Amtrak ends policy resulting in $25,000 bill for activists
CHICAGO (AP) — Amtrak announced Wednesday the suspension of a pricing policy that resulted in a $25,000 travel bill for a group of wheelchair-bound activists heading to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois from Chicago for a conference and rally on
Coroner: Juice WRLD died of accidental drug overdose
CHICAGO (AP) — Rapper Juice WRLD died of an accidental overdose of oxycodone and codeine, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Wednesday.
Illinois assesses damage from mistaken voter registrations
CHICAGO (AP) — At least three of 16 Illinois residents who cast ballots after being mistakenly registered to vote are U.S. citizens after all, election officials said Wednesday in assessing the damage caused by an error in
Judge: Teacher layoffs didn’t discriminate against blacks
CHICAGO (AP) — A class-action lawsuit claiming Chicago Public Schools discriminated against black educators when it announced layoffs in 2011 has been dismissed.
Special prosecutor to handle case of crash that killed cop
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A special prosecutor will handle the case of a suburban Chicago police officer who was involved in a traffic crash in which another police officer riding with her was killed.
Illinois prosecutors make plan for their 1st R. Kelly trial
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois prosecutors said Wednesday that the first of four Chicago sexual abuse cases against R. Kelly that they’ll take to trial involves a hairdresser who says the R&B singer forced himself on her during
Intruder shot during Danville home invasion identified
DANVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Police say an eastern Illinois homeowner shot and killed an intruder during a home invasion.
Travelers flying into O’Hare from China to be screened
CHICAGO (AP) — Travelers arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport from Wuhan, China will be screened for the respiratory coronavirus, health officials announced Tuesday.
Judge: Teacher layoffs didn’t discriminate against blacks
CHICAGO (AP) — A class-action lawsuit claiming Chicago Public Schools discriminated against black educators when it announced layoffs in 2011 has been dismissed.
GOP congressman who backed Nixon impeachment dead at 87
CHICAGO (AP) — Thomas Railsback, an Illinois Republican congressman who helped draw up articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon in 1974, has died at age 87.
Illinois: Error registered a possible 545 noncitizen voters
CHICAGO (AP) — An error in Illinois’ new automatic voter registration system led to a possible 545 non-U.S. citizens being registered to vote, 16 of whom cast ballots, state officials publicly acknowledged this week.
Illinois healthcare company closes briefly to meet state law
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois healthcare manufacturing company has temporarily closed because it couldn’t meet new state standards for ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical.
Head-on crash in southern Illinois kills 3 people, injures 8
HEROD, Ill. (AP) — State Police on Tuesday released the names of three people killed in a head-on crash that left eight others injured in southern Illinois.
State provides $30M to acquire, develop open lands and parks
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois grant funds will provide nearly $30 million for efforts across the state to acquire open spaces and develop and improve recreational facilities.
2 men arrested after police chase in Missouri, Illinois
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Two men are in custody after officers were shot at and a police vehicle was intentionally rammed during a chase that began in Cape Girardeau and ended in Illinois, authorities said.
Death of Chicago man shot in 2010 classified as homicide
CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities have classified as a homicide the death of a Chicago man who recently, a decade after he was shot multiple times on the city’s West Side.
Suspected serial killer stayed under the radar, but how?
CHICAGO (AP) — When a police detective said last week that a man suspected of strangling a suburban Chicago teen in 1976 may have killed as many as a dozen girls and young women, the question that screamed
Law eliminates license suspension for non-moving violations
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a law that eliminates driver’s license suspensions for most non-moving violations.
Museum program on African Americans’ work marks 50th year
CHICAGO (AP) — The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is marking the 50th anniversary of a program honoring the achievements of African Americans in science, technology, engineering, art and medicine and encouraging young people to
DNA tests confirm coyote captured in Chicago attacked boy
CHICAGO (AP) — Animal control officials in Chicago said Sunday that DNA tests confirm a coyote recently captured in the city is the same animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy.
Dems elect Harmon to serve as president of Illinois Senate
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Don Harmon was elected Sunday as the next Illinois Senate president, becoming the first new leader of the Illinois General Assembly’s upper chamber in more than a decade.
U of I professor wins fellowship for study of violin in UK
URBANA, Ill. (AP) — A University of Illinois music professor has been awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Report: Chicago Teachers Union spent $1.5M on lobbying
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Teachers Union spent almost $1.5 million on political activity including lobbying, in the months leading up to a two-week strike in the fall, according to a published report. The money, spent between
Jet slides on Illinois airport’s taxiway in wintry weather
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — A mix of icy conditions and high wind contributed to a jet sliding along a western Illinois airport’s taxiway on Saturday, officials said.
Illinois approves coal company’s mine water pumping proposal
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Department of Natural Resources approved the first of three permits for a coal company’s plan to discharge wastewater from a mine into the Big Muddy River.
Chicago will test out updated bus routes on West Side
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago will test updated buses routes on the city’s West Side under a pilot program recently approved by the Chicago Transit Board.
Chicago man, 50, accused of stalking parole officer
CHICAGO (AP) — A 50-year-old Chicago man released from prison in 2018 has been accused of stalking his probation officer, authorities said.
Winter storm brings heavy snow, ice to Midwest, Northeast
CHICAGO (AP) — A winter storm that brought snow and sleet to the Midwest and Plains created travel headaches Saturday after airlines canceled flights and officials shut down major roads.
Man arrested in shooting of 13 people at Chicago house party
CHICAGO (AP) — A man has been charged with attempted murder in a December shooting at a Chicago house party that left 13 people wounded, Chicago police said Saturday.
Man found guilty in former father-in-law’s stabbing death
PITTSFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois jury has found a Missouri man guilty of stabbing his former father-in-law to death.
Anti-Trump protests have shrunk. What’s it mean for 2020?
CHICAGO (AP) — Days after President Donald Trump killed an Iranian general and said he was sending more soldiers to the Middle East, about 100 protesters stood on a pedestrian bridge over Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive with
Weather Service: Tornado hit southern Illinois on Saturday
WARE, Ill. (AP) — A tornado packing winds of up to 100 mph struck far southern Illinois during last weekend’s severe weather outbreak, the National Weather Service said.
Truck slams into Illinois Starbucks; 4 sent to hospitals
McHENRY, Ill. (AP) — A pickup truck slammed into an Illinois Starbucks on Thursday, injuring several people and causing massive damage to the coffee shop, police said.
Police: 2 gunmen injure 5 customers at Chicago barbershop
CHICAGO (AP) — Two gunmen fired through the window of a Chicago barbershop Thursday evening, injuring three juveniles and two adults who were getting their hair cut, police said.
Lawyers: Immigration court system is ‘red tape gone crazy’
CHICAGO (AP) — Tucked in a windowless room of Chicago’s immigration court, one of the nation’s largest legal advocacy groups for immigrants runs a free help desk.
Man sentenced in 2012 killing of 7-year-old Chicago girl
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 killing of a 7-year-old girl was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison.
University of Illinois administrators hike tuition
CHICAGO (AP) — University of Illinois administrators on Thursday approved a hike in tuition costs for in-state freshmen for the first time in six years.
Suburban Chicago police commander charged with battery
DIXMOOR, Ill. (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a suburban Chicago police commander with aggravated battery for allegedly dragging a 66-year-old grandmother into a police station and slamming her face into a wall.
University of Illinois administrators seek a tuition hike
CHICAGO (AP) — University of Illinois administrators are recommending a hike in tuition costs for in-state freshmen for the first time in six years, officials announced Wednesday.
Body of soldier killed in Kenya attack brought to Illinois
HAZEL CREST, Ill. (AP) — The remains of a suburban Chicago soldier killed in an attack on a military base in Kenya arrived Wednesday in his home town.
Autopsy didn’t find cause of death of suburban Chicago woman
CHICAGO (AP) — An autopsy has failed to determine the cause of death of a suburban Chicago woman whose body was found in the trunk of her car, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said Wednesday.
Regional authority proposed for Quad Cities area
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Some business and government leaders in the Quad Cities area of eastern Iowa and western Illinois want to form a regional authority that would gain funding and manage big projects.
Judge rules infamous towing service can stay in business
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s Lincoln Towing Service, reviled by owners of illegally parked cars and parodied in song for its aggressive way of doing business, may stay in business, a Cook County judge has ruled Wednesday.
Chicago-area zoo lion dies after mysterious fall into moat
CHICAGO (AP) — A 14-year-old lion at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago mysteriously fell into her enclosure’s dry moat and died less than two weeks after her mate was put down for age-related issues, officials said.
Chicago bolsters sanctuary protections, activists want more
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago again bolstered its sanctuary policies Wednesday as aldermen approved a plan requiring police to document any requests for assistance from federal immigration agents.
Gunmen rob 5 Chicago city workers setting up work zone
CHICAGO (AP) — Five employees with the Chicago Department of Transportation were robbed at gunpoint Wednesday morning while they were setting up a construction zone in the Austin neighborhood on the city’s West Side, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
U of I president being offered contract extension, pay raise
CHICAGO (AP) — University of Illinois President Tim Killeen is being offered a new contract that would extend his tenure four years and hike his annual compensation by about 40%, officials revealed Tuesday.
Ex-priest gets 9-year prison sentence for child pornography
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A former southern Illinois priest who pleaded guilty last year to distributing child pornography and processing methamphetamine was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison.
Prosecutors drop DUI charges against priest in hit-and-run
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Cook County prosecutors on Tuesday dropped driving-under-the-influence charges filed against a retired Roman Catholic priest accused of running over two teachers, killing one of them.
Illinois warns shops against stockpiling weed amid shortages
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois regulators say they are investigating apparent violations of a rule intended to prevent marijuana shops statewide from stockpiling weed from a single cultivator while also reminding retailers that they are required by law