The percentage of small businesses in Illinois that can’t pay their rent continues to rise.

A survey by the small business referral network Allignable shows that more and more businesses faced rent troubles in April.

Federal investigators sought and were granted access to Northwest Side Ald. Jim Gardiner’s text messages a little over a year after he took office, as part of an investigation into whether he accepted a $5,000 payment from a developer in exchange for stalling a housing development in the 45th Ward, according to a search warrant application unsealed this week.

The partially redacted FBI search warrant application was made public Monday, as there is no indication Gardiner will be charged in connection with the alleged conduct. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment Monday on the status of the investigation. As a general policy, the office does not confirm when an investigation ends without charges.

Fred Waller, who rose through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department to chief of patrol, chief of operations and then third in command, emerged Monday as the front-runner to serve as interim superintendent and, perhaps, audition for the permanent job.

Waller spent 34 years at the department before joining a parade of top brass to leave during the turbulent tenure of now-departed Supt. David Brown.

Chicago is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, according to city leaders concerned about the hundreds of migrants arriving here each day from the Texas border.

They said the city can no longer foot the bill and are calling on the federal government for immediate help. Chicago is spending millions of dollars a month helping migrants, but where is all that money going exactly?

Medicaid recipients in Illinois should be on the lookout for correspondence from the state regarding their coverage as the normal renewal process resumes for the first time in three years.

Medicaid is a health insurance program for low-income and disabled people that is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Throughout the pandemic, people who were enrolled in Medicaid did not have to go through the normal process of reapplying every 12 months to determine whether they were eligible, even if there were changes in their income or household that would normally make them ineligible.

WCIA’s team on scene reports that all lanes on Interstate 55 reopened just before 6 a.m. on Tuesday after crews finished cleaning up.

Officials also told CBS that two hospitals have discharged around 24 patients.

It may soon no longer be illegal to have objects hanging from the rearview mirror of your vehicle.

A bill passed by the Illinois House, HB 2389, would take away police authority to pull people over for having objects such as air fresheners, parking placards and other objects, hanging from their rearview mirror.