Chicago this past month saw fewer murders than any April in more than six decades. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle pushes transit consolidation in Springfield. Major protests are expected around the country on this May Day, pushing back against the “billionaire takeover of the federal government.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is in Springfield pitching state lawmakers to fund budget items from what he calls a “modest” wish list. Former Pitchfork music festival founder and jazz-drummer Mike Reed announced that he’s backing the new Sound and Gravity Fest this fall. Chemistry teacher Victor Gomez from North West suburban East Leyden High School was named teacher of the year by the Illinois State Board of Education.

A key city council panel is set to vote today on a revised curfew proposal that some say raises significant constitutional questions. Hundreds attended yesterday’s funeral for a fallen Chicago firefighter. An international student forced to leave Chicago for India this month says his legal immigration status has been restored but that he likely won’t return to the U.S.

Hundreds of people paid their last respects at the funeral for Chicago Fire Department Captain David Meyer. North suburban Highland Park will have two memorials for the victims of the 2022 mass shooting. The city of Chicago has joined more than two dozen unions, non-profit groups and several cities filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for its ongoing mass firings of federal workers.

The latest in ongoing negotiations over a curfew proposal aimed at addressing “teen takeovers.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson heads to Springfield this week, but the governor isn’t sure what the state can offer. Governor Pritzker spoke out in support of Illinois student loan borrowers yesterday.

Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren has sent a letter to the new head of the Chicago Park District expressing the team's concerns over the condition of Soldier Field. A man who was convicted and then pardoned for assaulting an officer and a cameraman in the January 6th riots is now on trial in Springfield for the murder of a woman from north suburban Skokie. The Northwestern women’s lacrosse team has won the Big Ten conference championship for the third straight year.

A Palestinian and Israeli duo is visiting Chicago this week to try and rally international support for a peaceful resolution to the war in Gaza. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is on a lobbying trip to Springfield this week. A new study from Northwestern University finds singing provides a range of benefits to older adults – some with neurocognitive disorders like dementia.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is endorsing his governing partner Juliana Stratton in her run for U.S. Senate. EXPO Chicago is underway at Navy Pier. A judge in New York has ordered the Art Institute of Chicago to return a 1916 drawing stolen during the Holocaust.

The Chicago Board of Education approved the teachers contract last night and altered this year's budget to pay for it. Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering says no sentence can erase the pain of the massacre her town suffered. More than 100 Jewish professors at Northwestern University are calling on federal officials to stop threatening academic freedom in their name.

Robert Crimo III will spend the rest of his life in prison. Illinois has confirmed its first case of measles of the year. The first round of the NFL Draft kicks off tonight.