Chicago’s top cop meets with Biden on violence. How climate change could present problems for Chicago’s water infrastructure. Teaching Asian American history in Illinois. And billionaires in space.

When a Chicago artist decided to strengthen his craft creating sculptures, he took on an unlikely job to help him refine the lines. Nearly a decade later, he's using the skills he picked up as a mill worker to create custom wooden furniture.

Chicago’s Office of Inspector General found that while Black candidates make up 37% of the initial officer applicant pool, they comprised just 18% of the candidates who were ultimately invited to the CPD’s Police Academy.

Two men believed to be Haitian Americans — one of them purportedly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port au Prince — have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s president, a senior Haitian official said Thursday.

Are the courts to blame for a spike in crime? Chief Judge Timothy Evans responds to the repeated accusations from Mayor Lori Lightfoot and police Superintendent David Brown. 

It’s another sign that Chicago is returning to normal: Conventions are beginning to return to the city, including the Chicago Auto Show, which is set for mid-July at McCormick Place in the South Loop. We hit the streets as part of our community reporting series.

More than 500 current and former employees of the Cook County jail say they were subject to “vulgar” “and “offensive” misconduct by detainees, and that Sheriff Tom Dart’s office did not do enough to protect them from the constant harassment.

Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans talks courts and crime. Local reaction to the unrest in Haiti. How a local woodworker brings his custom pieces to life. And we’re live from the South Loop. 

President Biden touts his American Families Plan in McHenry County. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on the crime surge. Should the Tokyo Olympics go forward? And fairy houses in Chicago parks.

More than 100 people were shot over the Fourth of July weekend in Chicago, one of the city’s deadliest in years. Some officials are blaming the courts for the recent violence. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr. respond.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its natural areas, the Chicago Park District, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy of Illinois, has installed 20 fairy houses in parks across the city. Here’s where to find them.

Chicago owes $32.9 billion to its four employee pension funds representing police officers, firefighters, municipal employees and laborers, according to the 2020 Certified Annual Financial Report — an increase of nearly 3.5% from 2019. 

When theaters across the city shut down last year, a local multimedia company took the performing arts from stage to screen. With the help of some celebrated collaborators, they kept audiences in touch with artists.