More than 200 new laws will go into effect in Illinois at midnight Jan. 1.

Jan. 2, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of what is considered to be the first formal protest against segregated and unequal schools in Chicago. A 1962 sit-in at Burnside Elementary School, 650 E. 91st Pl., involved 17 mothers and 27 students who protested segregated and shamefully overcrowded schools.

CHICAGO (AP) — Cook County authorities will conduct roadside checks for impaired drivers this New Year's weekend.

CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities in Chicago say the off-duty police officer fatally shot on the city's West Side was a 41-year-old man worked as a tactical officer.

CHICAGO (AP) — Cold exposure contributed to the death of a Chicago woman found dead on a sidewalk behind her home.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seven states won a share of $200 million in federal "Race to the Top" money to improve K-12 education programs, the Education Department announced Thursday.

There is much to gain and a lot to lose in the ongoing remap debate as City Council members attempt to hammer out an agreement on new boundaries for the city’s 50 wards.

CHICAGO (AP) — Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez is taking legal action against the owner of a South Side building where two Chicago firefighters died fighting a fire last year.

CHICAGO (AP) — Another man whose family feared had become a victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy has been found alive.

CHICAGO (AP) — A 21-year-old Chicago man faces abuse charges after he allegedly posted a photograph on Facebook that shows his daughter's hands, legs and mouth apparently bound with blue tape.