Local News
Questions and Answers: Federal Assistance
Can I apply for FEMA assistance if I have insurance? Yes. However, FEMA assistance is not a substitute for insurance. File an insurance claim first, then apply for FEMA assistance for unmet needs. FEMA needs a copy of your insurance settlement or denial before your application for disaster assistance can be considered. FEMA cannot duplicate benefits received from your insurance company.
Local blood supply critically low as shortage enters third month
Patients at local hospitals are counting on blood donors as The Community Blood Center (CBC) faces an ongoing emergency shortage. Several blood types are at only a two-to-three-day supply on hand. Last week, one local hospital needed about 20 extra units of blood from CBC donors within just a few hours to meet patient needs.
Old National names John C. Thurston to Executive Leadership Team and promotes six additional Corporate Banking Leaders in Chicago
(NASDAQ: ONB) – Old National Bank (“Old National”) has promoted Chicago-based leader John C. Thurston to President of Corporate Bank, which is part of a larger realignment of its Commercial Banking businesses. This realignment is designed to create greater specialization, strengthen accountability and build additional capacity across Old National’s Commercial, Corporate, Business and Specialty Banking teams.
Following Obama Presidential Center Museum film premieres, Manual Cinema brings its acclaimed handmade productions back to Chicago’s historic Studebaker Theater
Chicago-based Emmy Award-winning performance collective and film/video production company Manual Cinema premiered two new hand-animated films at the Obama Presidential Center Museum earlier this year. Now, the company is bringing two of its acclaimed live-action productions back to Chicago’s historic Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building, where audiences can witness Manual Cinema’s handmade magic created before their eyes with performers, musicians, and hundreds of puppets.
Asthma Peak Week: Illinois Schools Receive Emergency Kits
The third week of September marks Asthma Peak Week, the time when asthma attacks, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations historically reach their highest levels of the year, and the Foundation for Asthma and Allergy Impact and Rescue (AAIR) is helping schools across Illinois prepare to respond to asthma emergencies.
Clerk Mariyana T. Spyropoulos Warns Public About Continued Fraudulent Text Alerts
The Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County is warning residents about a fraudulent notice falsely presented as an official court communication involving unpaid traffic fines.
The Pocket Protector Offers a New, Pressure-Free Way to Navigate Medicare
With Medicare Open Enrollment approaching, The Pocket Protector, a licensed, independent Medicare comparison service, is offering consumers a new way to research and compare Medicare plans entirely online — and enroll with the help of a licensed advisor — at no cost and without requiring a phone number or a sales call.
This School Year, One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Teen Is Listen
Back-to-school season can present challenges and opportunities as a parent. Relaxed summer schedules are replaced with classes, homework, and extracurriculars, and the transition to a new semester can be both exciting and stressful.
Chicago Pastors Speak Out First, and Best: A Joint World Call-To-Action For Unity and the Release of a 95-Year Old Pastor
An unseasonably humid, gray Thursday morning on Chicago’s South Side was the setting for a unique gathering of faithful souls, and one deceptively simple proposition: Religious liberty is not what its name suggests if it applies only to the familiar, the favored or the faiths that enjoy widespread approval.
Bronzeville Summer Nights Closes Out 2026 Season with Fall Family Afternoon on 47th Street, September 26
The Quad Communities Development Corporation (QCDC) will close out the 2026 Bronzeville Summer Nights (BSN) series with its biggest community gathering of the year: a free, fall-themed family afternoon along the 47th Street corridor on Saturday, September 26, from 1 to 5 p.m., stretching from Wabash to Cottage Grove.
The DuSable Museum Announces “A Call for Artifacts: The Black Community Archive”
The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center (The DuSable Museum) announced the launch of “A Call for Artifacts: The Black Community Archive,” a documentation and digital archiving initiative designed to identify, document, and preserve histories held within Black families and communities. “A Call for Artifacts” invites individuals to share meaningful objects in their care and the stories connected to them to ensure their histories are preserved as part of a broader historical record.
Forest Preserves of Cook County Shares Investments, Impacts of 2022 Referendum
September 15, 2026 – Recently at the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting, the Forest Preserves of Cook County released a report outlining the effects in the first three years after the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Wildlife Habitat Protection referendum. “2022 Referendum: Budgets, Investments and Impacts, 2023–2025” spotlights how an additional $41 million annually in resources for the Forest Preserves has changed the organization and what it offers the public.
Giannoulias Awards Grants to Preserve Illinois’ History for Future Generations
The Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board (ISHRAB), overseen by Illinois Secretary of State and State Archivist Alexi Giannoulias, has awarded grants to six historical records repositories and organizations to preserve, digitize and expand public access to archival materials documenting Illinois history and culture.
Harper Championed Local Food Law Delivers More than 3.5 Million to 61 Illinois Organizations
State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, is celebrating the award of more than $3.5 million through the Illinois Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program, an initiative she championed in the General Assembly to strengthen Illinois’ local food supply chain and help more Illinois-grown food reach Illinois families.