With CPS enrollment down by 32,000—and the school-closing moratorium coming to an end—is another wave of Chicago school closings possible? WBEZ reporter Sarah Karp joins us in discussion.

Many Illinois residents are unaware of a 1990 state law making it illegal to mix lawn waste with household garbage. WBEZ reporter Monica Eng has the dirt on Chicago’s yard waste disposal program.

Former IPRA and COPA chief Sharon Fairley officially tosses her hat into the race for attorney general. The latest on who she could face.

(Marc Chase / nwi.com)

WBEZ’s Northwest Indiana reporter Michael Puente joins to discuss the start of the new school year in Gary.

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Gov. Bruce Rauner called on Democrats to send him Senate Bill 1, while Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says he’ll wait till Monday to send the bill to the governor.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton on the governor’s frame of mind: The latest on the special education funding session in Springfield.

(Courtroom sketch by Thomas Gianni)

The disgraced former U.S. House speaker, sentenced last year to 15 months in prison, returns to Chicago to serve the remainder of his sentence.

New details on the Russian cyberattack before the 2016 election, and how Illinois was affected. 

(Thomas Hawk / Flickr)
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Cook County has approved hundreds of low-dollar legal settlements in connection with conditions at the Cook County Jail.

(The Javorac / Flickr)

More than two dozen health care providers are threatening to stop caring for poor patients unless the state pays its Medicaid bills. We talk with the reporter who broke the story. 

WBEZ data reporter Chris Hagan

Cook County is shrinking again – and the 2016 drop in population is the biggest of any county in the entire country. Is this just a statistical blip or the beginning of an alarming trend?

A West Side police commander has an unusually high number of complaints filed against him. We talk to the reporter who broke the story.

Kanari Gentry Bowers (left) and Takiya Holmes were shot in separate incidents on Saturday (Courtesy Gentry Bowers family and Holmes family)
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In another disturbing chapter of Chicago’s gun violence epidemic, two young girls were shot in the head within 30 minutes of each other Saturday night on the South Side.

The statistics are stark: 762 people were killed in Chicago last year, a 58-percent increase from 2015. The University of Chicago’s Crime Lab studied the data behind the violence. We discuss the findings of its new report with WBEZ reporter Patrick Smith.

WBEZ reporter Dan Weissmann
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The city plans to go to the debt markets for almost $1.2 billion, including more so-called “scoop and toss” borrowing.

(Tony Webster / Flickr)
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A new WBEZ report focuses on Chicago children hurt and killed by violence in 2016.