Illinois public schools are aiming to improve academic proficiency numbers in the 2024-2025 school year.

According to the Illinois Board of Education’s most recent Illinois Report Card, 27% of Illinois’ public-school students in grades K-12 are meeting grade-level standards in math with 35% meeting grade-level standards for English and Language Arts proficiency.

Lawyers for former House Speaker Michael Madigan have asked a federal judge to exclude a laundry list of potentially prejudicial evidence from his upcoming racketeering trial, including details about controversial gaming legislation, Madigan’s influence over hiring at Metra, and payments made to a political operative who was accused of sexual harassment.

In a 41-page motion filed Monday, Madigan’s legal team said extensive pretrial publicity — including the Tribune’s ongoing series on Illinois’ “Culture of Corruption” — is already undermining Madigan’s right to a fair trial, and that adding “irrelevant” evidence about sensitive or peripheral topics would only make it worse.

Mayor Brandon Johnson can’t afford to bask in the glow of last week’s Democratic National Convention. The cold hard reality of Chicago finances is about to slap him in the face.

The three-year financial forecast that serves as the city’s preliminary budget is due out this week, and the results will not be pretty.

Tiffany Henyard has enjoyed near-unanimous support on the Thornton Township board, but that’s now changing following a series of WGN Investigates’ reports on her spending.

”Today, I am breaking my silence and speaking out against Thornton Township Supervisor and Mayor of Dolton Tiffany Henyard, who I believe has engaged in unethical and predatory behavior throughout her tenure,” trustee Carmen Carlisle wrote in an emailed statement to WGN. “For the past two years, Henyard has manipulated employees, vendors, and residents, using her position to increase her influence, all while projecting a false image of success, funded by the hardworking taxpayers of Thornton Township and the Village of Dolton.”

For the first time, Naperville city council members granted landmark status to a commercial building.

Council members last week unanimously approved designating the Beidelman buildings, including Beidelman Furniture at 235-239 S. Washington St., as landmarks. The Beidelman Furniture store is considered the longest continuously operating furniture business in Illinois.

A law banning political parties from waiting until after the primary election to place a state legislative candidate on the general election ballot won’t keep any Republicans from running this November.

The Illinois Supreme Court and State Board of Elections each made rulings Friday ensuring that a law rushed through by Democrats in May wouldn’t throw a wrench into the filing process for the current election cycle.

If you’re thinking about going swimming – maybe keep it to the pool.

Even on a hot summer day, most Illinoisans know not to take a dip into a natural body of water because growing up, you’ve probably heard tales of people contracting viruses in lakes and rivers.

While at a Democratic National Convention news conference, top Illinois Democrats weighed in on the pending lawsuit that names House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch as a defendant.

The Illinois Legislative Staff Association and Brady Burden say in a lawsuit that Welch, D-Hillside, is not allowing the staff to collectively bargain with their employer over wages, hours and working conditions, despite there being a new provision in the Illinois Constitution that protects workers’ rights.

A former Tilton Police Chief pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing pistols from the police department’s evidence locker.

Court records showed David Cornett pleaded guilty to three counts of theft. He was sentenced to two years of conditional discharge.