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Milkweed stems stand tall in the Field Museum's Rice Native Gardens. In the past, gardeners have been threatened with fines when native plants were mistaken for weeds. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Remember Chicago’s Native and Pollinator Garden Registry? It’s Finally Getting off the Ground

More than two years after Chicago's City Council passed an ordinance creating a Native and Pollinator Garden Registry, an advisory board has finally been appointed to oversee the operation.

The former industrial building at 2241 S. Halsted St. that has been converted into the city's largest shelter. (WTTW News)

Case of Measles Confirmed in Pilsen Shelter; City Health Officials Ask Residents to Shelter in Place

The child diagnosed with measles “has recovered and is no longer infectious,” according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.

(WTTW News)

Little Village, Humboldt Park Among 10 State-Designated Cultural Districts Eligible for $3M in Funding

The program was launched in 2023 with an aim to uplift and preserve cultural communities throughout Illinois. The districts are eligible to apply for some of the $3 million in available funding to help stimulate economic development in those areas.

(Courtesy of Pexels)

Here Are the Top 10 Consumer Complaints in Illinois For 2023

For a third year in a row, complaints regarding home repair and remodeling top the list of written consumer complaints filed to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

President Joe Biden arrives to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)

Biden Uses Feisty State of the Union to Contrast With Trump, Sell Voters on a Second Term

President Joe Biden delivered a defiant argument for a second term in his State of the Union speech Thursday night, lacing into GOP front-runner Donald Trump for espousing “resentment, revenge and retribution" and for jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad.

Ronnie Marmo as Lenny Bruce. (Doren Sorell)

What Do Lenny Bruce, Joe Mantegna and Booze Have in Common? 2 Plays About American Trailblazers Light Up the Biograph Theater

Local legend Joe Mantegna is directing “I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce” starring Ronnie Marmo as the comedian who took a bullet for anyone who values free speech. Marmo also directs and stars in “Bill W. and Dr. Bob,” the true story of the dramatic founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, March 7, 2024 - Full Show

Should guns be allowed where you vote? A look at a potential new gun ban. And what a move to end the grocery tax could mean for you.

(WTTW News)

New Bill Would Ban Guns From Illinois Polling Places

State Rep. Bob Morgan said banning guns at polling places is necessary given rising security concerns surrounding elections. Gun rights advocates said the proposal is an answer in search of a problem.

(WTTW News)

Chicago is One Step Closer to Hybrid Elected School Board as Illinois House Approves Plan

A plan headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk will allow voters in November to choose half of the Chicago Board of Education. Johnson will appoint the other half, plus its president.

(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.

Buddy Guy will close out the Chicago Blues Festival in June. (Casey Mitchell)

Buddy Guy to Headline Chicago Blues Festival During Farewell Tour

The blues legend will close out the festival, set for June 6-9.

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.