Some Chicagoans have pushed for large-scale festivals to leave city parks for good. Now, a non-binding ballot measure takes the temperature of residents citywide.
In the era of flavormaxxing, the humble plain croissant and its first cousins — chocolate and ham and cheese — become a deceptively difficult maneuver to deliver. After a lot of crumbs, here are a food critic’s favorites.
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On hiatus for two years, the Soul Train Awards will return and be taped at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in November.
Three people are running in Chicago’s first race for school board president. The president helps set the board’s agenda and will help establish a vision for Chicago Public Schools along with other board members over the next four years.
For this fall’s Chicago School Board election, the city is broken into 20 voting districts plus all voters can cast a ballot for board president. Read more about the dynamics and what’s at stake in each race by journalists from WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chalkbeat, and Block Club Chicago.
This fall, Chicago voters are choosing members for the city’s first fully elected school board. There are 20 board seats up for grabs, plus voters citywide will pick a board president.
Several education-related groups have endorsed or are providing significant financial support in Chicago’s first election for members of its entire school board. Election Day is Nov. 3.
The voter guide — which includes information about all 46 candidates, endorsements, and campaign donations totals — was built with input from the community and with the community.
The candidate backed by the Chicago Teachers Union opposes school closures. Two are open to closing schools, but only after hearing from communities. And one pointed to how consolidations can benefit students.
Key Races: What To Know
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Republican Darren Bailey and independent candidate Collin Corbett are on the ballot in the race for governor in the Nov. 3 general election.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who has served alongside Gov. JB Pritzker since 2018, faces Don Tracy, the former chair of the Illinois Republican Party. Whitfield Harrington Jr. is the independent candidate.
Democrat Patty García faces independent candidate Chris Getty, Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey and Republican Lupe Castillo in the 4th Congressional District race.
The incumbent Giannoulias is also a frontrunner for the 2027 Chicago mayor’s race, while Republican challenger Diane M. Harris faces long odds in a statewide office.
The Trump administration’s moves against Illinois has elevated incumbent Kwame Raoul’s role to defender of the state’s federal funds, meaning former two-term 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti has a challenge on his hands.
The last Republican comptroller ceded office a decade ago, when outgoing Democratic incumbent Susana Mendoza was first elected.
This far southwest suburban district provides one of the few competitive races on Illinois’ heavily gerrymandered political map, and it’s at the center of the latest sexual harassment scandal to rattle Springfield.
After the March primaries, many candidates are running unopposed. Some suburban battles are heating up.
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For years, transit agencies in other major U.S. cities have had powers to develop underused transit-owned land. The Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act catches Chicago up to its peers. But it goes further by granting power to buy and develop land for reasons unrelated to transit.
One person was shot in the body Sunday morning and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, Chicago police said.
The annual Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade stepped off on Balbo Street Saturday, drawing in an estimated 100,000 attendees with vibrant, colorful attractions such as a fire-breathing dragon, giant alebrijes and a 60-foot glow worm.
The two train lines were rerouted two weeks ago to accommodate the ongoing repairs to the Lake Street bridge over the Chicago River.
South Chicago Chapel, 2939 E. 95th St., was shut down after the gruesome discovery on Aug. 6.
The man was standing near the sidewalk in North Lawndale when he was shot multiple times, Chicago police said.
The district’s graduation rate has been steadily growing since the early 2000s when fewer than half of students were earning a diploma in four years.
Evanston’s reparations program has faced years of legal challenges. It may now face its largest challenge yet after a district judge approved the DOJ’s motion to join a lawsuit seeking its dismantlement last week.
Plus, how to register to vote. Here’s what you need to know today.
You can no longer register to vote online for the upcoming Midterm General Election. But there are still plenty of ways to register in person.
Chicago is one of the most haunted cities in America where legendary ghost stories like Resurrection Mary run as deep as our pizza. But if you think you’ve heard them all, not so fast, says tour guide Adam Selzer.
Pritzker is taking out $40 million from his vast personal wealth to boost candidates in contentious races, and building coalitions with Democrats across the country, including in 2028 early primary states. “It’s a terrific strategy,” says former presidential candidate Howard Dean.
The Board of Education unanimously voted to approve the payment Thursday, more than a year after the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ published an investigation into the incessant bullying of the middle school girl and failures by the school administration to curb it.
All lunchroom staff represented by Unite Here Local 1 will earn at least $21 an hour under the deal, which seemed far away months ago as the union took steps towards a possible strike.
About 90% of the canned pumpkin in the United States comes from Illinois for reasons meteorological, climatic, economic and historical.
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Ongoing throughout the year
In Case You Missed It
- 4 takeaways from CPS School Board president forum
- Insufficient evidence that Chicago School Board candidate engaged in sexual misconduct, watchdog report finds
- A new Chicago brewery is making Korea’s oldest alcoholic drink
- 2nd woman alleging sexual assault at a University of Chicago frat house feared she was drugged: police report
- Another woman says she was sexually assaulted at a University of Chicago fraternity party
- Giant puppets, a fire-breathing dragon and dozens of dancers will fuel Chicago’s Arts in the Dark parade this weekend
- Early voting kicks off in all 50 wards