Preckwinkle Supports Legalizing Marijuana In Illinois
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, in favor of legalizing recreational pot use, points to racial disparities in law enforcement.
Watch CBS News
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, in favor of legalizing recreational pot use, points to racial disparities in law enforcement.
Stroger spokesman Sean Howard said Stroger instead will run for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner, as he originally planned.
The pop tax repeal leaves a 200 million dollar gap in the county's budget. It lead to the approved layoffs of 328 county workers.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle long insisted the beverage tax was needed to keep services and jobs intact. She now defends the budget passed by the board last week, saying delays to the reductions will only result in deeper cuts later.
Chief Judge Evans is suing Toni Preckwinkle to keep her from laying off at least 156 court employees.
The Cook County Board will vote Tuesday on $200 million in budget cuts, triggered by the demise of the sweetened beverage tax.
"We're not looking at the same race that was happening in 2010," Stroger said. "This isn't 2010. This is 2017. So this is a different age."
15 of the 17 Cook County Board members have signed on as co-sponsors to budget amendments that Board President Toni Preckwinkle says will close the shortfall caused by the repeal of the county's unpopular sweetened beverage tax.
When commissioners voted to repeal the much-maligned sweetened beverage tax, they knew they would have to make up for $200 million in lost revenue.
The former Chicago alderman announced Monday he's challenging Toni Preckwinkle in the Democratic primary for Cook County Board President.
Cook County's budget hearings have begun this week under the cloud of a deficit created by the eradication of the soda tax.
The 15-2 vote reflected the overwhelming opposition the tax faced among Cook County residents.
The Cook County Finance Committee has voted 15-1 to approve a plan to repeal the controversial sweetened beverage tax, effective Dec. 1.
The tax could be repealed Tuesday, but it was a sweet deal for some politicians who may now vote against it.
Dozens of government, business, and civic leaders gathered downtown to discuss luring Amazon's second headquarters to the Chicago area.
Illinois Public Health Institute Elissa Bassler proposed the county should exempt diet drinks from the soda tax, rather than repealing it.
Three more Cook County commissioners announced Friday they would vote to get rid of the tax, giving opponents a veto-proof majority.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle put commissioners on notice that a vote to repeal the controversial soda tax will mean cuts to vital services.
A vote on Commissioner Richard Boykin's plan to repeal the tax has been scheduled for Tuesday in the county board's Finance Committee.
Preckwinkle would not say if she has prepared two budget proposals – one including the soda tax, and one without it.
"I have never, ever seen the outrage and anger that's being displayed by our customers," said Tony's Fresh Market manager Frank Guiglio.
The Chicago River isn't quite what it used to be, and elected officials took great effort to prove that Saturday.
A showdown on the controversial tax will be held next month.
Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin has unveiled a 10-point plan to repeal the soft drink tax and make up for the lost revenue.
Some lawmakers are poised to try and 'can' the entire thing, and ads supporting it aren't changing people's minds.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest after a Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off Saturday with over 700 cars on display. You can even get registered for your Real ID.
The FBI is investigating a new message related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has the extended forecast.
Meet 6-moth-old Baloo, he is looking for his forever home. Adopt him today at PAWS Chicago.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest after a Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
More than 35 local, state and federal agencies have been working for the last 18 months to prepare for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
Two west suburban high schools have something extra to celebrate Sunday, when alumni from their schools make their Super Bowl debuts.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are underway after the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons and the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony.
Caleb Williams certainly had plenty of big throws to celebrate in 2025, but it wasn't hard to pick his most memorable one after he launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in overtime in Week 16.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, Immanuel Quickley had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the new-look Chicago Bulls 123-107.
Local and federal authorities said "investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity" regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.
A burglary crew smashed into a restaurant in Chicago's southwest suburbs, leaving the owner cleaning up a big and frustrating mess.
