Illinois banned capital punishment in 2011, but a state resident now faces a possible death sentence in a first-of-its-kind murder trial since that ban took effect. A Northwestern law professor explains how that’s possible.

Reporters are allowed into the courtroom where Brendt Christensen is on trial, but electronic devices are not. Read the court transcript of Wednesday’s stunning opening arguments.

Sudden cardiac arrest can cause death within minutes. There are no drugs to treat the condition, but researchers are hoping to change that by studying the efficacy of two drugs that could improve survival. 

“Brendt Christensen is responsible for the death of Yingying Zhang,” federal defender George Taseff told a packed court Wednesday inside the Peoria federal courthouse. Despite the admission, Christensen is not changing his not guilty plea. 

The federal lawsuit claims university social workers should have done more to address the “homicidal ideations” of Brendt Christensen, who is charged in the kidnapping and death of Yingying Zhang.

Attorneys for the man charged with the kidnapping and death of a Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois are demanding access to mental health treatment records from his girlfriend, who wore a wire for federal investigators.

Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of Yingying Zhang’s disappearance. Her kidnapping has left a mark on the University of Illinois campus as the trial of the man accused of her killing gets underway.

One prospective juror in the high-profile case said she’d have difficulty sentencing someone to death because “God doesn’t want us to take revenge.”

Jury selection in the capital trial of Brendt Christensen is set to begin Monday in Peoria. Christensen is charged with kidnapping resulting in the death of 26-year-old Yingying Zhang, who went missing in 2017.

The university said Tuesday the tuition offer is an effort to increase representation of American Indian and Alaska Native students at UIC.

In Illinois, African American women are six times as likely to die of pregnancy-related conditions than white women. A new initiative aims to close that gap in three Chicago communities, with the help of a $4.7 million grant.

A controversial Champaign-based bus company accused of discriminating against Asian customers has closed its doors for good. “I stopped enjoying this business around 2001,” company owner Dennis Toeppen wrote in a court filing this week.

Lawyers for a former University of Illinois student accused of killing a visiting Chinese scholar say they are abandoning their mental health defense.

The University of Illinois at Chicago and Deerfield Management, a health care investment management firm, are launching a new company to accelerate the commercialization of therapeutics developed at UIC.

Days after agreeing to pay a $100,000 fine to help settle claims that it discriminated against customers, the Suburban Express bus line is facing more issues stemming from its consent decree with the state.

Lawyers for a former University of Illinois student accused of killing a Chinese scholar say university counselors didn’t offer him adequate care when he sought help for suicidal and homicidal thoughts.