Chicago News

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House in Washington en route to Grand Island, Neb., to campaign ahead of the midterm elections, on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. President Trump reversed course on Monday and announced that his super PAC would now pay for the television ads promoting him that have been airing nationwide at taxpayer expense. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Facing backlash, President Trump says his super PAC will pay for taxpayer-funded ads

By The New York Times News Service Syndicate

October 5, 2026 at 7:03 p.m.

President Donald Trump reversed course Monday and announced that his super political action committee would...

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert leaves Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago after sentencing on April 27, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak/baiduhai)

Dennis Hastert, the disgraced former US House speaker who went to prison, dies at 84

By Rick Pearson

October 5, 2026 at 6:36 p.m.

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison in...

A lawsuit accuses Starbucks of mislabeling 8 ‘sugar-free’ protein drinks

By Dee-Ann Durbin

October 5, 2026 at 5:47 p.m.

Starbucks is facing a consumer lawsuit over claims that the protein drinks labeled “sugar-free” on...

LaRue Pine Hills in the Shawnee National Forest on Sept. 21, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Trump plan would remove protections for national forests like Shawnee: ‘We stand to lose our solitude’

By Christiana Freitag

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

More than 170,000 acres in the Midwest could be opened to roads, logging and mining,...

Author Nelson Algren looks into the window of the closed Lucky Star Tavern at Wabansia and Bosworth avenues, where he said he used to deal poker, on May 24, 1956. (Arnold Tolchin/Chicago American)

One man’s Chicago: Nelson Algren’s ‘City on the Make’ shows a newcomer its rusty iron heart

By Paul Durica

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Forceful in its prose, both mournful and mocking in tone, “Chicago: City on the Make”...

Mercy Medical Center nurse Michelle Lancaster holds back tears after receiving flowers from Jamie Werve, left, as final shift nurses of the labor and delivery department exit the hospital in Aurora on Oct. 1, 2026. (Joe Lewnard/Daily Herald)

Column: Final labor and delivery shift at Mercy Medical Center in Aurora full of bittersweet emotions

By Denise Crosby

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Saying goodbye difficult for tight-knit group of labor and delivery nurses.

Senate GOP nominee Don Tracy chats with supporters at a fundraising event in Decatur on July 22, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Illinois Senate race: Republican Don Tracy, a onetime Democrat, makes long-shot bid against Juliana Stratton

By Olivia Olander

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Illinois Republican nominee Don Tracy faces Juliana Stratton, the state's Democratic lieutenant governor, in a...

Hayden Golemon, 27, climbs at First Ascent climbing gym at Block 37 in downtown Chicago on Oct. 1, 2026. Golemon uses the gym regularly to both work and climb during the week. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

The office is back, but some Chicagoans have already found something better: ‘Co-working is where it’s going to be at’

By Lila Hempel-Edgers

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Industry experts say Chicagoans are setting up laptops in spaces that double as climbing gyms...

Sue Hendrickson is with Peter Larson and dog Gypsy with the T. rex skull during excavation in August 1990. (Sue Hendrickson)

Today in Chicago History: Sue the T. rex heads to the Field Museum after $8 million auction purchase

By Kori Rumore

October 4, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Oct. 4, according...

Blues/rock singer Janis Joplin performs at the Newport Folk Festival with her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, July 29, 1968. (AP Photo)

Today in History: Janis Joplin dies

By Associated Press

October 4, 2026 at 3:30 a.m.

On Oct. 4, 1970, rock singer Janis Joplin was found dead in her Hollywood hotel room...

Photos of Sierra Evans adorn posters during a vigil in her memory in an alley near the 9500 block of South Avenue N, Oct. 2, 2024, in Chicago. Evans, 19, was found fatally shot in the alley on the morning of Sept. 28. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Man linked to two East Side killings charged with fatally shooting third

By William Lee

October 3, 2026 at 7:53 p.m.

Anthony Nunnally, 21, who is already facing separate first-degree murder charges for two teenage girls...

Players warm up as fans start to take their seats before a game between Northwestern and Penn State at the new Ryan Field in Evanston on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

100 years reborn, Northwestern’s Ryan Field opens to wows and a deafening din

By Shun Graves

October 3, 2026 at 7:25 p.m.

The journey from when Northwestern's Ryan Field hosted its first game on the same day...

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., takes questions from reporters as senators depart a classified briefing on President Donald Trump’s directed strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last weekend, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Pres. Donald Trump urges calls to Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton in push for permanent daylight saving time

By Melissa Goldin

October 3, 2026 at 5:34 p.m.

President Donald Trump on Saturday pressured Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas to support a...