The city of Chicago estimates that the historic winter storm that hit Illinois in early February cost $37.3 million.

A plan to prevent releasing the names of those authorized to have guns in Illinois stalled Wednesday, despite gun owners' burgeoning concern over privacy and safety prompted by the attorney general's opinion that the information is public record.

From the day he arrived in 2008 until Tuesday when he quit, Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis remained an outsider.

A former social secretary in President Barack Obama's White House is on the inauguration committee for Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel and other city officials.

Fulfilling the fraternity’s mission of giving has come natural for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.’s Mandel Williams.

Chicago police say they arrested about a dozen protesters who were blocking downtown traffic in a demonstration against cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development budget.

Health officials in suburban Cook County say flu levels are still high and they're advising residents without shots to get vaccinated.

Gov. Pat Quinn's administration on Thursday scaled back plans to slash spending on drug and alcohol treatment, responding to cries of outrage that could be repeated as other programs go under the knife.

Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel has his transition team.

Prosecutors from Cook and DuPage counties, along with families of murder victims, met with Gov. Pat Quinn on whether Illinois should abolish the death penalty.

The plan was simple: The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chicago's other black leaders would choose one black candidate to run for mayor, invoke the name of the city's respected first black mayor and watch its largest racial group flock to the polls to vote for the anointed candidate.

Next month Urban Partnership Bank, 7054 S. Jeffery Blvd., will close two South Side branches and one on the West Side.

Six incumbent aldermen in Black wards on the South and West sides must continue campaigning.

Even with the first competitive mayoral race in nearly 22 years and a record number of aldermanic candidates Chicago elections officials expect voter turnout to be just slightly over 50 percent.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of Chicago on Tuesday, easily overwhelming five rivals to take the helm of the nation's third-largest city as it prepares to chart a new course without the retiring Richard M. Daley.

Inner City Entertainment Theaters is expected to reopen its doors in Lawndale this spring, nearly four years after shuttering, the co-owner announced Saturday.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is trying again to have several corruption charges thrown out based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that curtailed an anti-fraud law used by prosecutors nationwide to convict politicians.

In more than half of the 19 predominantly Black wards, incumbent aldermen retained their seats –– some easily and a few squeaked out a win.

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez says there will be "zero tolerance" for any illegal election activity as the city's Tuesday primary vote nears.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office says it raised nearly $1 billion in state revenue last year through a variety of litigation and the collection of estate-tax revenues.

Stillborn babies are buried by the dozens in the same wooden box and the bodies of indigent adults are stacked in mass graves at a Chicago-area cemetery that inters the county's poor and unknown dead, authorities said Thursday.

The owners of a longtime South Side restaurant said its goal is to eventually reopen.

Wrongfully convicted former death row inmates said Monday there's only one way to ensure Illinois never executes an innocent person — repeal the death penalty.

Federal authorities say railroad safeguards at a train crossing on Chicago's South Side were inactive during a crash that left four people injured.

With the tax season fast approaching, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is warning the state's residents about the high cost of the tax-refund anticipation loans offered by some tax preparers.

Federal officials will keep an eye on the mayoral election in Chicago, a city with a rich history of voting shenanigans.

Chicago emergency management officials defended the city's expansive network of cameras Tuesday after a scathing report from a leading civil rights group raised concerns over the First Amendment, privacy issues and lack of regulation.

Gov. Deval Patrick is heading to Chicago to meet President Barack Obama's top political adviser David Axelrod to discuss ways he can help the president's reelection campaign.

The first candidate to arrive at the DuSable Museum of African American History, for the Chicago Defender mayoral debate, was William “Dock” Walls.

An Illinois lawmaker is pushing to raise the state's minimum wage to more than $10 an hour — higher than anywhere else in the United States.

Senators from both parties tried in vain Tuesday to get answers about Gov. Pat Quinn's plan for the next Illinois budget, with one saying he was insulted by the lack of information from the governor's office.

Attorneys for Rod Blagojevich filed a pretrial motion Tuesday seeking what they claimed was missing evidence in the impeached Illinois governor's corruption trial, including records of a phone call between a Blagojevich aide and then White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

A leading civil rights group wants Chicago to stop expanding its network of thousands of cameras covering the city because of privacy issues, First Amendment concerns and a lack of regulation, according to a report released Tuesday.

Illinois' senators have asked federal officials to review Lake Shore Drive safety, days after a blizzard socked Chicago with 20 inches of snow.

Crews worked through the night in brutally cold weather to clear abandoned vehicles and reopen a snow-socked Lake Shore Drive in time for Chicago's Thursday morning commute, two days after the third-largest winter storm in history hit the city.

A 60-year-old Chicago garbage truck driver has died while helping to shovel snow on his route.

The Illinois attorney general is suing to stop a former Chicago police commander convicted of lying about the torture of suspects from getting his pension.

Life slogged back to normal across Illinois on Friday after a blizzard that left virtually no corner of the state untouched, with snowplows and heavy equipment clearing side streets, students returning to school after two rare snow days in a row and mail service resuming.

After taking a major blow from this week's blizzard, Metra, the Chicago-area commuter train authority, says it is edging back toward normal operations — but still has a way to go.

Delivering medical care in a blizzard proved challenging for hospitals throughout the Midwest. The University of Chicago Medical Center is an example.

Kathryn Louis Dowell, mother of Alderman Pat Dowell (3rd), will be eulogized Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Daniel Chapel AME Zion Church, 15230 3rd Avenue in south suburban Phoenix. She died Saturday.

A Chicago man who was fired for wearing a Green Bay Packers necktie to his job at a car dealership is going back to work selling Chevrolets — but not for the same place.

Admission to Chicago's famous summer food festival will remain free.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, hardly sounding like a man on the verge of retirement, on Tuesday called on the federal government to pony up more money to modernize school buildings, teach math and science, and expand global language and cultural programs like Chinese.

Chicago mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun apologized Tuesday for saying one of her opponents was "strung out on crack" as the former U.S. senator tried to divert the unwanted negative attention that the verbal exchange has brought to her campaign.

Scam artists can use severe weather as a chance to prey on consumers.

Dozens of motorists were stranded for hours on Chicago's iconic Lake Shore Drive after it was shut down as a blizzard battered the city overnight into Wednesday.

A huge blizzard is bearing down on Illinois right on schedule.

Some Chicagoans don't need any more time to decide who they want to be the next mayor.

A Chicago mayoral candidate is demanding rival Carol Moseley Braun apologize for accusing her of being "strung out on crack."

A capacity crowd at a historic downtown Chicago venue? No, it isn't a concert or even the big game — it's to watch civil unions become legal in Illinois.

A state commission says minority offenders in Illinois are far more likely to go to prison for minor drug crimes than whites are.

Illinois' highest court put Rahm Emanuel back in the race for Chicago mayor Thursday, three days after a lower court threw the former White House chief of staff off the ballot because he had not lived in the city for a full year.

A former Chicago police official convicted of lying about the torture of suspects gets to keep his $3,000-a-month pension.

A movement is underway to bring back recess to all of Chicago's elementary schools.

Even though a liquor referendum spearheaded by one community group failed to make the February 22 ballot the group was successful at getting four public policy questions placed on the ballot.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is keeping perspective as he waits for the Illinois Supreme Court to decide whether he can be on the ballot for Chicago mayor.

A 12-year-old boy who was shot by an elderly woman after he threw bricks at her has been sentenced to a year of probation.

Gov. Pat Quinn plans to sign Illinois' Medicaid reform legislation into law.

It's not at all clear Rahm Emanuel will be able to convince the Illinois Supreme Court to put him back on Chicago's mayoral ballot.

Chicago mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun says she hopes people who supported Rahm Emanuel or were undecided will take another look at her campaign.

The Illinois Supreme Court has halted the Chicago board of elections from printing any mayoral ballots without Rahm Emanuel's name on them.

Victory is especially sweet for some student chefs in Chicago.

Decades after young black men in Chicago first began claiming that a white policeman shocked, burned and suffocated them to get confessions, former officer Jon Burge is headed to federal prison.

State officials say the unemployment rate in Illinois declined again in December to 9.3 percent — its lowest level since March 2009.

Supporters of a former Chicago police officer convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice over the torture of suspects — those who say he's a "policeman's policeman" who put victims and his colleagues first — will get their say at his sentencing hearing Friday.

Decades after young black men in Chicago first began claiming that a white policeman shocked, burned and suffocated them to get confessions, former officer Jon Burge is headed to federal prison.

State officials say the unemployment rate in Illinois declined again in December to 9.3 percent — its lowest level since March 2009.

Supporters of a former Chicago police officer convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice over the torture of suspects — those who say he's a "policeman's policeman" who put victims and his colleagues first — will get their say at his sentencing hearing Friday.

Supporters of a former Chicago police officer convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice over the torture of suspects — those who say he's a "policeman's policeman" who put victims and his colleagues first — will get their say at his sentencing hearing Friday.

Mayor Richard M. Daley, who will leave office in May, has given Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy Director Ronald Holt a mandate to redevelop the popular city agency back to its original format.

Dominique Barnes, 24, is among the fortunate ones who found a permanent job through the Put Illinois to Work program.

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. brought his non-violent civil rights protest to Chicago to take on the city’s segregated housing practices, he was met with a rock thrown to his skull and a kind of demonstrators he had yet to meet in the South.

The future of two South Side branches of Urban Partnership Bank, staples in their respective community, remains uncertain

A 15-year-old found guilty in the beating death of Chicago high school honor student Derrion Albert will be confined to a juvenile detention center until he is 21 years old.

The father of Mya Lyons was arrested Monday afternoon in the fatal stabbing of the 9-year-old more than two years ago, relatives told the Defender.

Ten years after Illinois halted executions, the uncertainty over Gov. Pat Quinn's pending decision on whether to end capital punishment for good raises a number of questions about the state's current death penalty cases and the 15 men on death row.

Ten years after Illinois halted executions, the uncertainty over Gov. Pat Quinn's pending decision on whether to end capital punishment for good raises a number of questions about the state's current death penalty cases and the 15 men on death row.

The offices of the Illinois Department of Employment Security will be closed on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Offices will re-open on Tuesday.

An Illinois law requiring a daily moment of silence in public schools is back in effect after a two-year hiatus.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and other state officials are urging residents to spend the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday volunteering.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Thursday that temporarily raises Illinois income taxes by two-thirds, risking a political backlash against Democrats but gaining money to help drag state government out of the deepest budget hole in its history.

The head of the Cook County medical examiner's office says it was forced to store bodies two to a cooler tray for a short time.

A Chicago filmmaking team is following up a 1999 documentary about Cabrini Green with a new film about the public housing complex's redevelopment.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has named three interim members of the City Council to serve until next month's election —including the son of a former alderman.

Monday, Jesse White danced the night away during inauguration festivities that followed him being sworn into office – reportedly for the last time.

With so many families scrambling to find affordable housing, West Side Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said he had to do something to help those in need.

One community group failed to get a referendum on the Feb. 22 ballot that could have forced the closures of a liquor store in the Bronzeville community.

Illinois again finds itself at the center of the death penalty debate as advocates on both sides wait to hear whether Gov. Pat Quinn will support abolishing capital punishment in a state that had 170 people awaiting execution less than a decade ago.

A police officer shot and killed last year has been honored by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and the city's police department.

Democratic Illinois lawmakers beat a looming deadline and approved a 66 percent income-tax increase in a desperate bid to end the state's crippling budget crisis.

Again and again defense attorneys and prosecutors played the same graphic video of 16-year-old Derrion Albert being beaten to death — grainy, shaky and just a few minutes long.

An Illinois ban on tobacco rolling papers that critics say are used for making marijuana cigarettes might have a tougher go in the House after it passed the Senate without opposition.

A man charged in the death of a Chicago honor student whose beating was captured on video took the stand in his own defense and denied kicking the teen or stomping on his head.

Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush says he's "very concerned" about his own safety and the safety of other congressmen following the shooting attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona.

The murder trial of a young man charged in the beating death of a Chicago honor student is set to get under way.

Looking for an underwater adventure to get away from Chicago's harsh winters?

The Illinois House has approved a plan to abolish capital punishment in a whirlwind reversal on a historic vote.

A Lake County judge declares that discarded mail and other items found in her garbage cans are fair evidence in the upcoming murder trial of Marni Yang, a Chicago woman accused of killing the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture says a Chicago company has recalled about 200 pounds of ground beef patties because of possible E. coli contamination.

A church on Chicago's South Side is holding a special service to honor the area's civil servants.

A funeral service for Arthur N. Hamilton, 93, retired presiding judge of the Juvenile Court of Cook County, is Saturday, 11 a.m., at St. Mark United Methodist Church, 8441 S. St. Lawrence Ave., preceded by a one-hour visitation. Interment is at Oak Woods Cemetery, 1035 E. 67th St.

Teachers, parents, students and community groups are urging state legislators and Chicago’s next mayor to revamp the current school board to include elected members.

As motorist prepare to pay more to park along some stretches of city streets, the parking meter lease deal that Mayor Richard M. Daley got quickly passed through the City Council two years ago continues to come under fire.

Chicago mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun releases her income tax returns one day after saying she didn't want to.

Funeral services have been set for two Chicago firefighters who died while battling a fire at a vacant building on the city's South Side.

Chicago's controversial deal that privatized the city's parking meters took center stage in the mayor's race Monday, with one candidate saying she'd sue to cancel the agreement and another calling it a "bad deal" that would raise taxes if undone.

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis on Monday credited better management of information and more community involvement for a decrease in crime in the city, including the fewest number of homicides in 45 years.

A Cook County judge has upheld an election board's decision to keep former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel on the Chicago mayoral ballot.

No matter which of the four top candidates running for mayor in Chicago is elected, it's all but certain the city will soon have a new police superintendent.

Rail commuters in Chicago will soon be able to find out estimated arrival times for trains on all eight of the city's rail lines.

Chicago mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun says the deal that privatized parking meters is a financial disaster for the city, and she says she'll try to break it if elected.

Attorneys for a former Chicago police lieutenant convicted of lying about the torture of suspects want the judge in the case to step down before sentencing.

Chicago mayoral candidate and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun has appeared at a church on the city's South Side.

The Illinois Secretary of State's office reminds motorists that there are new consequences for speeding that begin with 2011.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun has become the "consensus" black candidate in Chicago's mayoral race, a position that African-American leaders believe will give her a shot at winning against a strong field that includes former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

Carol Moseley Braun, the first black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, has emerged as the sole prominent African American candidate in the Chicago mayor's race after the withdrawal of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.

Funeral services are scheduled at a South Side church for Corey Ankum, the second of two Chicago firefighters killed last week when a roof collapsed after a fire in a vacant building.

Once again, Chicago street parking rates are going up, and the downtown rates will continue to be the nation's highest.

Cook County prosecutors say a Chicago teenager has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of off-duty Chicago Police Officer David Blake.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun said Wednesday that Bill Clinton's decision to campaign for former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel in the Chicago mayoral race simply amounts to an outsider helping an outsider.

Saturday starts a new year and more than 100 new state laws takie effect January 1 ranging from a hotline for teenagers to report violence to potential employers being barred from using credit reports for hiring purposes.

Congressman Danny Davis has a message for former President Bill Clinton: Don't take sides in the Chicago mayor's race — or else.

Illinois is among 15 states sharing in $206 million in federal money for making significant progress in enrolling uninsured children in Medicaid.

Fire officials say a blaze that killed two Chicago firefighters earlier this week was caused by wood or rubbish that was started on fire.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who has largely avoided the public eye of late, said in a rare interview Saturday that he is a public servant, not a perfect one, and didn't rule out a future run at higher office.

Illinois state Sen. James Meeks says the remaining black candidates for Chicago mayor should get together and agree on a single person to run.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has made his way through more clemency petitions, granting 34 and denying another 51.

Richard M. Daley on Sunday surpassed his father's tenure, becoming the longest-serving mayor of Chicago.

The burning building had been vacant for years, but the firefighters went in anyway — just in case squatters started the blaze and were trapped inside. Then the heavy-timbered roof and a wall suddenly collapsed.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel cleared an important hurdle in his bid to be Chicago mayor early Thursday when a hearing officer recommended his name appear on the February ballot, even though Emanuel spent much of the last two years living in Washington working for President Barack Obama.

Chicago’s Dreamgirl Jennifer Hudson and her sister Julia Hudson blessed hundreds of children this Christmas at Navy Pier’s “Winter Wonderfest” with thousands of Christmas gifts.

Community leaders say plans to shuffle students attending one South Side high school from one building to the next is nothing more than psychological abuse.

Christmas came a week early for about 500 kids in the Englewood community as Riteway Construction Co. President Larry Huggins put on his annual event.

The city of Chicago's Office of Inspector General is recommending that the mayor adopt a "no gifts" policy for the entire city.

A blaze at an abandoned building on Chicago's South Side left two firefighters dead and 14 injured Wednesday, the 100th anniversary of a grim milestone in U.S. firefighting history.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is asking President Barack Obama and Gov. Pat Quinn to help get former Gov. George Ryan out of federal prison.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has given $1.2 million in settlement proceeds to the state's eight regional food banks.

New Cook County board president Tony Preckwinkle has issued an executive order requiring thousands of government employees to take online ethics training every year.

A federal judge has ruled that former Illinois Gov. George Ryan must remain in prison.

The Salvation Army's Chicago area division says donations through its Red Kettle Campaign are down 13 percent over last year.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel won't have to wait much longer to see if he'll be on the ballot for Chicago mayor.

Illinois' population grew more than 3 percent from 2000 to 2010.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is asking President Barack Obama and Gov. Pat Quinn to help get former Gov. George Ryan out of federal prison.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has given $1.2 million in settlement proceeds to the state's eight regional food banks.

New Cook County board president Tony Preckwinkle has issued an executive order requiring thousands of government employees to take online ethics training every year.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn wants Illinois residents to donate their frequent flyer miles to members of the military.

Nearly 50 former judges, law professors and legal experts have filed a brief saying Rahm Emanuel has the legal right to run for mayor of Chicago.

A candidate forum Wednesday on a black-oriented Chicago radio station appeared to do little to find a consensus black candidate for Chicago mayor next year.

Attorneys for former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel are focused on showing that he always planned to come back to Chicago after he finished working for President Barack Obama.

The Chicago Transit Authority reminds riders that it is offering penny rides on buses and trains for the New Year's holiday.

A Chicago community health network has received a nearly $7 million federal grant to build a research center in the impoverished Englewood neighborhood.

Mayor Richard M. Daley and Alderman Latasha R. Thomas (17th) will join Riteway Construction President Larry Huggins, Chicago Cubs’ Tom Ricketts, Miss Illinois Angela Sparrow, and area business owners to present toys, clothing, food and educational gifts to families from the Englewood and Auburn Gresham communities.

Illinois state Sen. James Meeks is outlining his plan to overhaul what he says is a broken public schools system in Chicago.

Gov. Pat Quinn says he is pulling the plug on the Put Illinois to Work temporary jobs program, even though it was a centerpiece of his election campaign earlier this fall.

As University of Chicago Medical Center struggles to unclog its emergency department, one statistic keeps pushing back. Because of overcrowding — a growing, nationwide problem — the hospital turns away ambulances more often than any other ER in Illinois.

The public can now listen to stories of segregation, community life and other issues important to Springfield's African-American community simply by logging onto a computer.

The Chicago Department of Public Health is offering free flu shots at City Hall.

A Chicago marketing company has launched an effort to try to get neighbors not to put chairs in street parking spaces when they shovel them out after snow storms.

Implementing a new jobs program, providing scholarships for low-income students and helping more people get assistance are among the steps to cutting Illinois' "extreme poverty" rate in half by 2015, according to a state report released Thursday.

He threw a single punch at Derrion Albert.

Thousands of Black, middle-class families are holding their breath as they wait to see if Congress approves legislation that would extend unemployment benefits for another 13 months.

Juan DiPasalegne lost his battle with cancer Saturday and died at his Hammond, Ind. home with his wife by his side. He is being remembered as a “faithful and prayerful man.”

Cash-strapped Illinois is considering a massive casino expansion in Chicago and elsewhere that could leave nearby competitors playing for smaller stakes.

A pathologist says the single punch a teenage boy threw at a Chicago high school honor student during a 2009 mob brawl contributed to the student's death.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle pledged Monday to balance the county's budget and eliminate the remaining half-cent per dollar sales tax increase imposed by her predecessor.

Opening statements are scheduled Tuesday in the trial of a 14-year-old boy accused in the fatal beating of Derrion Albert.

Santa Claus has brought holiday food baskets to Chicago community groups, but he traded in his sleigh for an L train.

The police officer was in full uniform, gathering evidence from a car break-in when someone walked into the garage and shot him and the car's owner in the head, then fired another bullet into their heads as they lay on the ground.

Dozens of people who don't want former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to be Chicago's next mayor are moving ahead with efforts to keep him off the February ballot.

Illinois officials are urging people to get their annual flu shots.

Four Danville residents have filed a federal civil rights complaint against the eastern Illinois city, accusing it of discriminating against black residents through a plan to lower the number of low-income housing units.

Gay couples anxious for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to sign into law a measure giving them many of the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples will have to wait a little while longer.

One agency on Thursday became the first to be declared free, or mostly free, of political patronage that's so tarnished Chicago government for decades.

Some candidates for Chicago mayor are touting ethics plans to clean up a City Hall infamous for its shenanigans.

As the cold weather kicks in, Chicago officials are reminding people that city services are available to residents.

Chicago's mayoral candidates were split on civil unions for gay couples Wednesday after Illinois lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the landmark legislation.

The Illinois Senate has approved a major expansion of casino gambling in the state.

The last residents are moving out of the last high-rise of Chicago's infamous Cabrini-Green public housing project, although some are saying they aren't ready to go.

A rarely used policy by the Chicago Housing Authority has spoiled the holiday season this year for a 15-year public housing resident.

With winter creeping in and the holiday season underway, the Chicago Fire Department is talking fire safety by pointing out potential household fire hazards.

Authorities in Chicago have charged an 18-year-old boy in the stabbing deaths of a mother and her two daughters, who were found dead in their home on the city's South Side.

A handful of candidates running to be Chicago's next mayor are meeting in a public forum.

Nearly a dozen of the 20 candidates who want to be Chicago's new mayor have had their nominating petitions for the Feb. 22 ballot challenged.

Illinois lawmakers took a step toward offering legal recognition to gay couples Tuesday when the House narrowly voted to create civil unions that would carry some of the benefits and obligations of marriage.

Illinois Senate approves civil unions for gay couples, governor says he will sign the measure.

Congressman Danny Davis has claimed the No. 1 spot on the ballot in Chicago's mayor race.

Police in Chicago are investigating the stabbing deaths of a mother and her two daughters whose bodies were found in an apartment on the city's South Side.

Gov. Pat Quinn is asking schoolchildren across Illinois to make holiday cards for troops.

Authorities say a man has died after falling at least 20 feet from a ledge at Soldier Stadium while attending a Chicago Bears game.

Organizers of an annual Cook County clothing drive are scrambling to find more donations after a basement flood destroyed boxes of items.

Now comes the hard part in the race to replace retiring Chicago Mayor Richard Daley: Saying something of substance and finding somebody to listen.

Chicago police and community volunteers spent Saturday passing out fliers in the neighborhood where an officer and another man were shot to death.

A soon-to-be released audit by the Regional Transportation Authority found fraud and abuse in a program providing free rides to seniors.

Tom Ricketts, chairman of the Chicago Cubs, addressed the Black business community and elected officials Tuesday about the sports organization’s plans to allocate a portion of the construction contracts and other workforce needs to Black contractors in the Cubs refurbishing efforts of its North Side ball park, Wrigley Field.

Nine South Side liquor stores have tentatively agreed to stop selling certain, inexpensive alcoholic drinks within the next 60 days in an effort to help improve the community.

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis is calling for the public's help in solving the shooting death of a 15-year police veteran who spent the past five years assigned to the SWAT team.

The field of candidates to replace Chicago Mayor Richard Daley took shape Monday as the deadline for nominating petitions arrived, with some political unknowns trying to join the big names on the crowded ballot.

Congressman Danny Davis says he doesn't think Rahm Emanuel's name should be on the ballot with his name and the names of other candidates for mayor of Chicago.

An Illinois sheriff who halted foreclosure evictions last month because some bank employees weren't following the proper procedures said Friday he's been forced to order his deputies to carry them out, but he will continue investigating the matter and could charge banks and their employees with crimes.

There's a little more than a week until Chicago's winter parking ban goes into effect.

Just who is in the race for mayor of Chicago will soon become clear.

A federal judge in Chicago is set to hear oral arguments on whether a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that curtailed the use of an anti-fraud law affects imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun kicked off her campaign for Chicago mayor Saturday by reintroducing herself to voters, some of whom weren't even born when she last won election in 1992.

Illinois' Senate president asked the governor Thursday to say who he wants serving in hundreds of government posts that are vacant or held by appointed officials whose terms have expired.

Cook County, the second most-populous county in the U.S, will have a $487 million budget gap in the next fiscal year, the county's incoming board president said Thursday.

A decades-old women’s organization has been creating tools for Black women to become strong leaders in society, and has no intention of slowing down.

High school students in southern Illinois say they're reaching out to an unlikely person in their mission to better the condition of the Mississippi River's levees.

They're off and running — to the city's elections office, that is.

Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday it would be good for Illinois' economy if lawmakers, when they return to work next week in Springfield, passed legislation allowing gay couples to form civil unions.

Click here to view photos from the 2010 Bronzeville Veterans Day Parade.

It wasn’t until Friday that a group of Black elected officials realized that their consensus candidate for mayor had been sitting under their noses all along.

The deadline to apply for federal assistance in the wake of severe storms and flooding is quickly approaching.

Officials are set to unveil a plaza honoring those in the armed services at one of the nation's busiest airports.

Two members of Congress from Illinois are asking for hearings into the shipping of bombs as air freight that were addressed to two Chicago synagogues.

A coalition of black leaders has selected U.S. Rep. Danny Davis as its preferred candidate for mayor of Chicago, but there are no guarantees that the choice will deliver the unity — or the votes — that the group was created to ensure.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun isn't an official candidate for mayor of Chicago — yet — but she's opened a campaign office on the city's South Side.

Illinois officials will host job fairs across the state to help military veterans find work and tell employers about tax credits available for hiring new workers.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn eked out a narrow win over his Republican challenger as one of the few Democrats to survive a GOP wave that swept out others in Illinois and around the country.

The medical staff of Cook County Jail in Chicago will be featured in a docudrama Sunday on the Discovery Health Channel.

Now that the midterm elections are over, Chicago's mayoral candidates aren't wasting any time stepping up their campaigns — and, in some cases, stepping aside.

Democratic incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn says he and Republican opponent Bill Brady plan to have lunch soon discuss ways to "work together for the common good" of Illinois.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman will step down later this month.

Rather than looking ahead to form a new administration to lead Illinois' government, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bill Brady were still waiting for results in the governor's race, among a handful of up-in-the air contests across the nation.

Cook County voters made their desire for new leadership loud and clear Tuesday when they overwhelming elected a former history teacher as its new county board president.

Chicago Transit Authority officials, local politicians and community organizations all agree that the proposed Red Line extension project is not only long overdue but a win-win situation for the Far South Side.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun has appointed a one-time top aide to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to her staff as she decides whether she'll run for mayor of Chicago.

Democratic State Rep. David Miller has conceded in the race for Illinois comptroller.

Emerging victorious in an ugly race for the president's former Senate seat, Republican Mark Kirk said Illinois voters clearly want him to rein in Democratic policies that increase spending and expand government.

Like the rest of Illinois voters, Gov. Pat Quinn is waiting for the remaining votes to be tallied.

Illinois Republican Bill Brady isn't conceding in the extraordinarily tight race for governor against Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

A Senate race heavy with symbolism but also important to the national political landscape concludes Tuesday as voters decide who will win the seat once held by President Barack Obama.

With one ex-governor in prison and another convicted of a felony, Illinois voters get to decide Tuesday whether they want new power to rein in future governors.

Chicago Alderman Robert Fioretti said Tuesday that he will not run for mayor after surgery two weeks ago revealed he has tonsil cancer.

President Barack Obama is urging Illinoisans to get out to vote, saying getting Democrats re-elected is key to the future success of his administration.

Illinois voters seemed to split almost evenly between the scandal-scarred candidates for President Barack Obama's former Senate seat Tuesday, and both sides said the winner might not be known until late into the night.

Democrat Joseph Berrios will be Cook County's next assessor, defeating independent Forrest Claypool.

Longtime Chicago alderwoman Toni Preckwinkle has been elected Cook County board president over Republican Roger Keats and Green Party candidate Tom Tresser.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has held on to his job for another term.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has won re-election to a third term.

A memorial on the Far South Side that started with just 30 stones in 2007 now holds 220 to represent Chicago’s murdered victims up to age 24.

Chicago has been chosen to host the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association's annual convention in 2013.

A federal grand jury has demanded records describing how hundreds of thousands of dollars in state money was handed out to dozens of groups, at least some of which are linked to a top Illinois lawmaker who is running for Chicago mayor, records show.

Oprah Winfrey is again taking on sexual abuse in a pair of shows she calls "two of the most phenomenal" she's ever done.

A federal judge has appointed an Indiana University administrator to oversee a sweeping transition in housing choices for mentally ill people in Illinois.

Several Illinois advocacy groups that backed Republican Mark Kirk in past elections are now endorsing his Democratic opponent in the race for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat.

Cook County election officials say the number of early votes has greatly increased compared with the last midterm election.

Hip-hop artist Common will be joining Barack Obama at a weekend rally for Democratic candidates in the president's home state of Illinois.

After sponsoring a recent potential candidates forum one organization narrowed to four finalists its search for a Chicago mayoral candidate. The forum was closed to the press.

For the last time as the city’s executive, Mayor Richard M. Daley has proposed a balanced budget for the City Council to consider without mandating more furlough days for employees or raising taxes and fees.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says he isn't running for mayor of Chicago.

Strong wind and torrential rain buffeted the Midwest Tuesday as forecasters predicted the giant storm could be the most powerful to hit Illinois in over seven decades.

Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. says he's decided not to run for Chicago mayor, slightly narrowing the field in the race to replace longtime Mayor Richard M. Daley in the country's third largest city.

No, Illinois, you're not seeing double. The Nov. 2 ballot asks for two votes for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama, another twist of the state's wacky politics.

President Barack Obama has filled out an absentee ballot to vote in his home state of Illinois.

Authorities have identified three people who were shot to death overnight at an apartment in the Chicago suburb of Harvey.

Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bill Brady focused on education, family values and President Barack Obama on Sunday in one of their final pitches to black voters at a major Chicago mega-church.

A federal judge in Chicago has set an April 20 trial date for the second corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun has recruited a pair of veteran political operatives with connections to Richard Daley to her bid to be Chicago's next mayor.

A White House official says President Barack Obama will headline a Democratic rally in Chicago on the final weekend before Election Day.

The American Civil Liberties Union contends a question on the November ballot that creates a mechanism for recalling Illinois' governor is unconstitutional.

As election day nears, Democrats are pushing their get out the vote effort and looking to again fire up those Black, young and women voters who handed the party the White House in 2008.

Congressman Mike Quigley says he's decided not to run for mayor of Chicago.

Eighteen school districts across Illinois will share more than $270 million in state funding for construction and renovation projects.

The city of Chicago is issuing fewer parking tickets, but more vehicles are getting slapped with the Denver boot.

Dwyane Wade returned to the witness stand Monday, pledging to be a committed parent if he is awarded custody of his two young sons and admitting he wished he would have sought professional help to save his faltering marriage.

Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis says seven police officers have been taken off the street in connection with the alleged beating of a suspect.

Sheriff's deputies in the county that includes the city of Chicago were ordered Tuesday to stop carrying out mortgage foreclosure evictions for the second time in two years.

Chicago police are investigating the shooting death of a teenager who was gunned down on the sidewalk near his home on the city's southwest side.

Authorities say the Chicago Police Department has moved about 150 officers from a crime unit into more dangerous districts to help fight street crime.

Dwyane Wade worked out Sunday afternoon. So did his Miami Heat teammates.

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis says he has placed an officer on desk duty while authorities investigate allegations about the possible beating of a suspect while in custody.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago are firing back at the attorneys who represented ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich during his corruption trial.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn calls his Republican challenger "heartless" for his budget tax cuts, while Bill Brady accuses the incumbent of cutting a shady deal with a key union to help his campaign.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez says he won't run for Chicago mayor.

Barbara Walters will sit down for a prime-time interview with Oprah Winfrey about the end of the daytime talk star's show.

First lady Michelle Obama has cast her ballot at a polling place on Chicago's South Side.

Residents living in one South Side community said they are dealing with a rodent problem prompted by illegal trash dumping.

She dabbed away tears, and her voice choked up, but Linda Johnson Rice, chairman of Johnson Publishing Company, was able to tell the students at the brand new Johnson College Prep that they could “succeed against the odds.”

A new poll conducted in Illinois 2nd Congressional District finds that incumbent Democratic Congressman Jesse Jackson has a 47-point lead over his closest challenger, and 48 percent of the voters view him unfavorably.

The Illinois Arts Council is inviting high schools and students to participate in a national poetry slam.

The administrator of Cook County's Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is expressing concerns members of his staff may act on violent threats made against their bosses at the approach of layoffs.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley put forth a bleak economic picture in presenting his last budget for the nation's third-largest city, but made it clear that if anybody decides to raise taxes and fees it will be someone named Rahm, Miguel, Gery, Tom, Robert, Carol, James — or whoever else succeeds him.

Somebody is doing more than getting angry at those parking meters in downtown Chicago: They're stealing them.

A memorial service and a concert have been planned for the "Queen of Gospel" Albertina Walker, who died last week in Chicago.

The Chicago Transit Authority says it's too early to say why a crowded commuter bus veered off a thoroughfare and crashed into trees, injuring dozens of passengers.

Prosecutors dropped charges Friday against a man who served eight years for murder after a legal clinic representing him said DNA tests proved his innocence.

The body of a 14-month-old boy was pulled from Lake Michigan Thursday after his father didn't return the boy to his mother.

A Chicago minister and commissioner on the city's Zoning Board of Appeals says he's running for mayor.

Gov. Pat Quinn is defending spending $50 million on a new initiative aimed at helping to rebuild struggling neighborhoods while the state has unpaid bills piling up.

The North Side public housing development Cabrini-Green currently has one building remaining, which is slated to close by Jan. 15.

The Salvation Army will break ground Thursday for a new multi-purpose community center in an underserved South Side community.

A top aide to Cook County's board president resigned Tuesday, one day after her arrest on charges of stealing more than $300,000 in taxpayer money and rigging more than a dozen no-bid contracts for her personal gain.

As several potential Black candidates ponder whether to run for mayor of Chicago, community activists, clergy and elected officials offer key ingredients needed for a Black candidate to win.

Monday’s court ruling by a federal judge offers a ray of hope that displaced, tenured Chicago Public Schools teachers could soon get their jobs back.

Former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones will not seek to succeed outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley.

A 50-year-old man was fatally shot Wednesday morning on the West Side after gunfire erupted in the 3900 block of West Polk Street. Two others were wounded, police said.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel hit the campaign trail on Monday and got a sudden taste of the vastly different agenda he'd face as Chicago's mayor — and the hurdles he must overcome to be elected.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office says investigators have arrested a top aide to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger as part of a public corruption investigation.

While Gov. Pat Quinn has accused his opponent of telling voters fairy tales about balancing the budget, he provided only a hazy picture Monday of how he would close the $13 billion deficit and then move Illinois forward.

Chicago mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel says there's nothing more to say on his contacts in 2008 with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich about Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel courted voters at the same restaurant as they gear up to run for mayor of Chicago.

She dabbed away tears, and her voice choked up, but Linda Johnson Rice, chairman of Johnson Publishing Company, was able to tell the students at the brand new Johnson College Prep that they could “succeed against the odds.”

A new poll conducted in Illinois 2nd Congressional District finds that incumbent Democratic Congressman Jesse Jackson has a 47-point lead over his closest challenger, and 48 percent of the voters view him unfavorably.

A memorial service and a concert have been planned for the "Queen of Gospel" Albertina Walker, who died last week in Chicago.

The Illinois Arts Council is inviting high schools and students to participate in a national poetry slam.

Senate candidate Mark Kirk wants to halt the financial bailout, which he originally supported.

Somebody is doing more than getting angry at those parking meters in downtown Chicago: They're stealing them.

The Chicago Transit Authority says it's too early to say why a crowded commuter bus veered off a thoroughfare and crashed into trees, injuring dozens of passengers.

A Chicago minister and commissioner on the city's Zoning Board of Appeals says he's running for mayor.

Prosecutors dropped charges Friday against a man who served eight years for murder after a legal clinic representing him said DNA tests proved his innocence.

The body of a 14-month-old boy was pulled from Lake Michigan Thursday after his father didn't return the boy to his mother.

Gov. Pat Quinn is defending spending $50 million on a new initiative aimed at helping to rebuild struggling neighborhoods while the state has unpaid bills piling up.

The North Side public housing development Cabrini-Green currently has one building remaining, which is slated to close by Jan. 15.

The Salvation Army will break ground Thursday for a new multi-purpose community center in an underserved South Side community.

Monday’s court ruling by a federal judge offers a ray of hope that displaced, tenured Chicago Public Schools teachers could soon get their jobs back.

As several potential Black candidates ponder whether to run for mayor of Chicago, community activists, clergy and elected officials offer key ingredients needed for a Black candidate to win.

A top aide to Cook County's board president resigned Tuesday, one day after her arrest on charges of stealing more than $300,000 in taxpayer money and rigging more than a dozen no-bid contracts for her personal gain.

Former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones will not seek to succeed outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley.

A 50-year-old man was fatally shot Wednesday morning on the West Side after gunfire erupted in the 3900 block of West Polk Street. Two others were wounded, police said.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel hit the campaign trail on Monday and got a sudden taste of the vastly different agenda he'd face as Chicago's mayor — and the hurdles he must overcome to be elected.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office says investigators have arrested a top aide to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger as part of a public corruption investigation.

While Gov. Pat Quinn has accused his opponent of telling voters fairy tales about balancing the budget, he provided only a hazy picture Monday of how he would close the $13 billion deficit and then move Illinois forward.

Chicago mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel says there's nothing more to say on his contacts in 2008 with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich about Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel courted voters at the same restaurant as they gear up to run for mayor of Chicago.

Cook County Jail has launched a new laundry operation to help jailed military veterans and save taxpayer money.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says her office has won a court appeal that could reduce future Commonwealth Edison customer utility bills by more than $100 million.

A federal judge has granted a request by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's lead attorney to withdraw from his principal defense role in an upcoming retrial.

Illinois voters may soon get the power to remove a sitting governor from office, thanks in part to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

A 12-year-old boy who was shot by 68-year-old Chicago woman after allegedly throwing bricks at her and breaking the windows of her home is facing an assault charge.

Based on such statistics as state test scores and graduation rate, one South Side public high school with a predominately Black student population is among the best performing in Chicago.

Alexi Giannoulias tells voters he left his family bank in 2005, but he got a major tax break by telling the IRS he continued working at the bank the next year.

Want to be a Chicago Police officer? Now's your chance.

Cook County law enforcement officials say a months-long investigation has led to the arrest of almost 100 alleged drug dealers.

Mayor Richard Daley is being honored for his efforts to make Chicago a green city.

New census figures show poverty rising in Illinois.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to stop a special election for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat that leaves out current Illinois Sen. Roland Burris.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded nearly $190,000 to a suburban Chicago fire department.

After two weeks of talk and speculation, the race to succeed Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley truly began to take shape with word that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart will run.

Kendall Moore went from playing on the football field to the airwaves as an energetic and powerful radio host bringing listeners an array of guests from community activists, comedians, politicians, and more.

Michelle Zuver knows too well the price of an education.

Election fever may not be as high around the country as it was during the 2008 presidential campaign, but top Democrats tell the Defender that the upcoming Nov. 2 midterm election is not only crucial to Barack Obama’s presidency but to the party maintaining majority control in Congress and in offices around the nation.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Monday that investigators have identified 124 people with active arrest warrants who were residents or staff members of nursing homes for elderly residents.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has filed a lawsuit alleging a Chicago couple was racially discriminated against while trying to buy a South Side home.

The Democratic candidate for Illinois treasurer says her Republican opponent spends too much time campaigning and not enough time doing his job as a state senator.

Add Congressman Danny Davis to the list of politicians who are sort of announcing a run for mayor of Chicago.

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Illinois State Police to obtain records on how the agency is protecting the privacy of citizens while combing through databases for evidence of crime.

The Woodlawn Children’s Promise Zone was not one of the 21 non-profit organizations and higher education institutions chosen to receive Promise Neighborhoods planning grants, according to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan tells Rockford residents he'll offer his support in combating the "epidemic" of violence.

Gov. Pat Quinn is encouraging Illinois residents to take advantage of a rebate program for energy-efficient appliances.

What if the Illinois budget mess was a family financial crisis? How would the proposed solutions by the two main candidates for governor compare?

Police have shot a 19-year-old man to death on a Chicago Transit Authority train.

Illinois is mired in financial crisis with a $13 billion deficit and an eye-popping backlog of unpaid bills from vendors who provide goods and services to the state, including school districts, utilities and landlords who lease buildings.

Illinois voters are out of luck if they expect the candidates for governor to spell out which state services would be slashed and which would be spared in order to permanently close a gaping budget hole.

Mulling over a possible run for mayor of Chicago, a defiant Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., spoke out publicly for the first time on Friday about potentially damning details that emerged in former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's recent corruption trial.

The first class of freshmen has started classes at a new Chicago high school devoted to preparing students for careers in health care.

The Chicago police officers' union is planning a march to protest what its members say is a dangerous manpower shortage and the way their boss has run the department.

Warren Ballentine, attorney and syndicated radio personality, is “strongly” considering a run for Chicago mayor, a spokesperson told the Defender.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel met privately with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Wednesday night to discuss the Chicago mayor's race.

Illinois is getting a federal grant to improve its participation in a national system of background checks for would-be gun owners.

State Sen. Rickey Hendon says he's running for mayor of Chicago, and he promises to reopen Meigs Field on his first day in office if he's elected.

Illinois is getting a federal grant to improve its participation in a national system of background checks for would-be gun owners.

One South Side alderman said better management could have prevented the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Bronzeville from its pending foreclosure.

The nation’s schools are failing to educate Black males, according to a report, and Illinois schools are among the culprits.

Illinois' average SAT scores are down for the class of 2010, but there's one bright spot.

Federal emergency officials say they've received just more than 71,000 registrations in Illinois for flood assistance.

Scott Lee Cohen doesn't just admit that he can't spell out how he would solve the state's problems as governor.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich) wants a judge to nullify the only conviction the jury returned in his mostly deadlocked corruption trial.

A federal official said Sunday that crews believe they're closing in on the source of a leak that has forced the closure of a Chicago-area oil pipeline, which analysts say has caused a sharp spike in gas prices across the region.

Brace yourselves, Oprah fans, this is the beginning of the end.

Rudy Giuliani is helping Mark Kirk's U.S. Senate campaign by making an appearance to discuss gang crime in Chicago.

Carol Moseley Braun may put her hat in the ring to succeed outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, sources said.

It wasn't his wife's cancer. It wasn't the tough economy that battered Chicago's finances. It wasn't the prospect of a re-election campaign amid falling poll numbers, or the city's embarrassing loss of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

September is Campus Fire Safety Month in Illinois.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says he hasn't made a decision whether to run for Chicago mayor, but he predicts White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel would have to overcome "some profound weaknesses" if he jumps in the race.

Some jobless Chicago residents say they don't blame President Barack Obama for the weak economy even though they're still struggling to find work.

Sen. Roland Burris has turned to the U.S. Supreme Court in his battle to avoid being pushed out of office in November, his attorney said Friday.

An attorney who has battled political hiring and firing in government claims Cook County Board President Todd Stroger violated political hiring more than 150 times since the start of 2008.

The election is not until 2012, but already a long line – including several potential Black candidates – is forming to become Chicago’s next mayor, now that Richard M. Daley has announced he won’t seek re-election.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's decision to not run for another term prompted a call from someone else who's famous name is synonymous with the nation's third-largest city: Oprah Winfrey.

A hearing is set in the corruption case of a former Illinois governor whose name is not Rod Blagojevich.

Ice skating in Chicago in January is nothing new. Doing it on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center is a little different.

Authorities in Chicago say a 16-year-old boy has been gunned down on a city street — just two days into the new school year.

The 25th and final season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" starts airing Monday and the talk show host says she plans to focus on the people she thinks are responsible for the show's success: the viewers.

Just how many lawyers will ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich be able to retain for his retrial next year on corruption charges?

More than 1,000 emergency management professionals from across Illinois will be in Springfield this week for training on disaster preparedness.

When Bradwell Elementary School begins classes on Sept. 7 one veteran teacher will be absent from class.

Speeders in Illinois soon will learn a fast lesson: getting caught could be costly.

Emmanuel Westbrook stops to touch up his daughter’s hair as he and her siblings walk to Robert Emmet Academy on the West Side.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has presided over the nation's third-largest city for 21 years, like his father did before him, announced Tuesday that he will not run for a seventh term, saying the time "just feels right."

It's another sign that summer is ending.

Students in the nation's third largest school district have one last day to enjoy their freedom.

A combative President Barack Obama rolled out a long-term jobs program Monday that would exceed $50 billion to rebuild roads, railways and runways, and coupled it with a blunt campaign-season assault on Republicans for causing Americans' hard economic times.

A new poll shows Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk running neck-and-neck in their race for the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

Appellate judges say Chicago police can again enforce a disorderly conduct law that a lower court had ruled violated rights of free speech.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says he didn't ask his prisons chief to leave in light of a botched early release program.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Thursday she has taken steps to make sure nursing homes aren't tipped off to surprise raids aimed at increasing residents' safety.

Federal emergency management officials say more than 45,000 Illinois residents have applied for aid after flooding hit the state last month.

Calling the Chicago police chief's ultimatum to stop resorting to violence a waste of time, current and former members of some of the city's most notorious street gangs held an unlikely news conference on Thursday to send their own message to police: You're not playing fair.

The Illinois Corrections chief who has been blamed for a secret early prison release program is stepping down, a spokeswoman for Gov. Pat Quinn told the Chicago Tribune. Spokeswoman Ashley Cross said Corrections Director Michael Randle is resigning as of Sept. 17 to "pursue a new opportunity." She said a replacement will be named "shortly."

Health insurance coverage has started for the first enrollees in a new Illinois program for uninsured people with medical problems.

Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley says the city will consolidate some departments in an effort to streamline government and save money.

The rhetoric in the race for Illinois governor heated up Wednesday when Gov. Pat Quinn accused his Republican rival, state Sen. Bill Brady, of wanting to slash Illinois' minimum wage.

Imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan is seeking to have elements of his conviction thrown out based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sharply curtailed an anti-fraud law employed by prosecutors nationwide to convict politicians and executives.

During its 1950s heydays the former Sutherland Hotel on the South Side entertained Black jazz greats John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie as regular guests.

Thanks to an anticipated $106 million in federal funds the Chicago Public Schools not only plans to rehire teachers but also will not zero out its reserve fund.

When Bradwell Elementary School begins classes on Sept. 7 one veteran teacher will be absent from class.

Business and civil leader Andrea Zopp tapped as next leader of the Chicago Urban League.

Hoping to portray themselves as more affordable and all-around better neighbors, private colleges from Appalachia to Boston are sweetening financial aid packages for students from their own backyards.

A top federal health official says the nation's new health care law will mean free preventive care for the nearly 2 million Medicare enrollees in Illinois.

Illinois taxpayers will have to shell out an extra $551 million to cover the cost of borrowing because of the state's deteriorating bond rating, according to a new report released Monday.

A Southern Illinois University student wants to launch a scholarship fund meant to help children affected by crime involving their parents.

Authorities in East St. Louis are investigating the death of a 28-year-old Belleville man, who was gunned down outside a convenience store.

The South Side church led by the Rev. Charles Jenkins won “Best Church Choir” at the 8th Annual Hoodie Awards in Las Vegas.

Chicago police have launched a new initiative to curb gang-related deaths in the city by delivering a strong message in person to reputed top gang members.

Mayor Richard Daley has chosen an investment firm executive to the Chicago Housing Authority board.

The Emmett Till Legacy Foundation honors the slain Chicago teen on the 55th anniversary of his death.

Mayor Richard Daley has chosen an investment firm executive to the Chicago Housing Authority board.

The ‘dream’ home the Willborn family found in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side had everything they wanted: the ‘man cave’ for dad; basketball hoop in the backyard for the son; a private bathroom for the daughter; and the ideal closet space for the mother, said comedian and radio personality George Willborn and his wife Peytyn.

State officials say there's an easy way for parents to help their children perform better in school — volunteering.

Families can get free health screenings, healthy cooking lessons and more at a community health fair this weekend in Chicago.

A small but unique Black-owned grocery store recently opened on the South Side to provide food options for residents suffering from a food desert.

The Cook County state's attorney's office is among four agencies nationwide to receive federal funding to work against the sex trafficking of children.

The temperatures in Illinois may be hovering in the 70s and 80s but state officials say it's time to start applying for winter heating assistance.

Top federal officials are planning an all-day public meeting in Chicago to gather input for the White House's "America's Great Outdoors" initiative.

The state of Illinois could have your missing money or property.

Federal officials have approved $17.5 million in disaster assistance for seven Illinois counties hit by recent flooding.

Federal prosecutors say they will not retry the brother of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges.

Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias have agreed to participate in two debates and could hold more.

Gov. Pat Quinn's office has changed the rules about how non-union state workers can take furlough days.

The judge who presided over the corruption trial of Rod Blagojevich says he probably won't allow the former governor to have more than two taxpayer-funded lawyers when the case is retried.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is set to go back on trial in early January, but he will stand alone as a defendant this time after prosecutors dismissed all corruption charges against his brother on Thursday.

Gov. Pat Quinn named the head of Illinois' Department of Human Services as his new chief of staff on Tuesday, and praised an old friend who had held the post until resigning amid an ethics probe for sending political e-mails from a state account.

More than 1,000 Illinois residents have submitted applications for a new federally funded health insurance program for people with medical problems.

The birth rate in Illinois has dropped to its lowest level since 1933.

The U.S. Energy Department says Illinois has made good progress in Recovery Act home weatherizing for low-income families.

If torrential summer rains washed out your job or business, you might be eligible for federal disaster relief money.

A Chicago anti-violence program plans to hit the ground running.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the state Board of Education have started a training program to show teachers how to keep children safe online.

The Illinois Corrections Department is expanding the use of a Bible-based training program to help inmates hold down jobs once they're released.

The next time you feel like dipping your toes in the Chicago River — beware.

As former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich works the national media circuit proclaiming his innocence, he has publicly ignored one consequence of his conviction on a single count.

A Chicago man facing eviction from his home has been charged with bringing a loaded gun to a post-foreclosure hearing.

Authorities in Chicago say three Chicago police officers were hit by a car during a chase that ended with police fatally shooting one suspect and wounding another.

A bill that requires pet stores and animal shelters to disclose the health history a dog or cat has been signed into law.

Regulators on Friday shut down a big community bank based in Chicago that has been known for its social activism but racked by financial troubles in recent months. A consortium funded by several of the biggest U.S. financial firms is buying its assets and pledging to operate the new bank by the same principles.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich thinks a future in politics is still a possibility.

The Republican candidates for Illinois treasurer and comptroller want to merge the two positions into a single financial office.

Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation aimed at improving the care provided by ambulance services.

The main inspector for Illinois government agencies found 90 cases of misconduct last year.

Last fall, the Perteet brothers and their roommate decided to take a break from studying and headed to a McDonald's in DeKalb on a late-night food run.

Authorities say a laptop computer with personal information on 7,000 Cook County health system patients has been stolen.

Prosecutors say a new law gives them more tools to fight trafficking of children in the sex trade and offers better ways to help the victims.

An off-duty Chicago police officer shot and killed an armed intruder who confronted him in his home.

A group of south suburban residents filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court to shut down several work sites the group says is in violation of a 25-year-old village ordinance.

Public school students in Chicago may soon be eating healthier.

Foreclosure trouble? The city says to watch out for the latest scam — loan modification companies.

Leossie Ross Jr. was born on June 4, 1937, in Hurstboro, Ala. to the union of Leossie and Lucille Ross. He was the youngest of three children and the only son. The family relocated to Chicago when Lee was five years old. All of Lee’s immediate family members preceded him in death.

They were close. After three weeks of respectful but increasingly tense deliberations, 11 jurors were ready to convict Rod Blagojevich of what prosecutors called a "political corruption crime spree" that would have sent yet another former Illinois governor to prison.

Northwestern University plans to offer more financial aid to incoming freshmen from high schools in Evanston and Chicago.

Two state lawmakers are urging taxpayers to attend public hearings on the Chicago Public Schools' decisions on facility use.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has suspended his revenue director for a day after an e-mail sent to police supervisors warned that the city was falling short of targets for parking ticket revenue.

Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman said it is his goal to rehire as many teachers as possible thanks to an estimated $100 million in federal funding the district could receive soon.

Chicago State University has completed a new aquaponics system.