Gov. J.B. Pritzker heads to D.C. to talk infrastructure at the White House. The nationwide battle over voting rights. The debate over police in schools. And the return of theater critic Hedy Weiss.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker was among a handful of governors and mayors who scored an invitation Wednesday to the White House. His visit comes as the primary for the 2022 governor’s race is less than a year away. 

President Joe Biden made a quick foray to the Capitol on Wednesday hunting support for his multitrillion-dollar agenda of infrastructure, health care and other programs. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in on this and more.

From Grant Park to Ravinia, music and dance are returning in a big way this summer. Theater critic Hedy Weiss is returning, too, to talk about some recent live shows.

Wednesday marks the deadline for about 50 local school councils with Chicago Public Schools to decide whether they want to keep their school resource officers — Chicago police officers assigned to work on school campuses.

Black and brown communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 — in both their physical and mental health. We take a look at the stigmas surrounding mental health in the Latino community, and what some people are doing to break those generational barriers.

The Texas voting bills that prompted state Democrats’ flight to Washington this week include a raft of tweaks and changes to the state’s election code. Some are dramatic, others highly technical, and a couple could make life easier for voters.

The island nation of Cuba has seen unprecedented demonstrations amid the country’s worst economic crisis in decades — and nearly 60 years into the United States’ embargo on the nation.

Prices for U.S. consumers jumped in June by the most in 13 years, evidence that a swift rebound in spending has run up against widespread supply shortages that have escalated the costs of many goods and services.

It won’t be smoke-filled, but members of the Chicago City Council will head to a backroom at City Hall later this month to start crafting new ward boundaries that could shape Chicago politics for the next decade.

Juan Pastor plays a traditional instrument in a modern jazz setting. How many drummers do you see who actually play the seat they’re sitting on? We meet the Chicago-based musician to learn how he imports South American rhythms to the Northern Hemisphere.

Uber and Lyft say they’ve added thousands of drivers in recent weeks to address long wait times and surge pricing. But many passengers are still unhappy and some are turning to taxis — an industry hit hard by the popularity of ride-share services and by COVID-19. 

The school district on Tuesday released its budget proposal for the 2022 fiscal year, which includes $672 million for priority facility investments throughout the city and more than $1 billion in federal funding for student supports.

President Joe Biden declared preserving voting rights an urgent national “test of our time” on Tuesday but offered few concrete proposals to meet it. Texas Democrats took their own dramatic action to stymie Republican efforts to tighten ballot restrictions in their state.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin talks voting rights, gun violence and more. How Chicago Public Schools is spending its money next year. Are taxis making a return? And redrawing Chicago’s ward map.