Jesse Jackson Jr. released from halfway house in Baltimore
By SOPHIA TAREEN Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was reunited with family members in Washington D.C. on Monday after leaving a halfway house where he’d been living since his…
Illinois
Hastert to make 1st court appearance in hush money case
By MICHAEL TARM Dennis Hastert is set to appear in court Tuesday for the first time since an indictment nearly two weeks ago alleged the former U.S. House speaker agreed…
Illinois justices overturn state’s landmark 2013 pension law
By JOHN O’CONNOR and KERRY LESTER The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday struck down a 2013 law that sought to fix the nation’s worst government-employee pension crisis, a ruling that…
Health law brings growth in food stamps in some states
By CARLA K. JOHNSON and DAVID MERCER President Barack Obama’s health care law has had a surprising side effect: In some states, it appears to be enticing more Americans to…
Drew Peterson charged with plotting to kill prosecutor
Drew Peterson, the former suburban Chicago police officer convicted of killing his third wife and suspected in the disappearance of his fourth, has been charged with trying to hire someone…
For President Barack Obama library, a contest of haves vs have-nots
By JOSH LEDERMAN President Barack Obama has preached economic opportunity and equal access to education as cornerstones of the legacy he wants to leave behind. But in the contest to…
Hot race for No. 3 spot in GOP leadership
By ERICA WERNER FILE – In this Nov. 16, 2010, file photo, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The contest for the No. 3 spot…
50 years ago, ‘Freedom Summer’ changed South, US
By ALLEN G. BREED and SHARON COHEN In this April 4, 2014 photo, Aviva Futorian and Roy DeBerry sit in Futorian’s Chicago apartment. They have been friends since they met…