Olivia Olander – Page 3

Gov. JB Pritzker, right, meets with homeowners Mark and Julie Hiskes while touring storm damage on Aug. 14, 2026, in Lansing. (Arthur Maiorella/baiduhai)

Amid latest Illinois storm damage, Gov. Pritzker says Trump administration ‘turned their back’ on past storms

August 14, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday contended that the federal government had “turned their back” on Illinois families when it denied the state’s request for relief from damaging storms last year.

Deja Young, left, hugs Corrine Young as they wait for news on their deceased relative, Keith Young, at the Cook County medical examiner’s office on Aug. 7, 2026. Keith’s visitation had been planned for Aug. 6, 2026, but his body never showed up to the church. (Arthur Maiorella/baiduhai)

Agonized families await answers after remains recovered from Chicago funeral home: ‘It’s unimaginable’

August 8, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Records obtained by the Tribune reveal a harrowing scene at the funeral home and a history of problems at a previous crematorium run by its owners.

Workers remove bodies from the South Chicago Chapel in the South Deering neighborhood on Aug. 7, 2026. The remains of over 50 people were discovered the day before at the funeral home in the 2900 block of East 95th Street. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

‘I want to see some justice’: Families, officials call for change amid investigation into funeral home

August 7, 2026 at 7:22 p.m.

Authorities on Friday continued to investigate after the remains of more than 50 people were recovered Thursday at a South Deering funeral home on the city’s Southeast Side.

Gov. JB Pritzker chats with ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones while surveying damage from Tuesday night's EF-3 tornado in Aroma Park, March 12, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Gov. JB Pritzker signs protections against insurance rate hikes

August 4, 2026 at 3:13 p.m.

Drivers and homeowners in Illinois will have greater protections against insurance rate hikes after Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation prohibiting excessive increases.

Young students shop for back-to-school supplies on July 25, 2022, at OfficeMax in Chicago's Lincoln Park. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Illinois back-to-school sales tax discount starts Friday: What to know

August 3, 2026 at 6:03 p.m.

The 5% state sales tax break from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 generally applies to clothes under $125 and school supplies. Portions of sales tax that go to local governments...

Chicago Teachers Union members and Chicago Public Schools lunchroom workers rally as the Chicago Board of Education holds a meeting about the budget on July 30, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

CPS is counting on $150 million more from Springfield. Will it deliver?

August 2, 2026 at 9:00 p.m.

While the Chicago Board of Education agrees that schools need more funding, there’s far less consensus over how to get it.

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks on July 6, 2026, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Gov. JB Pritzker signs law aimed at protecting kids from social media algorithms

July 31, 2026 at 4:59 p.m.

The law mandates parents to input their child’s age when a device is set up. Social media companies must show kids content from people they follow or accounts they search.

A barge moves through the lock at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, the site of the Brandon Road Interbasin Project to combat the movement of invasive carp and other nuisance species into the Great Lakes, Dec. 5, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Gov. JB Pritzker says the Trump’s halting of Brandon Road carp project an attack on Great Lakes water

July 31, 2026 at 4:55 p.m.

The Pritzker administration said it had asked the federal government to reverse its July 24 work stoppage order at the Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Joliet.

Illinois state Rep. Lilian Jiménez answers a question during the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) press conference about a national push for state legislation allowing lawsuits against ICE on July 29, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Illinois lawmakers seek families hurt by courthouse immigration arrests as more states weigh right-to-sue laws

July 30, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Illinois elected officials in the Latino Caucus and allied advocates are seeking to connect families of people arrested at courthouses with civil rights attorneys for potential legal action.

Gov. JB Pritzker signs Illinois Senate Bill 2427 banning cellphones in schools from bell-to-bell at Elgin High School on July 28, 2026. (Rick West/Daily Herald)

Illinois cellphone ban signed by Gov. JB Pritzker with ‘bell-to-bell’ law affecting public and charter schools

July 28, 2026 at 3:57 p.m.

Illinois public and charter school students will be barred from using cellphones during the school day starting in fall 2027, under a law Gov. JB Pritzker signed Tuesday.

All Stories