Meredith Rodriguez

"This is not just an Illinois issue," said treasurer Michael Frerichs, seen here in 2014. "ABLE accounts could benefit hundreds of thousands of people across the country." Treasurers from across the nation met in Chicago on Aug. 6, 2015, to discuss a tax-exempt plan to help families cover the expenses of people with disabilities.

Illinois to implement new ‘ABLE’ accounts for people with disabilities

May 23, 2019 at 1:30 a.m.

State treasurers from across the country are meeting in Chicago Thursday and Friday to discuss how to implement a tax-exempt plan to help families cover the expenses of people with...

Wearing their bullet-proof vests, Officers Jason Slater, left, and Dean Angelo Jr. take Communion from the Rev. Paul Kalchik, left, and the Rev. Dan Brandt, a police chaplain at Resurrection Catholic Church in Chicago. A "Blue Mass" was held for Chicago police Aug. 2, 2015.

Fallen Chicago police officers honored at Blue Mass

May 23, 2019 at 1:28 a.m.

Uniformed police officers sat scattered through a "Blue Mass" on Sunday morning at Resurrection Roman Catholic Church in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood. The special service dedicated to the 572 Chicago police...

Cranes guide large steel plates into place as work continues July 30, 2015, at Fullerton Avenue Beach. When work is complete, there will be about 6 acres of new Park District land.

Almost 6 acres of land added near Fullerton Avenue Beach

May 23, 2019 at 1:27 a.m.

Along Chicago's lakefront at Fullerton Avenue Beach, cranes rolled along a causeway that only a few months ago was part of the lake itself. Every day this summer, roughly 40...

Jenner torch and other sports memorabilia up for auction tonight

May 23, 2019 at 1:27 a.m.

The Olympic torch that Caitlyn Jenner carried in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic torch relay, when she identified as Bruce, is going on the auction block as part of...

Dayleen Marrero tries to remove a few movies from her collection but stops when water gushes from the shelving unit.

Outpouring of donations for pair whose home burned down on wedding day

August 21, 2019 at 10:47 p.m.

As Dayleen Marrero walked through what was once a hallway to her West Town apartment Wednesday, she pointed through a hole in the drywall to a soaked kitchen, a muddy...

Students dig for architectural treasures in Gold Coast

May 23, 2019 at 1:27 a.m.

On Tuesday afternoon in a driveway next to a historic home in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood, several students from various colleges dug and sifted for buried relics of those who...

Playboy bunny on New York Magazine cover said Cosby raped her in Chicago

January 30, 2020 at 2:32 p.m.

The "unwelcome sisterhood" featured on Monday's New York Magazine cover of women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual abuse includes a former Playboy bunny who said Cosby raped her...

People celebrate gay pride at the Chicago Pride Parade on June 28, 2015.

Lakeview groups want to keep Pride Parade in neighborhood

May 23, 2019 at 1:26 a.m.

Neighborhood groups met with police and city officials last week to discuss the future of the city's annual Pride Parade, and while community leaders believe improvements can be made next...

Andrew Taylor and his wife, Dayleen Marrero, in front of their Chicago apartment building July 26, 2015. The building caught fire and the couple lost most of their possessions on their wedding day.

Chicago couple’s home burns down on wedding day

August 19, 2019 at 1:07 a.m.

As she prepared for her wedding Friday afternoon, Dayleen Marrero answered a phone call from her fiance, Andrew Taylor, expecting him to simply say "I love you." Instead, sirens blared...

The 1890 cornerstone of the old Pilgrim Baptist Church is shown on April 17, 2019. The building completed in 1891 was originally a Jewish synagogue; later it became Pilgrim Baptist Church.

Hope fades for restoring Pilgrim Baptist Church

August 19, 2019 at 1:06 a.m.

When a fire in 2006 nearly demolished Pilgrim Baptist Church, an architectural treasure by Louis Sullivan that is known as the birthplace of modern gospel music, many Chicagoans insisted that...

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