Voter turnout for the March 19 Illinois primary election was 19.07%, the lowest in at least the last 50 years, according to official vote totals certified Friday by state election officials.

For the second year in a row, the Cook County government has celebrated Earth Day by announcing a new south suburban recycling facility aimed at taking some of the nastiest garbage out of the waste stream.

Judge Michael Mullen’s decision upheld the effort backed by the city’s largest police union to upend the system used for 60 years to punish officers for serious misconduct, but “split the baby,” said Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.

Chicago police Officer Luis M. Huesca, who was fatally shot as he returned to his Gage Park home following his shift early Sunday, was among three people killed by gunfire across Chicago over the weekend.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s initiative targets many of the “utilization management” practices insurance companies use to hold down costs by either denying claims or steering patients toward lower-cost options.

Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather.

The approval represents a major win for Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has touted the proposal as a way to make Chicago a more equitable place to live by “investing in people” and expanding the city’s economic capacity — without raising taxes on Chicago property owners.

These gorgeous spring ephemerals love woodland habitats near creeks, and they’ll spread like a carpet on the forest floor. But only for a couple of weeks, and then they’re gone.