The Rundown | Chicago News

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Monday, May 4, 2026 May 05, 2026

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A new report says the Trump administration’s deportation campaign has left Chicago immigrants vulnerable to evictions. More than 100 Brookfield Zoo workers walked out on strike after failing to reach a union contract agreement on Friday. Two historically Black colleges — Prairie View A&M and Alabama A&M — played at Wrigley Field this weekend for the first-ever HBCU Baseball Classic. The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for today, and the alert says portions of central and northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana are at an elevated risk for blowing dust.

Friday, May 1, 2026 May 01, 2026

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A couple thousand people from Chicago and the suburbs gathered in Union Park Friday for a rally and march on May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. People in Illinois are now being cut from SNAP benefits. A festival celebrating Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian artists in Chicago kicks off Saturday. Plus, during the Trump administration’s deportation campaign in Chicago, immigration agents took away a mother on the Southwest Side. Her three children were all U.S. citizens. They were left to fend for themselves. They did for nearly four weeks until a 27-year-old woman – a stranger — stepped in to help.

Thursday, April 30, 2026 Apr 30, 2026

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Thousands of people in Illinois are expected to start losing federal food assistance beginning Friday. The Trump Administration has overhauled the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Federal prosecutors are dropping the main conspiracy charge against the remaining four members of the Broadview Six. Thursday is International Jazz Day, which was co-founded by legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, who hails from Chicago. Plus, the Green Mill has hosted the Uptown Poetry Slam for 40 years, and its founder Marc Smith remains the emcee. He is known for creating a monthly night of performance in the same bar that was a favorite haunt of Al Capone. Recently, it hosted South Side native Mayda Del Valle, the city’s new poet laureate.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 Apr 29, 2026

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is declining to say whether the judge behind a decision to let a police shooting suspect out on electronic monitoring should be retained. The U.S Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on the Trump administration's plan to end temporary protections for Haitians and Syrians. Governor JB Pritzker is taking aim at the Supreme Court following a decision announced today that undermines a provision of the federal Voting Rights Act. Plus, a classic August Wilson play tells the story of real life blues legend Ma Rainey. The play is bringing more attention to the real Rainey, who recorded all her music in Chicago at Paramount Records a century ago.

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 Apr 28, 2026

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The Illinois Accountability Commission is hearing testimony from Chicago residents on the brutal tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during last fall’s Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign. Students and workers joined forces this morning to support striking University of Illinois-Chicago graduate employees. New figures show contacts to Illinois’ Domestic Violence Hotline have grown for the fifth consecutive year. Plus, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday it’s expanding its efforts to seek and implement the death penalty. It’s been fifteen years since Illinois abolished capital punishment for state convictions. One activist who has been instrumental in advocating against the death penalty is Sister Helen Prejean. Sister Helen first started counseling people on death row in the 1980s.

Monday, April 27, 2026 Apr 27, 2026

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The man accused of killing a Chicago police officer and wounding another appeared in court for the first time today. A Chicago-area grocery store says cuts to SNAP food benefits could trickle down to small retailers. A group of Chicago arts leaders are backing proposed legislation that would ban the deceptive practice known as speculative ticketing. Plus, we hear from some Chicagoans who say they are protesting the federal government’s actions by not paying their federal taxes.

Friday, April 24, 2026 Apr 24, 2026

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Monthly premiums for health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act are up about 25% in Illinois. Governor JB Pritzker says lawmakers have to move expeditiously on a tax incentive plan to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois. The Chicago Bears will be back at it Friday night for the second and third rounds of the NFL draft. Plus, Chef Rick Bayless and his restaurant, Frontera Grill, are a cornerstone of Chicago’s dining scene. But these days, Chef Javauneeka Jacobs is shaping the restaurant’s next era, and it centers around plants.

Thursday, April 23, 2026 Apr 23, 2026

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Chicago Bears will pick 25th tonight in the opening round of the NFL draft. Several parents and community members are unhappy with plans to celebrate May Day at Chicago Public Schools. The city of Chicago continues to explore what reparations could look like for Black Chicagoans, and the task force Repair Chicago hosted a citywide town hall Wednesday to get feedback on their definition of reparations. Plus, Chicago has been getting a lot of rain this spring. Streets have flooded and water has seeped into people's basements. This is all expected to get a lot worse, partly because of climate change. The likelihood of heavy rainstorms has increased sevenfold here over the past century and our sewers can't handle the increase.

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Apr 22, 2026

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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is launching an additional 5% tax credit incentive for film and television productions meeting certain sustainability standards. People in the Chicago area are doing their part to reduce waste, with nearly 500,000 tons of recyclables collected in the region in 2024. The first round of the NFL draft starts Thursday at 7pm. Plus, one year ago, west suburban Broadview had a budget surplus and a cheery outlook. Now, Broadview is preparing for the next fiscal year and it’s facing a deficit along with unexpected and ongoing expenses. Broadview racked up nearly $400,000 in its own costs due to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in town.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Apr 21, 2026

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Chicago Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan is leaving the team. Chicago officials ended a $44 million contract with a private security company in favor of boosting patrols of public law enforcement. A new report shows the Chicago City Council doesn’t have the proper resources to independently analyze the budget it is tasked with approving each year. Plus, the Chicago Latino Film Festival is underway in the Lakeview neighborhood. The two week event spotlights more than 80 titles from around the world, and it’s the largest and longest-running festival dedicated to showcasing work by Latino filmmakers in the United States. This year’s event comes at an intensely political time for some filmmakers and their subjects.

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