A bloc of 27 Chicago City Council members is calling on Bally's to resume construction on its full, planned downtown casino development. Tornadoes have been sweeping through Illinois and the Chicago metro area this year, far from the traditional Tornado Alley. The Chicago Bears open the preseason at Soldier Field on Saturday against the Cleveland Browns.

Plus, when Alexandra Usher was a grad student at University of Chicago, she’d often get stuck in traffic on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. It gave her a lot of time to stare off into the lake. One day she noticed something odd. What she saw was the wreck of the Silver Spray. Alexandra wants to know the story behind that wreck and what about other shipwrecks in the lake and whether the average Chicagoan can visit them.

The Chicago area is relatively calm after a wild afternoon of thunderstorms, strong winds and tornado warnings. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is using his executive order pen to tighten the rules on data centers. The Chicago Sky fell to the Seattle Storm on Monday night.

Plus, you might notice signs that are often wooden and hand painted while driving around neighborhoods on Chicago’s south and west sides. More or less, they read “Hey, welcome to the neighborhood. Welcome to the block.” These are signs for block clubs. We break down the history behind them. 

Nine people filed reports with the Chicago Police Department on Monday alleging crimes committed by immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz. More scattered thunderstorms are expected Monday night and throughout the week. Former Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson is retiring. 

Plus, Lollapalooza recently brought thousands of people to Grant Park along Chicago’s lakefront. Amid the headliners and packed crowds, another group made its way through the festival: parents.

The superintendent of Chicago Public Schools is now confident that school will start on time. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Republican challenger Darren Bailey are trading blows over misconduct investigations into several members of the House.

Plus, the Women's Professional Baseball League kicked off in Springfield, Illinois this week, marking the first women's professional baseball on American soil in over 70 years.

Cities across Illinois range widely in their regulations on data centers. The Chicago Cubs swept the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, beating them 7-6 in the last of their three-game series. A Batavia woman thought dogs in her community deserved their own free little library – just like people have.

Plus, the Trump administration is shifting tactics in its deportation campaign. Last year, the focus was aggressive arrests, highlighted by Operation Midway Blitz. This year, Chicago advocates say the strategy is much more subtle. They accuse the administration of weaponizing immigration courts – speeding up cases and creating a chaotic process that’s causing many immigrants to miss hearings, leading to deportation orders. 

Alaina Hampton is calling for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s resignation. The Chicago Cubs’ newest starter, Kevin Gausman won’t be pitching against his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays, on Thursday. The National Beep Baseball World Series is underway this week in west suburban Aurora

Plus, while growing up on the city’s blue collar northwest side, musician and comedian Al Scorch would imitate a classic Chicago accent as comedic relief with his friends. Scorch has tapped into that character for many creative projects since, from a poem about hot dogs to a popular series reviewing Park District bathrooms. Now, he’s embarking on a major endeavor: to read the city of Chicago’s roughly 3,000 page municipal code out loud, for a podcast, in his Chicago accent. 

Illinoisans with home and auto insurance will see more protections against unjustified rate hikes. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says his budget director is resigning to care for her ailing mother who lives out of state. The Major League Baseball trade deadline was Monday, and Chicago’s teams walked away with a handful of roster changes. 

Plus, to the uninitiated, a Rainbow Cone might seem like a recent Instagram-inspired creation. Five colorful layers stacked on top of each other. But Chicagoans, especially those on the South Side, know the Original Rainbow Cone shop is a long-loved, local institution. Launched in August 1926 in a small shack in Beverly, Rainbow Cone turns 100 this year.

Illinois residents can save some money on clothing and school supplies for ten days this month. The nation's first women's professional baseball league in nearly 30 years is officially underway. Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs is setting up for an iCash auction at the Illinois State Fair later this month.

Plus, the number of Illinois residents enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has declined by 16% over the past year, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services.

A former sheriff’s deputy convicted of murdering an unarmed Black woman in her Springfield, Illinois area home will not get out of prison early. Cook County Health expects the county will provide nearly $500 million in charity care next year – the largest amount in more than a decade. The historic 400 Theater in Rogers Park reopened today [FRI] under new ownership. 

Plus, WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell brings us the story of a man serving a 30-year sentence for murder who says he’s innocent – so much so that he turned down a deal that would have released him from prison, in order to continue fighting for exoneration.

After matching a decade-long high in heat-related deaths just last week, Cook County has recorded another three. Voters in Evanston will not be asked whether Northwestern University should make payments to the city for commercial events it hosts. People in Chicago’s music community are remembering Irish musician Glen Hansard. 

Plus, funk legend George Clinton is best known as a writer for Motown and as the leader of the popular Parliament-Funkadelic movement. But starting with the COVID pandemic, Clinton got serious about painting. A major exhibition of his work just opened at Chicago’s Mariane Ibrahim Gallery.