News

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin through mid-day Saturday. Snow, heavy at times, and blowing snow are predicted. Totals of from 3-7" south of I-88 and 4-9" north of I-88 are forecast, with higher totals possible in some locations. In addition, there will be drifting from blowing snow.  The Weather Service says driving conditions will be hazardous. Localities are activating snow emergencies limiting travel and parking as well. 

A number of schools and organizations are canceling activities:

Members of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists national union will hold  a small protest at Chicago Rockford International Airport Saturday. Northern Illinois and Wisconsin Representative Pete Rosa says the government shutdown furloughed many aviation safety inspectors. He says air travel is unnecessarily at risk.

A federal judge suggests the protracted government shutdown will hurt the federal workforce in the long term. 

Ruben Castillo is Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. His court has dwindling funds to pay employees and is set to run out January 25th.  He says the poor treatment of government employees, especially the lack of pay, will make young people think twice about seeking out work in the federal government.

A judge on Thursday acquitted three Chicago police officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, ruling that the shocking dashcam video of the black teenager's death did not necessarily tell the whole story.

In casting off the prosecution's entire case, Judge Domenica Stephenson seemed to accept many of the same defense arguments that were rejected by jurors who in October convicted officer Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

More than 30,000 Los Angeles teachers are on strike this week.

The biggest issue on the negotiating table has not been teacher salaries, as is common. Instead, LA teachers are worried about class sizes, which can sometimes reach 40 students per class.

Meanwhile, teachers in Denver, Colorado, are nearing a work stoppage of their own.

Federal courts are feeling the effects of the government shutdown.  This includes the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  It's based in Rockford and Chicago and hears both civil and criminal cases.

Chief District Judge Ruben Castillo says if the court runs out of money to make payroll, it will prioritize criminal cases for people detained and awaiting trial.

“We need to get those cases to trial as soon as we can," he said. "Somebody shouldn’t spend not even one extra day in jail unnecessarily."

Illinois’ crisis centers for sexual violence survivors are starting to feel the effects of the partial government shutdown—now in its fourth week. Funding for services will soon stop coming in.

The Justice Department has given organizations until January 18, when it will stop processing funding requests.

Patrick Pursley spent more than twenty years in prison after he was convicted of the 1993 Rockford murder of Andrew Ascher. 

Pursley was recently granted a retrial after he asked for advanced technological testing of the casings and gun that tied him to the case. Rockford Judge Joseph McGraw found Pursley not guilty of the murder on Wednesday morning. Pursley spoke to the press at the Winnebago judicial courthouse with high spirits and gratitude. 

Northern Illinois food banks are holding steady, despite the arrival of winter and a continuing government shutdown.

The Sauk Valley Food Bank in Sterling distributes food to pantries in Whiteside and Lee Counties, and outlying areas like Freeport. Executive Director Andrea Hensgen says their work hasn’t been affected much by the shutdown, but there has been a slight change in clientele.

Some college students were unsure they’d be able to pay their tuition on time, due to the government shutdown.

The representative of Illinois’ 14th Congressional District went back home this weekend to reaffirm and celebrate her new job.

Democrat Lauren Underwood took the official oath of office with the rest of her colleagues Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C. The ceremonial swearing-in at her old high school, Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, was a chance for supporters in her district to bask in her triumph.

Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois Ruben Castillo administered the oath while Underwood’s father held the Bible for her.

The partial government shutdown could affect farmers as they plan for the next growing season. DeKalb County Farm Bureau manager Greg Millburg says the shutdown mostly affects farmers interacting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and those applying for programs laid out under the most recent Farm Bill.

“It's not impacting them a lot now, but as it goes on, it's going to continue to impact them more,” said Millburg.

For those wanting to apply for benefits like loans, they'll have to wait, said Millburg.

A former Democratic leader in the Illinois House has resigned his seat.

Lou Lang announced Monday that he's ending his 32-year legislative career. The 69-year-old from Skokie joined the lobbying firm Advantage Government Strategies.

A powerful Chicago City Council member was charged Thursday with trying to shake down a fast-food restaurant seeking city remodeling permits.

Alderman Ed Burke, 75, is charged with one count of attempted extortion. In 2017 he told company executives that they'd get the permits if they signed on as clients at Burke's private property-tax law firm in Chicago, the 37-page complaint says. A conviction carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

Burke has been on the council for 50 years and chaired its finance committee for the last three decades.

Unwanted social media messages are now on the list of behaviors that can be cited when petitioning to file for stalking “no-contact order.”

That’s one of the hundreds of new Illinois laws that went into effect in the new year.

Previously, phone calls, text messages and emails were included, but not messages from platforms like Facebook or Twitter.