Chicago IL

Chicago businessman Willie Wilson has donated $15,000 to inmates at Cook County Jail, in an effort to give them hope for the future.

A federal judge has shut down a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former senior investigator at Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, dealing a serious blow to claims that the agency’s former chief buried evidence and punished an internal critic. The ruling, issued last Thursday, tossed the...

Country Herald is Local News, Independent Pulse. Covering breaking local news, sports, lifestyle and events. Countryside, Illinois – Cook County Sheriff’s Office K-9 training prompted a visible law enforcement presence in the area today. According to a public notice from the Countryside Police Department,...

With over 2.7 million people, Chicago is America's third-largest city, behind New York and Los Angeles. As you can imagine, with a population this big, diversity isn't going to be a problem. Still, not all suburbs and neighborhoods in the Windy City are as diverse as you'd expect, such as Kenilworth, one of Chicago's...

A Chicago woman who says she was nearly killed by federal immigration agents last fall is now putting her story in front of Congress, arguing that what happened to her wasn’t a one-off tragedy, but a warning sign about how force is being used – and how little accountability exists when the government controls the...

Tired of the cold? Chicago's long streak of frigid weather is expected to come to an end later this week, the NBC 5 Storm Team says. "You'll feel the change starting tomorrow," NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Alicia Roman said, with temperatures still expected to remain in the 20s Wednesday.

A pilot program from Cook County’s circuit court clerk is speeding up the way residents can pay off their speeding tickets. Clerk Mariyana Spyropoulos’ office has launched a new e-citation program that allows traffic citations to be transmitted to the circuit court clerk’s office electronically, which she said will...

The grills are cold, the stools are empty, and now the legendary Palace Grill in the West Loop is officially in play. The Blackhawks-themed diner, a neighborhood fixture for more than 80 years, is being marketed as a redevelopment site after a 2024 fire shut it down. The move shines a bright light on a short stretch...

This story launches a new accountability series, Just Neighbors, examining the city’s homeless encampment sweeps and focusing on the human impact of a fragmented, interdepartmental process. At their request, the unhoused people who spoke to the Reader for this story are identified by their first names only. Jay and...

Layoff notices have been sent to nine of the 21 custodians employed at Chicago’s City Hall, with Mayor Brandon Johnson blaming the notices on the city’s new budget. Some members of the City Council have pushed back on Johnson’s blame of the budget for the layoff notices, accusing the mayor of scapegoating the council...