For many Americans, the idea of watching fireworks displays on the Fourth of July, and maybe even shooting off their own, has become synonymous with the holiday that celebrates the nation's independence.

A duck hunting club in Williamson County was ordered to shut down for two years after the owner pleaded guilty to illegal baiting, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney's Office Southern District of Illinois.

Chicago Police Department officials agreed to revise proposed new rules and prohibit officers from searching vehicles based on the smell of raw cannabis, a coalition of reform groups told the federal judge overseeing efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department.

As Tuesday marks the three-year anniversary of the decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case that overturned a nearly 50-year-old ruling in Roe v. Wade, abortion clinics in Illinois remain concerned over funding.

A 60-year-old man who has been held in the Cook County Jail for nearly three years despite facing no criminal charges will need to remain there, a state appeals court has ruled, because he can't prove to the courts that he doesn't actually have $10 million to pay his ex-wife, as a Cook County judge ordered him to do.

Last year, Cory Ulmer died at the Cook County Jail shortly after correctional officers struck him several times and threw him to the ground, records show. Now, Ulmer’s stepfather has filed a lawsuit.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement that his office is “dedicated to serving all residents of Lake County” and upholding justice for every victim regardless of immigration status.

While most new laws in the state of Illinois take effect on New Year’s Day, there are a few changes that will go into effect next week.