For more than 40 years, PETA has worked to change the way many people think about animals. Attention-grabbing media campaigns have raised the public’s awareness of practices like factory farming, fur production and animal testing — while also drawing backlash at times for the group’s tactics.

Shedd Aquarium is once again offering an opportunity to explore the Chicago River while learning about efforts to take care of it. The Kayak for Conservation program offers pay-what-you-can tours.

Despite having a net worth of $30 million, now former Ald. Ed Burke was “steeped in corruption,” repeatedly choosing “spite and greed – not the public interest,” prosecutors told U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall.

A controversial push to make Chicago’s downtown curfew for teens even earlier. How updating identifying documents could become easier for transgender people. And a look at Illinois’ gun laws in our latest installment of WTTW News Explains. 

The bill allows Illinois residents to get a judicial order to alter the name and sex on birth certificates and other documentation issued in another state. Currently in Illinois, the process no longer requires certification from a health professional, making it easier to request this change.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) came up with the idea following a violent attack on May 31 when a group of teenagers allegedly assaulted a couple in the Streeterville neighborhood. The man was hit in the head several times, and the woman was kicked in the stomach, which she said caused her to suffer a miscarriage.

Chicago has a reputation as the City of Big Shoulders. For rough-and-tumble politics. And for having a lot of crime, despite strict gun laws. But what are those laws? WTTW News explains.

Chicago police learn new tactics to handle mass protests ahead of the DNC. And could the president’s new border policy mitigate migrants coming to the city?

The acknowledgement that approximately 500 people returned to city shelters after living there for at least two months raises new questions about plans by officials to start evicting families with school-age children from city shelters on Monday.

“There’s no silver bullet here,” study author David Johnson said. “But there is some really solid evidence that the work that schools are doing matters. And I think that’s really exciting and important.”

CPD’s plans to handle mass protests ahead of the DNC. How will Chicago spend the millions in remaining COVID-19 relief dollars? And an uncommon path to law school.

Illinois legislators passed 469 measures this year. The bulk of those items will likely become law, pending action from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But in some cases, what lawmakers left on the table is equally significant as what passed.

“I am heartened by the progress CPD has made,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. “I think Chicagoans should be heartened. I think there are persistent concerns. I think there is time to address them.”