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(WTTW News)

First Measles Case in Chicago Resident Since 2019 Confirmed, Health Officials Say

Health officials said they are working to identify and notify people who may have been exposed to measles, including at the facilities where the resident sought medical care.

The tag on a Chicago resident’s new parkway tree clearly shows the species as “Aristocrat” pear, one of some two dozen cultivars of the invasive callery pear tree. (Courtesy of Eliza Rohr)

A Chicago Resident Requested a Parkway Tree. The City Planted an Invasive Species

Just because a species is known to be invasive doesn’t mean it’s officially regulated as such. One Chicagoan learned that lesson the hard way.

A rendering of the Obama Presidential Center’s athletic and conference center, designed by Moody Nolan. (Credit: Obama Foundation)

Opening of Obama Presidential Center Delayed, Again, Until Spring 2026

The Obama Presidential Center, which broke ground in September 2021, had been slated to open in October 2025.

Rae-Ann Eifert, a lake monitor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, braved sub-freezing temperatures to gather buckets of water for testing off a Lake Michigan breakwater in Racine, Wis., on Feb. 28, 2024, as part of an effort across the Great Lakes to understand the effects of an iceless winter. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Fewer Fish and More Algae? Scientists Seek to Understand Impacts of Historic Lack of Great Lakes Ice

As climate change accelerates, scientists are scrambling to understand how iceless winters could affect the world's largest freshwater system.

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, March 6, 2024 - Full Show

The Bring Chicago Home referendum is back on the ballot. Pushback as plans for a hybrid elected school board move forward. And the difficulty of getting around town with a disability.

(WTTW News)

Syphilis Cases in Babies on the Rise in Chicago, Health Department Says

It’s part of a nationwide increase in congenital infections, passed along to an infant during pregnancy. If undiagnosed, the baby can be born with a number of health issues, including cataracts, deafness and a low birth weight, or can even be stillborn.

Former Democratic state Sen. Terry Link exits the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago with his attorney Catharine O'Daniel on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, after being sentenced to three years’ probation on tax evasion charges. (Dilpreet Raju / Capitol News Illinois)

With Feds Citing ‘Extensive Cooperation,’ Ex-State Sen. Terry Link Sentenced to 3 Years Probation

During a brief sentencing hearing, the 76-year-old Terry Link made a public apology. Speaking slowly and with a tremor borne of a neurological condition that has worsened since he left office in 2020, Link said he’d made a mistake and “did not intend to cheat the government.”

(Medill School of Journalism)

Pace Taxi Program Aids Chicagoans With Disabilities, But Advocates Say Systemic Issues Affect Access

For Chicago residents with disabilities, getting around the city can be more of a burden than a simple task. Users and advocates say the Pace Taxi Access Program is plagued by long wait times, verbally abusive drivers and unreliable rides.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Illinois Senate Signs Off on Plan for a Hybrid Elected School Board in Chicago

Chicago is on the path to getting the hybrid school board preferred by Mayor Brandon Johnson, with the Illinois Senate’s begrudging approval of legislation Tuesday finalizing the transition to an elected school board.

FILE - Plastic bottles and other garbage are seen next to a beach at Fiumicino, Italy, near Rome, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (Andrew Medichini / AP Photo, File)

Study Raises Questions About Plastic Pollution’s Effect on Heart Health

We breathe, eat and drink tiny particles of plastic. But are these minuscule specks in the body harmless, dangerous or somewhere in between?

Mayor Brandon Johnson rallies supporters of the proposal known as Bring Chicago Home on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)

Chicago Voters Should Get to Decide Whether City Council Should Have Power to Hike Taxes on Sales of Million-Dollar Properties, Appeals Court Rules

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Appellate Court unanimously overturned the Feb. 23 decision by a Cook County judge that invalidated the binding ballot question known as Bring Chicago Home. The ruling could still be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.

FILE - Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., speaks during a campaign stop, Jan. 18, 2024, in Manchester, N.H. (Charles Krupa / AP Photo, File)

Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips Ends Democratic Primary Challenge, Endorses President Joe Biden

U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, a 55-year-old multimillionaire who is among the richest members of Congress, built his White House bid around calls for a new generation of Democratic leadership while spending freely from his personal fortune.

GOTV 4 Teens founder Letina Brady Pettis, left, during a voter registration drive event held at Wendell Phillips Academy High School on Feb. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of GOTV 4 Teens)

More Than 3,500 Teenagers in Illinois Pre-Register to Vote, As New Law Goes Into Effect: State Election Officials

Some teenagers in Illinois who are too young to vote for this year's primary and general election are already preparing for their first chance to vote in other future elections.

Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in Greer, S.C. (AP Photo / David Yeazell)

Nikki Haley Suspends Her Campaign and Leaves Donald Trump as the Last Major Republican Candidate

Haley didn’t endorse the former president in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina. Instead, she challenged him to win the support of the moderate Republicans and independent voters who supported her.

(WTTW News)

Homicides in Chicago Down 20% to Start 2024 Compared to Last Year: Police

There have been 64 homicides recorded through February, according to the Chicago Police Department, and 292 shooting victims from 253 total shootings.

A memorial is on display at the funeral of Chicago police Officer Ella French on Aug. 19, 2021. (WTTW News)

Emonte Morgan Convicted of Murder in Fatal 2021 Shooting of Chicago Police Officer Ella French

Officer Ella French was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Aug. 7, 2021. Emonte Morgan, 23, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

March 5, 2024 - Full Show

Advocates weigh in on the controversial IVF ruling in Alabama. And early voting is underway in Illinois as former president Donald Trump survives a ballot challenge — our Spotlight Politics team on that and more.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s longtime chief of staff Tim Mapes exits the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, after he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for perjury and attempted obstruction of justice. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)

Judges, Ex-Lawmakers, Lobbyists Wrote to Support Convicted Ex-Madigan Aide Tim Mapes

Tim Mapes was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison, though U.S. District Judge John Kness told Mapes he had “zero hesitation in agreeing, wholeheartedly, that you are a good man,” after reading dozens of letters written to the court on Mapes’ behalf.

Former Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat from Chicago, is pictured at a state Capitol news conference Tuesday, March 5, 2024, to promote ethics reforms. He and Republican Rep. Ryan Spain, of Peoria, spoke in favor of a constitutional amendment that would allow citizens to propose ethics-related constitutional amendments on the ballot through petitions. (Peter Hancock / Capitol News Illinois)

Former Gov. Pat Quinn Backs GOP-Sponsored Ethics Amendment

A Republican proposal that would give citizens the ability to propose ethics-related constitutional amendments on the ballot received a bipartisan boost Tuesday when former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn endorsed it.

Eileen O’Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III are running for the Democratic nomination in the race for Cook County state’s attorney. (Photos provided)

Eileen O’Neill Burke is ‘Not Related to THAT Burke’ — But He Backed Her Appellate Court Bid

For Eileen O’Neill Burke, locked in a fierce fight for the Democratic nomination for Cook County state’s attorney against Clayton Harris III, her last name has turned out to be a double-edged sword.

(WTTW News)

How an Illinois Law Protects IVF Access, Reproductive Health Care Rights

A recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling is raising questions about IVF. In Illinois, the Reproductive Health Act protects the increasingly popular path to parenthood while establishing people’s right to make decisions about their own reproductive health.

Four active eagle nests being monitored this winter in the Forest Preserve District of Will County. (Forest Preserve District of Will County / Chad Merda)

Number of Active Eagle Nests Now Up to 4 in Will County

It's the first time four active nests have all been located on Will County forest preserve property.

Lurie Children's Hospital logo is seen at the hospital, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, in Skokie, Ill. Doctors and nurses at the premier Chicago children's hospital can again access patients' electronic medical records, more than a month after a cyberattack forced Lurie Children's Hospital to take its networks offline. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

A Month After Cyberattack, Lurie Children’s Hospital Says Some Systems Are Back Online

Officials had previously blamed the attack on a “known criminal threat actor” and said the hospital shut down its own systems for phone, email and medical records once the breach was discovered on Jan. 31.

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

3 Killed by Gunfire Over Holiday Weekend Across Chicago: Police

According to Chicago Police Department data, 29 people were shot in 24 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday.