Defense lawyers in the federal racketeering conspiracy trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan made inroads Tuesday with a government witness. A new report from the Citizens Utility Board finds that if state regulators allow Peoples Gas to move forward with its pipe replacement program, heating bills could double over the next 15 years. SEIU Healthcare Illinois and health care workers are sounding the alarm with Illinois regulators.

The city added new employees to its ranks despite a citywide hiring freeze. Millions are pouring into Chicago's school board campaigns. A state senator says he wants to work on campaign finance provisions for future races. A former Commonwealth Edison lawyer is shedding light on alleged company efforts to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

A Democratic member of Congress from Chicago is condemning comments made about Puerto Rico at a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Chicago Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson is apologizing to his coaches and teammates for his play during Sunday’s last-second loss to the Commanders. The 60th annual Chicago International Film Festival wrapped up last night.

Scores of Rohingya Muslims in Chicago cast their first ballots as American citizens over the weekend. The city’s Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument won a major preservation industry award. The finalists were announced this morning for Chicago’s top local food honors.

Grammy award-winning rapper Lil Durk is in federal custody Friday after being arrested overnight on federal murder-for-hire charges. Some of Illinois’ nearly 1.6 million student loan borrowers could get relief under rules proposed today by the Biden administration. Families and staff at seven Acero charter schools are fighting to keep the schools open.

Federal prosecutors are using dozens of wiretaps as evidence in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. New Chicago school board members say they took the post to do right by kids. The invasive carp haven’t gotten any closer to Chicago in over a decade, and a new study investigated why.

Members of Faculty for Justice in Palestine are demanding University of Chicago leaders reinstate an Arab student who was suspended and evicted from his dorm after his arrest at a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Prosecutors Thursday, played one of about 200 secret recordings in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain. Major League commissioner Rob Manfred believes the White Sox aren't going anywhere, even if they're sold.

Today the new Chicago Board of Education will be sworn in, after the former board abruptly resigned. Cook County commissioners are advancing a plan to bring some property tax relief to struggling homeowners. In a few minutes, county health officials hope free Naloxone vending machines will help curb fatal overdoses.

A Chicago immigrant rights group says Mayor Brandon Johnson’s decision to reduce services for newly arrived asylum seekers will hurt families. The Illinois Department of Public Health hosted a conference in suburban Naperville this week focusing on health outcomes for communities of color. A top adviser to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is leaving his post, effective immediately.

The Chicago City Council approved a $1.5 billion bond refinancing plan yesterday that budget officials hope will help the city’s budget crunch. Defense attorneys in former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s corruption trial undercut one of the government’s very first witnesses. One of the more than 30 Chicago police officers named in a new federal lawsuit is a disgraced former detective.

The Chicago Board of Education will meet for the first time this week following the resignations of every board member earlier this month. A new report shows there’s been a jump in abortions in Illinois with a virtual doctor’s visit since Roe v. Wade was overturned more than two years ago. RealPage is a software company that the US Department of Justice alleges is enabling illegal rent price-fixing.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan gets his first chance to make his case to jurors in his federal corruption trial. A national civil rights group has written to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson - about police officers with extremist connections. The Sonya Massey commission is seeking an outside review of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department.

Chicago will end its separate migrant shelter system by next year, creating a single shelter system for all residents who need it. An Illinois group held a town hall meeting in Springfield over the weekend to imagine what statewide reparations could look like. Chicago drivers may have to start going a little slower.

A WBEZ analysis finds Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s fiscal record is mixed as he approaches his second budget address. Also, Mayor Johnson says he supports lowering the city’s speed limit by 5 miles per hour. The federal corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and a one-time confidante is poised to enter a new phase today.

Illinois cannabis sales continue to grow – but some newer industry players are still trying to catch up. Hundreds of Chicago parents gathered this morning to hear from school board candidates. It will feel like summer this weekend, with temperatures expected to be in the low to high 70s.

Sunday will mark a decade since then-Officer Jason Van Dyke shot Laquan McDonald 16 times. To mark the solemn occasion, The Rundown is bringing you the first episode of “16 Shots,” a podcast series from WBEZ and The Chicago Tribune that explored McDonald’s life, and the way his death changed the city.

A proposal to move a preschool on Chicago’s Southwest Side is causing alarm. CPS students are graduating high school at record rates, but many still don’t finish college. Illinois prison employees staged more than two dozen demonstrations across the state.

Democratic US Representative of Illinois Brad Schneider says he hopes the death of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, will mark a turning point in the war in Gaza. The Illinois Secretary of State is rolling out DMV kiosks for people to renew license plates, registration and drivers’ licenses the same way you’d get money from an ATM. Time is almost up for Illinois residents to submit a design for a new state flag.

Chicago Public School enrollment is up after years of decline. Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet will open its season tonight with the U.S. premiere of a brand-new show. We talk to Adam Rubin, with the Chicago Architecture Center about this weekend's upcoming Open House Chicago.

WBEZ has confirmed Doctor Erik Mikaitis has been nominated to become the next CEO of Cook County’s public health system. Bally’s Chicago has closed out its first year at the Medinah Temple, and the temporary casino is failing to meet financial expectations. Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton says she wants to keep communication open with people who live near the Central Illinois town of Lincoln - who are upset about plans to close the Logan Correctional Center.

Springfield residents urge state lawmakers to make public transit more accessible during a hearing at the Capitol Tuesday. Early voting for the November election is underway in the Chicago-area. The Chicago International Film Festival kicks off tonight with a new film made by Malcom Washington, the son of Denzel Washington.

Former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump was in Chicago today. Early voting is underway in the Chicago area. Walgreens plans to close about 1,200 locations over the next three years as the drugstore chain seeks to turnaround its struggling U.S. business.

Members of Chicago’s Muslim community gathered for a memorial last night to mark one year since a six-year-old Palestinian-Amercian boy was fatally stabbed in an alleged hate crime. Police regulators in Illinois could make it easier to take badges away from police officers … even before they’ve been convicted of a crime. Temperatures are dropping across the Chicago area tonight.

A researcher at the University of Chicago has been awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. A prayer service will take place tonight for the one-year remembrance of the stabbing death of a Palestinian-American boy. An inspector general’s report sheds new light on the controversial firing four years ago of the principal and assistant principal at Lincoln Park High School on Chicago’s north side.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and other Midwestern governors are blasting former President Donald Trump for sending Covid testing supplies to Russia. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and other Midwestern governors are blasting former President Donald Trump for sending Covid testing supplies to Russia. Cases of congenital – or newborn – syphilis are on the rise in suburban Cook County.