Chicago News

The Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield, Ill., on May 6, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Attorney and former Robbins police chief compete to represent 36th District in Illinois House

By Olivia Stevens

October 12, 2026 at 5:14 a.m.

Republican state Rep. Rick Ryan faces challenge from Democrat David Sheppard, a former Robbins police...

Lorena Lopez, left, and Jacqueline Ramirez-Lopez participate in Mass at Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in the Loop on Oct. 3, 2026. After Mass, Cardinal Blase Cupich blessed a delegation, including Ramirez-Lopez, that is traveling to Rome to meet with Pope Leo. (Arthur Maiorella/baiduhai)

Chicago clergy set to visit Pope Leo to advocate for immigrant detainees: ‘This is a mission from Christ’

By Laura Rodríguez Presa

October 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership are scheduled to make a pilgrimage to Rome...

Cole Rogerson works on a graphic organizer during a seventh-grade English language arts class on Sept. 25, 2026, at Hinckley Big-Rock Middle School in Big Rock. The school banned cellphones and aims for their students to do more work on paper. (Dominic Di Palermo/for the Aurora Beacon-News)

In the age of AI and social media, one west suburban school district goes analog

By Molly Morrow

October 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

After instituting a cellphone ban two years ago, Hinckley-Big Rock School District 429 has now...

More than 100 people pack into a Cook County District 130 meeting on Sept. 15, 2026, many expressing concerns about school maintenance after 31 custodians were laid off. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)

Union: Mold found in Blue Island area schools poses risk to students, staff

By Olivia Stevens

September 24, 2026 at 3:34 p.m.

The union representing custodial staff who were laid off by Cook County District 130 filed...

FILE – The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to allow quick third-country deportations to continue

By Lindsay Whitehurst

September 24, 2026 at 3:28 p.m.

President Donald Trump's administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow continued quick deportations of...

State Rep. Theresa Mah and Cook County Commissioner John Daley attend a community meeting to discuss a proposed Amtrak maintenance facility in the Bridgeport neighborhood on Sept. 17, 2026, at the Carpenter Training Center in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Preckwinkle and Cook County Board, most aldermen oppose Amtrak-Ishbia plan

By A.D. Quig

September 24, 2026 at 7:55 p.m.

The Cook County Board Thursday opposed a proposed new Amtrak maintenance facility in Bridgeport tied...

Heidi Overton testifies during her nomination to be Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

President Trump’s FDA nominee voices support for vaccines at Senate hearing

By Matthew Perrone

September 24, 2026 at 3:02 p.m.

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration is voicing support for...

Chicago Board of Education member Michilla Blaise joins activists to call to extend the moratorium on school closures, consolidations and phase-outs before it expires, during a news conference outside Chicago Public School headquarters on Sept. 24, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

CPS enrollment falls by 11,500 students, continuing decades-long decline

By Kate Armanini

September 24, 2026 at 3:38 p.m.

Chicago Public Schools enrollment dropped 11,537 students this year, continuing a decades-long decline amid a...

Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, speaks at the Chicago City Council meeting on Sept. 23, 2026. (Arthur Maiorella/baiduhai)

Aldermen advance Chicago parking meter system sale

By Jake Sheridan

September 24, 2026 at 5:17 p.m.

Aldermen gave initial approval Thursday to the sale of Chicago’s infamously privatized parking meter system...

An Aurora Police Department shoulder patch. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Multiple arrests made, firearms and drugs recovered in separate investigations this week, Aurora police say

By Aurora Beacon-News

September 24, 2026 at 2:10 p.m.

Felony charges have been approved for four people in connection with the investigations, the Aurora...

The ArcelorMittal steel mill (now owned by Cleveland-Cliffs) and permanently closed Bailly Generating plant, left, in Burns Harbor are seen from Indiana Dunes National Park in 2019. A nuclear power plant was proposed for the Bailly site in the 1970s, but never came to fruition. (Zbigniew Bzdak / baiduhai)

Indiana Gov. Braun announces new state-led nuclear energy program

By Maya Wilkins

September 24, 2026 at 2:09 p.m.

The governor and NRC chair announced that Indiana will be considered a Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

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Afternoon Briefing: Frankfort mother pleads not guilty in death of 2-year-old son

By baiduhai

September 24, 2026 at 2:04 p.m.

Good afternoon, Chicago. Here's what is happening today.

Tim Blackburn, a board member and historian for the Ridge Historical Society, holds a bronze plaque rescued in 1979 from the Gardener-Wilcox house near 99th and Beverly streets that recognizes the help Mary Lavinia Wilcox and Erastus Barnard gave freedom seekers. The former tavern and house no longer exists. The plaque was created in 1937 when Chicago celebrated its 100th anniversary as a city. (Melinda Moore/Daily Southtown)

Ridge Historical Society hopes to hire archivist to get ‘full grasp’ of backlog of thousands of items

By Melinda Moore

September 24, 2026 at 1:19 p.m.

The Ridge Historical Society in Chicago has thousands of artifacts and boxes of unsorted material...