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New U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today reveal significant demographic shifts in the greater Chicago area. Researchers say a bill introduced in Springfield this year could allow more working adults in Illinois to get college degrees. Chicago Public Media has a new CEO.

The state’s attorney in north suburban Lake County says he’s ready for trial against the accused gunman in the Highland Park 4th of July massacre as a plea deal falls through. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling narrowing federal bribery law could have a major impact on some high-profile Chicago corruption cases. Illinois officials are launching an updated plan to curb the transmission of H-I-V/AIDS.

A coalition of feminist and LGBTQ+ activist groups have struck a deal with the city of Chicago to march on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. The man accused of gunning down seven people at the Highland Park 4th of July parade two years ago rejected a plea deal during a court hearing today. Defense attorneys for four former ComEd lobbyists and executives say a Supreme Court decision could win their clients a new trial.

Angie Leventis Lourgos began reporting on abortion access in Illinois in 2015. In the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she has watched the Midwest become even further divided over the issue of abortion rights.
“It seems like the chasm between Missouri and Illinois or Illinois and Indiana has only widened,” she said. “I didn’t think that was possible because they seemed so disparate when I started doing this reporting.”
Earlier this year, Leventis Lourgos published her first book, “Life-Altering: Abortion Stories from the Midwest.” She spoke with a number of abortion patients around the region about their experiences. The stories in the book span six decades: from illegal abortions pre-Roe, to post-Roe attacks on abortion clinics.
In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Leventis Lourgos about her reporting and the state of the post-Roe Midwest this election year.

A new study sheds light on the impact of removing police from Chicago high schools. Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch’s lawyers work to get a lawsuit against him dismissed. Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker signs into law the creation of a new state agency.

A Chicago City Council committee approved plans for a new Wrigleyville development Tuesday over the objections of preservation groups. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Junior has filed the necessary paperwork to get on Illinois' ballot in November. Two people locked up at Robinson prison in downstate Illinois recently went on hunger strikes because they believe that if their sentence credits were corrected, they’d be out of prison already.