The mayor introduces a big spending plan and voices her frustration with CPS COVID-19 protocols. A rift between the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Park District emerges as a potential deal for Arlington Park looms. And the Sox clinch the division.

An ethics investigation into a Chicago alderman. The county assessor's got election competition. The latest on the park district's lifeguard sex abuse scandal. And CPS gets a new CEO.

An energy bill passes the House. Calls grow to investigate an alderman accused of retaliating against residents. Thousands of CPS students are potentially exposed to COVID-19. And the Chicago Bears kickoff their season Sunday.

New political district maps are spurring lawsuits. Springfield gets down to the wire on an energy bill. Hiccups for Chicago Public Schools students’ first week back. And a tumultuous end to the 20-year Afghanistan War.

A statewide indoor mask mandate. A city worker vaccine mandate and police union pushback. Two Republican congressmen in jeopardy as remapping begins. And the country reels from an Afghanistan terror attack.

A surge in COVID-19 infections prompts indoor mask mandates. Democrats and Republicans campaign at the Illinois State Fair. Officer Ella French is laid to rest. And a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan has President Joe Biden on the defensive. 

Fears spike that Lollapalooza will be a super-spreader event, with thousands of locals and tourists attending amid surging delta variant cases. Meanwhile, masking mandates make a comeback. Illinois Republicans battle each other over the Jan. 6 committee hearings. And the Cubs shed their World Series stars.

The U.S. attorney general targets illegal guns. City Council approves civilian police oversight as shootings soar. Lollapalooza goes on despite rising COVID-19 cases. Gov. Pritzker makes it official.

A possible compromise on civilian police oversight. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg takes a Chicago infrastructure tour. And legislators whiff on ethics. 

A war of words ensues as the mayor and police chief blame the courts for the city’s violence. Joe Biden’s first stop in Illinois as president. The list of alderpeople under indictment grows. And the city pension debt swells.

Another day, another aldermanic federal indictment. The mayor coins the name “Burger King Ed,” and battles City Council over summer crime. Trump’s company gets indicted.

An iconic roadway is renamed after a chaotic City Council meeting. Tornadoes rip through the western suburbs. The mayor says violence is trending down, but the numbers don’t add up. And former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin is sentenced.

Mayor Lightfoot pushes for changes to the elected school board bill that already passed. City violence spikes again. Aldermen battle the mayor over liquor sales. And renaming Lake Shore Drive.