Bridgeview will unveil a 'Welcome to Little Palestine' sign on April 7 after state and county resolutions and a local campaign to brand the Harlem Avenue corridor.

Heartland will close all four Chicago shelters for unaccompanied children after a federal contract lapse, leaving roughly 337 staff facing layoffs and children facing transfers.

Cardinal Cupich asked Rev. Kenneth J. Anderson to step away from managing finances at St. John Henry Newman while the Archdiocese reviews “serious concerns.”

A Rockford resident hit a $1 million top prize on the Illinois Lottery’s $25 Crossword 50X scratch-off. The selling store gets a $10,000 bonus and the winner plans to share with family.

Students and Hillel leaders say they were corralled and shouted at while tabling at UIC in October 2025, and they say the university’s response was inadequate. Community groups are pressing for faster investigations and clearer reporting tools.

Skyway Lanes, the city's last Black-owned bowling alley, will close April 26 after a brief wave of support couldn't cover rising costs.

Pope Leo XIV led Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, opening his first Holy Week as tens of thousands gathered and memories of Pope Francis resurfaced.

Chesney, a denim-diapered kangaroo from Sunshine Farm in Necedah, escaped and is missing; owners and the sheriff urge residents to call 773-682-8042 and not to approach him.

A Chicago mom used her children's birthdays to pick Lucky Day Lotto numbers and won $800,000. She says the prize will support her kids' education and a family trip.

A woman-owned cafe-bar on East 35th has become a daytime coworking hub and evening community room, pairing food and drinks with local job-training partnerships.

New estimates show Chicago added residents even as U.S. immigration slowed. Analysts say retention — not new arrivals — powered the modest uptick.

A Chicago father deported during the Midway Blitz has returned after a months-long mandamus fight and a tense re-entry that ended with a family reunion. His case now joins a wave of legal challenges to the enforcement campaign.

A K–8 Alpha School campus will open in Lakeshore East this fall, compressing core academics into a two‑hour AI block while adults serve as "guides." The posted tuition is $55,000 a year.