s plan to cut taxes by trillions of dollars could also trim billions in spending from social safety net programs, including food assistance for lower-income people.

A House GOP budget plan passed last week asks the agriculture committee, which funds food assistance programs like SNAP, to cut $230 billion over 10 years. The energy and commerce committee, responsible for health care spending like Medicaid, was also asked to cut $880 billion over the decade.

The Archdiocese of Chicago released approximately 15,000 pages of documents related to 36 Archdiocesan priests with substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct with minors. 

Hunger is rising; 860,000 people were food insecure in Cook County in 2011. Out of those, one in five were children. The Greater Chicago Food Depository, a nonprofit food distribution and training center, which provides food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in Chicago, is expanding summer feeding programs to serve kids who usually receive their meals at schools. Read an article.