“These races often fly under the radar but these are the two most important races on our ballot in November,” said lawyer Trisha Rich, who is on the board of the abortion rights group Personal PAC. “And even though that might sound like an overstatement, it’s not.”

A coalition of progressive groups has been working for nearly a year to prevent Mayor Lori Lightfoot from being re-elected by uniting behind a single candidate. Nothing in the Lightfoot’s spending plan is likely to alter that determination — and may give them more ammunition to use against the mayor.

The high stakes races for Illinois Supreme Court seats. An interview with the mayor of Highland Park three months after the Fourth of July shooting. One-on-one with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. And private booting companies push to expand.

It has been three months since seven people were killed and 48 others were injured in a shooting at Highland Park's Fourth of July Parade.

A vote on a measure that would strip members of the Chicago City Council of their authority to ban commercial property owners from hiring a firms to patrol their parking lots and swiftly immobilize cars that are parked there illegally was delayed. A familiar lobbyist and campaign cash factor into the debate. 

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx believes the federal pardons send a message across the country, “... that we need to move towards decriminalization and ultimately vacating convictions like we have done here in Illinois” 

Some organizations and governments are changing how they observe the holiday, if at all, while many still gather for the annual parade.

One of the legal system’s goals should be finding ways to reintegrate people back into society after they have completed their sentences, says Patrick O’Brien. 

At least three new cases of misconduct have emerged since the release of a report alleging systemic abuse within women’s professional soccer, US Soccer Federation president Cindy Parlow Cone said. 

Live from Hyde Park. Plus, gubernatorial candidates go head-to-head. The final part of our Permanent Punishment series exploring how criminal records are expunged. And a new report finds HIV/AIDS plummeting in Chicago during the pandemic.

Early voting begins in Chicago on Friday, but voters will have fewer opportunities to be informed about the positions of those on the ballot because there are fewer debates. It’s a national trend, though one that’s difficult to measure.

The community’s 53rd Street is home to many locally-owned shops, nightlife spots and restaurants. There’s been some turnover during COVID, but a lot of the small businesses have hung on — even though they’re still facing challenges. 

The person behind the new sound is Chicagoan Aesha “Eesh” Dominguez. She’s a classically trained pianist and vocalist and is one of the few female sound engineers in town.