Suburban Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson has declared a civil emergency in the village. Starved Rock State Park will undergo an $18 million improvement project over the next year. The CTA holiday train starts running Black Friday.

Plus, a key city council panel rejected Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal today in a rare move, far ahead of the December 31st deadline to pass a plan. Critics say that sends a clear message to the mayor to go back to the drawing board. WBEZ City Hall reporter Mariah Woelfel explains the sticking points, including a controversial tax idea to charge large companies $21 per employee.

21 protesters have been arrested today outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in suburban Broadview. Advocates against domestic violence are applauding a move by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to restore funding for services.

Plus, a conversation with Chicago theater director Robert Falls about his staging of “Amadeus” at Steppenwolf Theater.

Republicans and Democrats continue to battle over whether to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is not giving up hope on legislation to crack down on homeowners insurance price hikes. The Reverend Jesse Jackson is in the hospital with a rare neurological disorder.

Plus, we remember the life of Miguel Perez Jr. – a U.S. Army veteran who drew national headlines after he was deported in 2018.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings ordered the release of as many as 615 people who have been held in mandatory detention by federal immigration authorities. A U.S. Representative from Illinois is on the House committee that released emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Chicago Transit Authority has closed the door on fare increases in 2026.

Plus, while violent crime in Chicago has declined, domestic violence continues to persistently rise.

It skyrocketed during pandemic-era stay-at-home orders and continues to plague the city. Yet, as federal COVID-19 relief grants dry up, organizations that support survivors are bracing for drastic cuts to city-funded programming that they say has changed lives. My colleague Mariah Woelfel has more on what’s next.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is urging people to stay vigilant even as Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino could be on his way out of town. Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned a long-lost Purple Heart Medal to the family of a World War II veteran. Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is going to continue his bid for Illinois governor.

Plus, after police killed George Floyd in 2020, there was talk of a racial reckoning. In the theater community, that reckoning took the form of a letter titled “We See You, White American Theater.” The letter demanded that theaters stop tokenizing artists of color and start implementing company-wide anti-racist training. It would ultimately be signed by one-hundred-thousand artists, including many in Chicago. Five years later, my colleague Mike Davis set out to learn what changed.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois is under fire for voting to advance a Republican-led House measure that would help end the government shutdown. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’s confident police did not violate the welcoming city ordinance when responding to protests this weekend. The National Weather Service said a La Nina pattern will be active through February, which could mean a colder and snowier winter.

Plus, five years after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Sun-Times and WBEZ surveyed 21 arts, culture and humanities nonprofits to see what progress they made toward meeting their public promises of better reflecting the city they serve. Sun-Times reporter Erica Thompson talks about the survey and what she learned.

WBEZ’s Prisoncast! and the Mud Theatre Project present a new radio drama — written and performed almost exclusively by currently or formerly incarcerated thespians. “The Story of Violence," based on an award-winning script by playwrights at Dixon Correctional Center in Illinois, examines Chicago’s gun violence problem through five characters’ perspectives as their lives intersect at a downtown hotel room.

O'Hare International Airport today is second in the nation in flight cancellations. The federal government says it's largely complying with an order to improve conditions at the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement processing facility in suburban Broadview. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants members of the United Nations to come to the city – and see ongoing human rights violations for themselves.

Plus, President Donald Trump has been outspoken in blaming crime on ‘sanctuary’ policies in Democratic states, but the numbers don’t tell the same story. Sun-Times reporter Sophie Sherry breaks down the facts for us.

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction governing the use of force by federal immigration officers in Chicago. In a separate case, a judge ruled yesterday that the Department of Homeland Security has to improve conditions for detainees at the immigration processing center in suburban Broadview. Chicago-area commuters may soon see the impacts of a massive transit-deal that is awaiting Governor JB Pritzker’s signature. Plus, WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell brings us tape of U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino's sworn testimony in the case of federal immigration officers' use of force in Chicago.

A high-stakes hearing is underway over the treatment of protesters and journalists covering the Trump Administration’s Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Chicago’s acting cultural commissioner says the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events is entering a new era. A D.C.-based conservative activist group is suing Illinois for records on the state’s role in offering refuge to Texas Democrats this summer.

Plus, Sun-Times reporter Lauren FitzPatrick teamed up with the paper’s photojournalists to document ICE agents as they fan out across area streets in large numbers making arrests. She found that not all federal immigration officers are wearing ID badges on their uniforms more than three weeks after an order from a federal judge.