The countdown is on for railroad companies and unions to reach a deal. If one isn’t reached by late Thursday night, workers could strike. That would have a big impact, most immediately for commuters. 

House lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on barriers workers say they face to organizing, and what pro-business groups and Republicans in Congress call Democratic overreach.

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity Today Act — better known as the SAFE-T Act — was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2021. It has now become a campaign talking point. 

During the monthlong trial, jurors heard from R. Kelly’s goddaughter “Jane” and three other accusers — each of whom testified using a pseudonym — who described being sexually abused at the hands of the singer while they were underage.

An amendment has been proposed to the Chicago Park District code, which, if approved, would insert commissioners into the permit approval process for events drawing more than 10,000 attendees. 

More than 500 immigrants who are seeking asylum have arrived in Chicago on 11 buses since Aug. 31, officials said.

Jury deliberations are underway in R. Kelly’s trial. Another veteran City Council member says they’re done, inside President Biden’s cancer moonshot initiative, and the life and times of a Chicago rock-and-roll photographer.

For the first time, the James Webb Space Telescope has been used to directly image an exoplanet — that’s a planet outside of our solar system. A Northwestern astronomer was part of the team. 

The number of farmers in Illinois is declining and the most recent census data shows the average age of a farmer is nearly 60.

“You can think he’s the most amoral, unethical person on the planet,” R. Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said, “and that has nothing to do with whether the government has met its burden on the charged offenses.”

At the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, President Biden channeled JFK’s famed moonshot speech 60 years ago, likening the space race to his own effort and hoping it, too, would galvanize Americans.

Rock, reggae, jazz, folk, R&B – he’s captured it all. We catch up with photographer Paul Natkin, and he shared stories and pictures worth many thousands of words.

State rebates are on the way — how soon could money be coming your way? How neighborhoods are recovering from weekend flooding, DePaul University has a new president and a virtual cooking camp.