State legislators this week passed new district maps and rejected an amendment to ethics legislation. Our politics team of Amanda Vinicky, Paris Schutz and Heather Cherone weigh in on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.
Spotlight Politics
The mandate is likely to trigger a legal battle with the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, which represents the city’s 12,000 rank-and-file officers.
Democrats have their day at the Illinois State Fair. Our politics team weighs in on that story and others — and crunches some City Council committee spending numbers — in this week’s roundtable.
Tension between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Police Department exposed by the fatal shooting of Officer Ella French widened Wednesday, as the mayor defended the decision by a high-ranking officer to cut short a ritual meant to honor the fallen officer.
With classes for students in pre-K through 12th grade set to resume across Illinois in the coming weeks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday announced a mask mandate for all students and staff at public and private schools.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol held its first hearing on Tuesday with harrowing testimony from four officers who shared their stories of being attacked by the rioters.
Ushering in a new era of police oversight and reform, the board will be charged with building trust in officers and police brass and putting an end to repeated allegations of misconduct.
With just two votes to spare after a contentious debate of nearly two hours, the Chicago City Council voted 36-13 to create an elected board of Chicago residents to oversee the Chicago Police Department, enacting the most far-reaching police reform ordinance in the country.
President Joe Biden made a quick foray to the Capitol on Wednesday hunting support for his multitrillion-dollar agenda of infrastructure, health care and other programs. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in on this and more.
The special meeting set for Friday is the second time this year that aldermen have called an emergency meeting of the Chicago City Council over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s objections. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in.
A vote to rename 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, was delayed again Wednesday after the Chicago City Council erupted in acrimony over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pick to serve as the city’s top attorney.
Plus: Our Spotlight Politics team on the new law, Springfield summer session and more
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law Wednesday at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, where a rare copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by the country’s 16th president is currently on display.
Plus: Our Spotlight Politics team breaks down Springfield’s contentious spring session
Illinois bars and taverns can now offer their thirsty patrons an incentive for getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The new law starts June 10 and runs through July 10.
Tim Mapes, a longtime confidant to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was federally indicted Wednesday on charges he obstructed justice and lied to a grand jury. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.
Plus: Our Spotlight Politics team takes a look at mixed mask messaging on “Chicago Tonight”
The government’s new guidance on masks for vaccinated people has left some Americans confused and sent businesses and states scrambling to adjust their rules.
U.S. Attorney John Lausch was hospitalized Saturday after suffering from stroke-like symptoms, according to the spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois. Lausch, 51, returned to work on Monday, his spokesperson said.
