Springfield

A road, flanked by leafy trees, leads to the Illinois Capitol and its picturesque columns and dome.

Chicago Teachers Union tries to bulldoze through Springfield on selective schools bill — and loses

Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose popularity has plummeted with his Statehouse influence, ought to take this as a warning not to follow the CTU’s example.

By Rich Miller

Other Views

25 years after my dad was killed, his murder is unsolved. Two bills could spur action on cold cases like his.

Send a message to criminals: Your actions will have consequences — no matter how much time passes. We can’t legislate all our problems away, but these bills now pending in the Illinois Legislature could pave the way for bringing closure to grieving families.

By Alicia Schemel

Crime

Berwyn woman charged with stealing $250,000 from state treasurer’s unclaimed property

Maria Michaud, 37, is accused of using four other people’s names to make claims for $247,760.29 from the treasurer’s office’s unclaimed property program in 2019 and 2020.

By Kade Heather

Bears

Bears make big additions to legal team in continued push for new lakefront stadium

The Bears have hired political veteran Andrea Zopp to serve as a senior adviser on their legal team.

By Sophie Sherry

Paycheck Protection Program

PPP fraud investigation by state watchdog finds $7.2 million in improper loans

The Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General found workers paid kickbacks to brokers who processed their fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans.

By Frank Main

Springfield

Pritzker pitches grants to open new stores in food deserts

The governor announced the second phase of the Illinois Grocery Initiative, which includes a round of grant funding for new grocers in food deserts.

By Mariah Rush

Columnists

Museum of Science and Industry closed for mysterious reasons last week; here's why

Beyond statement that “trained military personnel” were on hand, the museum offered no details. Thankfully, the Pentagon talked.

By Neil Steinberg

A server tends to a table of customers at Athena Restaurant in February 2022.

Other Views

Getting rid of tipped wages in Illinois would be the final blow to many restaurants

Any increase in restaurant costs can mean the difference between keeping the doors open or closing for good. And many tipped workers already make far more than minimum wage.

By George D. Alpogianis

Elections

Biden heading to Chicago for fundraiser

A Chicago fundraiser for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is expected to collected $2.5 million for the Biden Action Fund, a joint fundraising committee consisting of the Biden for President operation and the Democratic National Committee.

By Lynn Sweet

Columnists

New DCFS director Heidi Mueller has her work cut out for her

Mueller’s main priority is “getting in front” of the steadily increasing number of calls to the child welfare agency’s hotline, as well as investigations and the number of kids in foster care.

By Rich Miller

Michael Madigan

'A gift to Madigan’s defense': Judge has harsh words for key witness who gave false answer on gun form

Credibility of Fidel Marquez, the former ComEd exec whom FBI agents persuaded to cooperate in the investigation of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, is now questionable, judge implies.

By Jon Seidel

Bears

Bears put lakefront stadium cards on the table with state agency key to funding deal

Frank Bilecki, executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, said the Bears are eyeing the same portion of the hotel tax the White Sox hope to use to fund a new stadium in the South Loop.

By Fran Spielman

City Hall

Johnson chooses former State Sen. Pacione-Zayas as chief of staff, first Latina in role

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, having spent the last 11 months learning the ropes of city government as Rich Guidice’s top deputy, was the natural choice to replace Guidice.

By Fran Spielman

Politics

After Jayden Perkins' killing, state Senate Republicans want a parole board overhaul

Senate Republicans are pushing for reforms at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, including requirements for appointees to have served at least 20 cumulative years in the criminal justice system. The board is under fire following its controversial decision to release a convicted felon who then allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her 11-year-old son.

By Tina Sfondeles

Mayor Brandon Johnson shakes hands with Soo Kim, chairman of the board of directors at Bally’s Corporation, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at Bally’s Casino Chicago at Medinah Temple in River North.

Casinos and Gambling

Bally's takeover bid 'jeopardizes' Chicago casino project, investors argue

As Bally’s chairman Soo Kim tries to take the company private, a pair of influential investors say his bid should be rejected — and that a more experienced company should be brought in to build the city’s long-sought casino.

By Mitchell Armentrout

A tipped prescription bottle with pills coming out of it.

Other Views

Prescription drug affordability boards do more harm than good

If Illinois follows through with legislation to create such a board, some medications could get pulled from pharmacies. People without means to travel out of state or pay cash would be left out.

By Jen Laws

Politics

Illinoisans strongly favor tough ethics reforms that are stalled in Springfield, poll shows

Polling by former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn shows a big public appetite to let voters write tougher ethical constraints into the state constitution.

By Dave McKinney | WBEZ

Other Views

Don't be fooled by support for 'medical-aid-in-dying.' You're not getting the full story.

First, this is physician-assisted suicide. Second, a poll that showed a majority of people are in favor of it was conducted in a one-sided manner.

By Bryan Just

Obituaries

Richard Phelan, former Cook County Board president who restored abortion services, dies at 86

A Roman Catholic, Mr. Phelan used his executive powers as board president to restore abortion services to the county’s health care provider. Planned Parenthood Illinois Action created the yearly Richard J. Phelan Profile in Courage Award in his honor.

By David Struett

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Alicia Tate-Nadeau are seen in an image that combines two photos of them speaking at podiums.

Politics

Pritzker reappoints Tate-Nadeau to handle emergencies, but senators concerned over payroll scandal

State senators tasked with clearing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointments are raising concerns over his renomination of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau after the Sun-Times last year reported an executive assistant accounted for more than $240,000 in billings.

By Tina Sfondeles

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle pitched her 2024 budget to the Cook County Board of Commissioners Thursday.

Elections

Pritzker sends Cook County Democratic Party $250K 'to turn out voters' in November

The funds will help target a big problem for a city opening its doors to President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Convention in August. Just 17.94% of registered voters in suburban Cook County and 25.7% of registered voters in Chicago voted in the March 19 primary.

By Tina Sfondeles

City Hall

Transition to partially elected school board will be 'chaos,' Johnson ally says

Ald. Jeanette Taylor, chair of the City Council’s Education Committee chair, said she’s disappointed that Johnson and his allies in the Chicago Teachers Union backed away from the fully elected, 21-member board he once supported. “This is not going to be as easy a transition as people think,” she said. “We’re used to a top-down system.”

By Fran Spielman

The BetRivers Sportsbook in Des Plaines, pictured in March of 2020. Illinoisans bet more than $1 billion on sports in October.

Casinos and Gambling

Pritzker eyes bigger piece of Illinois sports betting action after 4 booming years

A hike from 15% to 35% of sportsbook revenue is a slam dunk to generate an extra $200 million for the cash-strapped state, according to the Illinois governor. But major gambling corporations say it will block growth in a market that has ballooned into one of the nation’s biggest.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Head shot of Alliyah Thomas, wearing black as she sits outside her South Chicago home, with brick buildings in the background.

Metro/State

'Punishment for being pregnant': Report details poor care for pregnant people in county jails

The new report by ACLU of Illinois and Women’s Justice Institute shares stories from women who were pregnant while jailed across Illinois. Researchers also say a quarter of county jails don’t have written policies on how to care for people who are pregnant or postpartum.

By Kaitlin Washburn

Education

CTU negotiations will feature a new battleground this year: Springfield

While the mayor and union appear in lockstep on their vision for the school system, the city likely won’t have the money for more staffing and resources in schools. So the CTU says it’s shifting its target from City Hall to Springfield.

By Nader Issa and Sarah Karp | WBEZ

Elections

Mail ballots whittle O'Neill Burke's lead over Harris in state's attorney race for 6th straight day

Based on unofficial results, O’Neill Burke now leads Harris 50.16% to 49.84%. They are separated by less than 1,700 votes.

By Emmanuel Camarillo and Sophie Sherry

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, which makes barge traffic between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes possible. On a busy day, 15 to 20 barges make their way through the lock. Every year, millions of tons of commodities travel through the 94-year-old lock on the Des Plaines River. Soon, it could be the site of the Army Corps of Engineers’ $1.416 billion defense against invasive carp.

Environment

In fight to keep invasive carp from the Great Lakes, Pritzker, Army Corps at impasse on building a barrier

The governor wants a better deal that would leave the door open for more federal funding and an incremental construction process, records show.

By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco | WBEZ

Doctor giving encouragement to elderly patient

Other Views

Why I'm sponsoring legislation for medical aid in dying

Illinoisans should have the option to decide for themselves when they have suffered enough at the end of life so they can die peacefully, at home.

By State Sen. Linda Holmes

The Secretary of State’s office in Deerfield.

Transportation

Illinois driver services offices back online after nationwide 'network outage'

Systems that complete driver’s license transactions came back online at 11:30 a.m. On-site driving tests and vehicle registration services were not affected.

By Violet Miller

Politics

Pritzker heads to California to promote Illinois film industry, fundraise for convention and abortion rights

In between meetings with film and business leaders in California, Gov. J.B. Pritzker will fundraise for the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, including a reception in Los Angeles, and for abortion rights ballot initiatives in Arizona and Nevada.

By Tina Sfondeles

Rod Blagojevich

'Just Go': Federal judge channels Dr. Seuss in tossing Rod Blagojevich’s ‘publicity stunt’ lawsuit

If the problems in Blagojevich’s complaint were fish in a barrel, the judge wrote, the lawsuit contained ‘an entire school of tuna.’

By Jon Seidel

President Joe Biden, right, chats with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, left, and Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., at O’Hare International Airport during a visit to Chicago last year.

Elections

Is Chicago's tepid turnout a ‘warning sign’ for President Joe Biden in November?

Whether the city’s low voter turnout on Tuesday is a sign of apathy or dissatisfaction, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and key Democrats are downplaying the significance for President Joe Biden. But one leading pollster calls it a warning bell for other key Democratic cities: ‘These cities need to be engines of turnout.’

By Tina Sfondeles