Roger Keats, the Republican candidate for Cook County board president, introduces himself to voters in Humboldt Park earlier this month.
Mick Dumke/Chicago News Cooperative

Cook County has been dominated by Democrats for decades. But Roger Keats insists he has a chance in November to be the first Republican in 41 years elected president of the County Board. (more…)

Violence and crime do not lead the discussion among members of the City Council committee overseeing violence and crime. (more…)

Ambrosio Medrano Sr. resigned from the City Council 14 years ago after he was caught taking bribes, and he is prohibited from running for office again. Now his son is hoping to reclaim the father’s old job representing the 25th Ward on the near West Side. (more…)

During the eight weeks Judge James B. Zagel of Federal District Court presided over the trial of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, he often expressed his frustration with defense attorneys’ behavior and the pace of the proceedings. (more…)

Ahmed Alrais, a refugee denied a green card for interrupting his residency in the United States to work in Iraq interpreting for the United States Army, on Thursday received the document that allows him to live and work here permanently. (more…)

Constituents of the Seventh Congressional District can read Danny K. Davis’s newsletter and show up at his public meetings, but there will be no writing on his wall. (more…)

11th Ward Alderman James Balcer looks over the south branch of the Chicago River at Bubbly Creek with friends Tom Palmisano, left, and John Lamonica in Origins Park in Bridgeport.
John Konstantaras/Chicago News Cooperative

Alderman James Balcer’s chest swelled with pride one recent morning as he stood in a weedy lot between a train viaduct and the murky South Branch of the Chicago River. (more…)

South African organizer Beatrice Truter touches the face of a statue inside the Maori meeting house at the Field Museum.
Jose More/Chicago News Cooperative

After years of frustration, Cheryl Graves was ready to consider a different solution to Chicago’s problem of youth violence. (more…)

Like much of the Northern Hemisphere, Chicago is suffering through one of the hottest summers in recent memory, raising more discussion about global warming. (more…)

The cryptic Web site of the Freeman Institute, a little-known Chicago political consulting firm, promises to help would-be aldermen run grass-roots campaigns “designed specifically for the insurgent.”

The question is: Insurgents against whom?
(more…)