Dan Petrella

Marc Smith, acting director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Service at the DCFS headquarters in Springfield, July 2, 2019.

Audit of DCFS finds failures to provide proper medical care, track abuse and neglect cases

May 12, 2022 at 7:09 p.m.

Illinois' long-troubled child welfare agency under Gov. J.B. Pritzker has failed to ensure adequate care for children in its charge and has not properly tracked cases referred by people who...

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Rita B. Garman listens to oral arguments in a case on May 19, 2016, at Benedictine University in Lisle.

Republican Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman to retire in July; court will appoint a replacement to serve through 2024 election

May 9, 2022 at 5:06 p.m.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman, a Republican who two decades ago became only the second woman to sit on the state's highest court and later was the second woman...

A casino for River West gets Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s nod. What’s in the plan and what happens next?

May 5, 2022 at 10:55 p.m.

After a 30-year effort, Chicago has a casino deal on the table. Here's a look at what the proposal includes, what is expected to happen next and when a printing...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker with lawmakers on April 19, 2022, at Chicago State University where he signed the 2023 budget.

Illinois’ credit gets upgrade from Wall Street agency citing ‘sustained evidence of more normal fiscal decision-making’

May 5, 2022 at 2:54 p.m.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker's $46 billion reelection year budget is getting another positive review with a credit upgrade from a Wall Street agency that cited "sustained evidence of more normal fiscal...

Protesters march around the Illinois State Capitol building during the Illinois Women March on Springfield event Tuesday, April 25, 2017. The Democrat-controlled House on Tuesday approved controversial bill HB 40 that would expand the availability of taxpayer-funded abortions in Illinois.

‘This is not a drill’: With Roe poised to fall, Illinois politicians prepare for election-year abortion fight

May 4, 2022 at 2:16 p.m.

The unprecedented leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would strike down Roe v. Wade thrust abortion to the fore of an already heated election year in Illinois...

Angela Resto assists Carol Pfister of Inverness in taking a COVID-19 test at a drive-thru testing and vaccination site on March 31 in Arlington Heights.

Large portion of suburban Chicago is back to ‘medium’ COVID-19 risk; city expected to follow

May 2, 2022 at 10:54 a.m.

The risk of contracting COVID-19 in suburban Cook County and other parts of the Chicago area has jumped to the "medium" level under the latest national guidelines, officials announced Friday....

Mayor Lori Lightfoot at a City Council meeting March 23, 2022.

Tribune, news organizations fighting Chicago Park District effort to seal lawsuit alleging Mayor Lori Lightfoot made obscene, defamatory comments

April 27, 2022 at 5:39 p.m.

A coalition of news organizations convened by the baiduhai is seeking to block the Chicago Park District's efforts to seal a pending lawsuit alleging Mayor Lori Lightfoot yelled obscenities...

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