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DIRKSEN FEDERAL COURTHOUSE — Former Ald. Ed Burke, the longest-serving alderman in Chicago history, was sentenced to two years in prison Monday, six months after he was convicted of racketeering and a suite of other crimes committed while he was in office.

Federal Defense Attorney Mike Leonard explains what happened.

When Sophia Catania learned that there would be a massive invasion of cicadas in the Chicago area, she was thrilled.

That’s because she turns cicadas into jewelry.

In 2020, Catania began taking walks “as a way to stay sane” during the pandemic, she said. Her casual walks soon turned into nature walks while she looked for and observed bugs. One day, she began picking up bug carcasses and taking them home.

An ordinance establishing a noise-sensitive zone around a Downtown woman’s clinic passed City Council Wednesday, ending an eight-month battle spearheaded by Ald. Bill Conway (34th).

Six years ago, a small and scrappy group of journalists refused to give up on neighborhood news, and Block Club Chicago was born. But our 6th birthday is not just a celebration of Block Club — it’s also a celebration of reader support. We wouldn’t be here without the generosity of readers like you.

A group of alderpeople want the state to pump the brakes on plans to redesign DuSable Lake Shore Drive and instead find ways to prioritize public transit on the city’s most famous road.

Fourteen alderpeople have signed a letter to Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman and Chicago Department of Transportation President Tom Carney, asking the state to “halt” its Redefine the Drive project, which calls for redesigning and rebuilding DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Grand to Hollywood avenues on the North Side.

The nation’s first Black tennis club started on privately owned land needs help repairing its tennis courts, and club members are looking to the public for support. The Chicago Prairie Tennis Club, 3211 S. Ellis Ave., faces a heavy financial lift as four of the courts they’ve been using for decades have fallen into disrepair.