Rep. Bob Rita testified in a Cook County trial that obscene, digitally altered messages circulated about him and a Tinley Park figure. Prosecutors say phone forensics link the spoofed texts to a former political operative.

A Naperville jury convicted a woman of murdering her boyfriend on Feb. 6, 2026, the local Fox affiliate reported. Sentencing and defendant details were not included in the brief post.

A Beach Park man was arrested after Illinois State Police say he hit a pedestrian on the Edens Expressway in Skokie; the pedestrian was hospitalized with life‑threatening injuries.

A Chicago man was sentenced to six years after pleading to aggravated criminal sexual assault for an attack on a Lane Tech student at a Lakeview Wendy's.

A sledgehammer smash-and-grab damaged Hashtag 95's gaming room in Oak Lawn; the owner says little cash was taken and police say they have leads.

David Byrne’s immersive Theater of the Mind opens March 11 in the Reid Murdoch Building with 16‑person, 75‑minute sensory journeys.

CHA canceled a plan to bar the daughter of Commissioner Debra Parker from agency contracts, reviving questions about oversight and family-linked payments.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a $46.2M federal package to fund 40 Chicago projects, from parks and transit to lead-pipe replacement and shelters.

City planners have moved to expand a Canal/Congress TIF to free roughly $50M to buy and rehab the Greyhound terminal at 630 W. Harrison St.; hearings start this spring.

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson will use a Harvard fellowship to press for the permanent closure of the ICE processing center that has roiled her suburb.

Cook County pushed its first‑installment property tax due date to April 1 after last year’s billing delays. Bills are expected in early March and taxpayers should plan accordingly.

A new Near North soul-food restaurant was burglarized early Thursday, two days after opening. The owner says repair costs will likely top the cash taken.

Two 14-year-olds were arrested hours after a woman was carjacked at gunpoint in Gresham. Arrests were made in West Town, police say.