A firefighter from Roxana faces charges that accuse him of stealing $4,185 from Guns ’N Hoses, which raises money for the families of first responders who are killed in the line of duty in the St. Louis area. Jacob A. Sanders, 27, was charged with two counts of felony theft Friday, according to court records.

The family of 14-year-old Sean Richards, who was killed in July 2023 in an accident involving a Fuller’s employee in Hinsdale, questions the timing of the filing, which they say comes as Fuller’s owners and employees were expected to testify in court in a wrongful death suit.

Natalie Young, a former professor at Northern Illinois University, has filed a lawsuit alleging sex and race-based discrimination and harassment by the university. The complaint was filed on January 21, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Young accuses Northern Illinois University of creating a hostile work environment and retaliating against her for reporting discriminatory practices.

Citing a surge in the number of firearms being illegally converted into machine guns, Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has ordered prosecutors to seek a prison sentence in all felony cases involving machine gun-type weapons.

Chicago police arrested a 23-time convicted burglar after he was identified as the man who had been breaking into North Side businesses during January. Prosecutors charged Lamont Gordon, 58, with four burglaries and, even though he is on parole for his three latest burglary convictions, he was released from custody the next day.

With prescription drug costs soaring, Illinois lawmakers announced legislation this week reviving efforts to create a prescription drug affordability board with the goal of capping the growing cost of medication.

Last year, the Illinois Judicial Conference Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (IJC) was created to develop recommendations for how the Illinois Judicial Branch should regulate and use artificial intelligence (AI) in the court system. The IJC made recommendations to the Illinois Supreme Court, which adopted a policy on AI effective January 1, 2025.

Republican lawmakers put forward a proposal to expel students who sexually assault another student at school. Current Illinois law has no provisions requiring schools to expel a student who commits sexual violence or assault against another student at school. However, the law says that if a student brings firearms, knives, brass knuckles, or other any other weapon that can be used to cause bodily harm into a school, they must be expelled for at least a year.

Former Cinespace Chicago Film Studios executive Alexander S. “Alex” Pissios worked undercover for federal authorities after they threatened to charge him with bankruptcy fraud. Recently, he gave a $50,000 campaign contribution to Cook County’s new state’s attorney, Eileen O’Neill Burke.

A Missouri Congressman has introduced a bill that would label unborn American children as people in the eyes of the law, and two Congress members from Illinois support it. U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, a Republican, authored legislation that would "affirm the fundamental right to life for every human being, born and unborn,” and declare unborn children as “persons” under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, according to a news release.