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The Illinois House has approved a plan to make the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum its own agency but scuttled the governor's proposed privatization of business development in the state.
With the stroke of a pen, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans set June 1 as the start of the new Prostitution and Trafficking Intervention Court. Evans said state law already treats prostitution as a misdemeanor, and not a felony. The new intervention court takes that approach a step further.
A friend and political mentor of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was speaking up for the indicted lawmaker on Friday, a day after Hastert was accused of lying to the FBI, and trying to hide apparent hush money payments.
The longtime Republican lawmaker allegedly paid about $1.7 million in cash to a longtime acquaintance – identified as Individual A in the indictment – beginning in 2010, to conceal misconduct that occurred years earlier.
Union-friendly Illinois Democrats say Gov. Bruce Rauner has so poisoned contract negotiations with state workers that they pushed legislation Thursday that would prohibit either a strike or the Republican governor locking workers out.
Democrats who control the Legislature are advancing a 2016 budget that's more than $3 billion short of anticipated revenues. Republicans have criticized the spending plan as irresponsible.
On Wednesday, an Illinois Senate committee voted down the governor's proposed changes to workers' compensation laws, and on Thursday the Judiciary Committee debated Rauner's plan to overhaul the state's civil court system – specifically, lawsuits seeking financial damages.
Chicago would get a city-owned casino and be allowed to keep all revenue for seven years to help make ballooning pension payments, and new casinos would be added throughout the state under legislation expected to be introduced Thursday in the Illinois Senate.
House Democrats have abandoned Gov. Bruce Rauner's idea to privatize the state's business-development agency but are moving ahead with Speaker Michael Madigan's plan to make the state's shrine to Abraham Lincoln a separate agency.
Illinois Democrats agreed to give some of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's priority reforms a platform Wednesday but still voted them down in an exercise that could further fuel a politically charged standoff that's expected to extend the summer.
- Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul brought his presidential campaign and his policy positions to Chicago in one of the first overtly political public visits to the city this year, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Curtis Thompson Jr. pleaded guilty in December to taking a $7,500 cash bribe from an undercover FBI informant at a 2013 Christmas party at the alderman's office. He pocketed the Christmas card full of cash after helping the informant land the alderman's essential support for a liquor license in the 21st Ward.
Proposals addressing workers compensation, changes to the civil legal system and a freeze on property taxes are on the agenda Wednesday in Senate committees.
Mayor Emanuel attended a luncheon honoring police officers for valor and service above and beyond the call and he acknowledged this was a weekend with far too many shootings and deaths.
The longest-serving Assembly speaker in Wisconsin history, who acted as a block on the battleground state's Democratic governor and also drew the ire of President Donald Trump, isn't running again.
Wisconsin Republicans who long blocked a bipartisan measure to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage plan to pass the measure following pressure from Democrats.
Dozens of municipalities across the Chicago area have referenda and propositions on the ballot in the 2026 Illinois primary, giving voters the opportunity to weigh in on local priorities.
A commission that advises the federal government on architecture and the arts voted to approve President Trump's overhaul of the White House East Wing.
The Chicago Bears have taken a big step forward in finding a new site for their stadium, and that momentum is moving fast toward Northwest Indiana.
This is after Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed an ordinance that would have banned most hemp-derived products this weekend.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
Lizard's Liquid Lounge announced recently that it will be closing for good in April after 18 years on Chicago's Northwest Side.
BP refinery workers in Northwest Indiana hit the picket line this past weekend as they escalate their fight for a contract.
Funkytown has now received a $3.7 million grant from the City of Chicago. The money will be used to create a new brewery and tap room on the Near West Side.
With his name now hanging in the rafters, former Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is helping the United Center with its major redevelopment.
A potential bidding war is taking shape for the Daily Herald, the newspaper of record for suburban Chicago.
Garth Brooks, Ed Sheeran, Post Malone and Jelly Roll are among the artists headlining in the 2026 SummerFest in Milwaukee this summer.
Anderson Cooper will report multiple stories for "60 Minutes" before the end of the television season in May.
Warner Bros. Discovery said that Paramount Skydance is considering enhancing its buyout offer for the entertainment company.
Robert Duvall was in such classics as "The Godfather," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "M*A*S*H," "The Great Santini" and "Tender Mercies."
"Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues" star James Van Der Beek has died at 48 years old.
Community leaders in Little Village are demanding the FBI open an independent investigation, and a man was shot and killed by ICE agents in Franklin Park back in September.
Meteorologist Laura Bannon has the extended forecast.
Chief meteorologist Albert Ramon has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
After a violent armed robbery in the Fulton Market District last week, residents demanded answers from Chicago police at a safety meeting on Thursday night.
A woman was punched in the head by a man in the Loop in broad daylight earlier this week, a disturbing return of a trend of similar incidents that rocked the city last year.
Despite a pause in talks on an Arlington Heights stadium, Illinois lawmakers are still optimistic they can pass legislation the Bears have sought.
A woman was punched in the head by a man in the Loop in broad daylight earlier this week, a disturbing return of a trend of similar incidents that rocked the city last year.
The man who heroically jumped into Lake Michigan to save an 8-month-old baby in a stroller who had been blown into Belmont Harbor doesn't know how to swim.
Community leaders in Little Village are demanding the FBI open an independent investigation, and a man was shot and killed by ICE agents in Franklin Park back in September.
After a violent armed robbery in the Fulton Market District last week, residents demanded answers from Chicago police at a safety meeting on Thursday night.
The city of Chicago is about to write some big checks to thousands of vehicle owners who had their cars, vans, or trucks towed by the city without the proper warning.
Gary residents hoped the new partnership between U.S. Steel and Japanese company Nippon Steel would mean changes to how much coal is being used and how much emissions are being released, but that's not what's in the works.
Chef Art Smith said the carjacking and fatal shooting of his employee, Darwin Tirado, 22, was devastating not only to his family but also to the larger community.
A state lawmaker is joining the growing call for accountability from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about past abuse allegations before an 8-year-old boy's murder.
Chicago's rodent problem is well known, but a new pilot program testing rat birth control to curb the population in problem areas is underway to help rein it in.
The Chicago Bears have taken a big step forward in finding a new site for their stadium, and that momentum is moving fast toward Northwest Indiana.
As far as his own game is heading into the upcoming season, Hayes said he feels strong and healthy.
With all of his success so far, the 35-year-old lefty said he's excited for what's to come in year two for both himself and the team.
Northern Iowa football player Parker Sutherland has died two days after collapsing during an offseason workout.
Clark's decision took place during an investigation by the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, into OneTeam Partners, a licensing company founded by the union, the NFL Players Association and RedBird Capital Partners in 2019.
A Yorkville man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl for nearly four years in Chicago's far southwest suburbs.
An armed home invasion suspect is in custody after an hourslong standoff with police in northwest suburban Arlington Heights, Illinois.
It took more than three years, but charges have been filed in the deaths of two young women in Hobart, Indiana, back in 2022.
A man was left in critical condition early Thursday after a crash in Chicago's Pilsen area.
A CBS News analysis found 126 cases that were brought by federal prosecutors last year arising out of threats to public officials.
