The Rundown | Chicago News

Attorneys are making their closing arguments to the jury in the federal corruption trial of former Chicago alderman Ed Burke. The Chicago City Council voted to delay a plan to expand paid leave for workers. Google revealed its latest renovation plans for the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago, plans that would keep the building’s signature 17-story open atrium.

When there are so many things going wrong in the world, figuring out where and how to contribute can be overwhelming and paralyzing.  Author Omkari Williams suggests thinking small.  “I care about a lot of things, but I don’t care about everything,” Williams said on The Rundown. “But that’s perfect, because I don't need everything to be my thing. I need people to care about things that a...

Chicago’s City Council today is taking up whether to allow police officers to challenge their most serious discipline cases behind closed doors. A new headquarters and $10 million for a Chicago innovation center focused on clean energy research. Former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis told a federal jury yesterday he secretly recorded his old colleague for the feds in order to “save” himself.

Former alderperson Danny Solis took the witness stand today in Ed Burke's federal corruption trial. The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on last month's crash of a CTA Yellow Line into a piece of snow removal equipment. A proposal to bring rail service between Chicago and downstate Peoria has taken another step forward.

Berlin nightclub in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood closed permanently in November after four decades in business, amid stalled negotiations between the bar’s owners and its unionizing employees . In asking some of the people who worked there, danced there and made memories there, it’s obvious that Berlin was more than just a bar.   “It felt like a secret almost,” said All The Way Kay, w...

Chicago City Council members have advanced an $8.75 million settlement in a police shooting case. People being released from the Cook County jail will be able to get a key resource on their way out the door - a free state ID. Federal prosecutors have all but rested their case against former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke.

The man allegedly responsible for the mass shooting in north suburban Highland Park in 2022 will defend himself in his upcoming trial. Chicago officials say there are no immediate plans to build a migrant encampment on a vacant lot in Morgan Park. Illinois State Police increasingly use “clear and present danger” reports to prevent people who may be a threat from having or getting firearms.

Elly Fishman has reported several stories related to Chicago’s migrant crisis. Recently, she went looking for a project that brought hope and joy into the conversation. She immediately thought of Sullivan High School. Fishman is a freelance writer and the author of “Refugee High: Coming of Age in America,” which chronicles the 2017-18 school year at Sullivan, a high school in Rogers Park. It’s a u...

A Chicago cop with a controversial history in the line of duty is running to become a Cook County judge. Rural schools in Illinois will get a larger voice in state decisions starting next year through the Rural Education Advisory Council. An Illinois Congressman is seeking to revive the legacy of America’s first Black sports hero.

A new report shows Black and Latino borrowers in the Chicago region continue to receive higher-cost, government-backed mortgage loans more often than other groups. Rural schools in Illinois will get a larger voice next year in state decisions. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is expanding next year.

Jahmal Cole asked a question to the crowd of volunteers assembled in a church parking lot in the Chatham neighborhood on a recent Saturday. “How come there ain't no holiday lights on the South Side of Chicago?” he said into the microphone. “I've seen it in Edgewater. I've seen it in Greek Town. How come there ain't no holiday lights on the South Side of Chicago?” Cole is the founder of the communi...

Chicago alderpersons continue pointing fingers and placing blame over the failed construction of a migrant camp in Brighton Park. Some of Alderman Ray Lopez’s constituents used Posada as a backdrop to protest Chicago’s continued sanctuary status. Jurors get a firsthand look at the FBI raid on former Alderman Ed Burke’s office.

The Chicago Bears are reportedly looking into building a new stadium in the South Lot of Soldier Field. Small business owners in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood are pushing back against a chain store that is eyeing a location on Clark Street. Des Plaines is cracking down on travelers who leave their cars on residential streets when flying out of O'Hare.

When West Garfield Park shows up in the news, it’s often accompanied by a crime statistic. Chicago media tends to fixate on violence in the area, but community members offer a bigger story. “If we can get rid of the violence, we’ll have the best community in the world,” says LiFE restaurant owner Joe Black. He is just one of many residents who continue to invest in the neighborhood when others mig...

Another encampment for migrants could go up in the Chicago Morgan Park neighborhood with mixed reactions. A city council panel will take up whether police officers can contest discipline cases behind closed doors. A Muslim-American attorney says a Chicago law firm fired her for speaking up for Palestinian rights.

Political fallout continues from the dispute over a scuttled migrant base camp in Brighton Park. A fire raced through a home in North Lawndale on Chicago's West Side this morning, killing one man and critically injuring his mother. Chicago-based McDonald’s expects to open nearly 10,000 restaurants over the next four years, the fastest period of growth in the company’s history.

Chicago comedian Kenya Elan says she regularly makes her audiences scream. “It’s a lot of release,” Elan said. “I feel like my comedy is based in release, because I feel like once you let it out, you can move forward in some sort of way. You can take the next steps.”  Elan is a cast member at The Lincoln Lodge in Logan Square (she’s part of a show Friday, Dec. 8 where the audience guesses eac...

A controversial plan to house migrants in a winterized tent in Brighton Park in Chicago’s southwest side will not be moving forward – local residents celebrated. A corporate executive with business in Ed Burke’s ward tells a jury he felt “weird” after a conversation with the former alderman. Chicago State University will be joining a new athletic conference and hopes to start a Division 1 college...

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office says the state will not move forward to house migrants at a Brighton Park site. Burger King executive Zohaib Dhanani testifies in the federal corruption trial of former Alderman Ed Burke. Illinois kids under 5 will soon be able to receive a monthly book from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

As we gear up for the 2024 presidential election, we often hear this refrain: “Just vote.” But voting is just one way to engage in our democracy. We wanted to get a sense of how to become more civically engaged on the local level, so we turned to Grace Del Vecchio, the editorial program coordinator for Documenters at City Bureau. They help train Chicagoans to document local government meetings, so...

The state has halted work on the migrant tent city in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood to review environmental testing. A new study says most Chicago Public School students who enroll in college take more than four years to complete. Republicans and Democrats running for office in Illinois next year have finished submitting their nominating petitions.

A spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker said construction of a base camp to shelter migrants in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood is temporarily paused. The C.E.O. of Chicago Public Media, the parent organization of WBEZ, is stepping down. A “clipper” weather system is expected to bring another period of snow to the Chicago region starting this evening.

Naomi Davis grew up in St. Albans, Queens. She recalls it as a walkable neighborhood where neighbors invested back into their community. Now, Davis helms Blacks In Green, a Chicago organization taking an environmental justice approach to Black community development. That includes BIG’s “Sustainable Square Mile” initiative. They want to help Black neighborhoods become self-sustaining in their local...

A study commissioned by the city of Chicago found traces of contamination in the soil of the site selected to house a winterized camp for migrants. The Illinois State Police launched an online portal that lets residents submit anonymous tips about local, county or state officials they suspect of wrongdoing. Leaders of the Muslim Civic Coalition are revealing plans to introduce an act that would ho...

Chicago has finished its fifth month in a row with a drop in murders compared to last year. A consultant's report finds Illinois prisons at Pontiac, Logan County, and Stateville at Joliet are nearly inoperable. Beer enthusiasts from around Chicago descended on Bronzeville last night for the opening of the Turner Haus Brewery's flagship taproom, the only Black-owned brewery taproom currently operat...