(WTTW News)

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, renters and homeowners have until 11:59 p.m. Friday to apply for the disaster assistance, which comes more than five months after rain and flooding wreaked havoc around Cook County.

(WTTW News)

A federal disaster declaration was issued last month in Cook County for severe storms and flooding on Sept. 17 and 18, which significantly impacted the south suburbs of Chicago. The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is on Jan. 19, 2024.

We share what you had to say about the troubles of North Chicago school district and how government values education, a lawsuit targeting three suburbs for their alleged lax regulations on gun sales, and what’s keeping Illinois mired in budget woes when we read some of our viewer feedback.

This year, for the first time in this country, more poor people live in suburbs than in American cities. Here in the Chicago region, the number of suburban poor increased 99% over the past decade. Brandis Friedman has the story of how some are confronting these challenges.

Suburban poverty has exploded over the last 10 years. Census data now shows there are more poor people in the suburbs in the Chicago metropolitan area than in the city. Elizabeth Brackett looks at what that means for the newly poor, and for the public and private agencies trying to meet their rising needs.