The Aurora-based Quad County Urban League will get an almost $1.5 million job training and educational services grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both D-Illinois, announced the grant Thursday. It was part of an overall $98 million in grants to 72 organizations in 30 states and Guam as part of the Labor Department’s YouthBuild program, a community-based program that provides job training and educational services for 16- to 24-year-olds who left school without a high school diploma. “Building stronger com ..read more

CAIRO — Israel and Hamas appear to be seriously negotiating an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of stalemated talks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week praised Israel for offering what he described as significant concessions and saying “the time is now” for Hamas to seal the deal. Hamas leaders, meanwhile, say they are reviewing the proposal in a “positive spirit” and sending a team to Egypt in the coming days to continue the talks. Here’s what we know so far about the current propos ..read more

Rahmere Dunn told a jury Thursday that Jediah Perry held a gun to his head moments before he grabbed his gun from a pocket and shot him five times. It was a “split-second choice.” He “hoped for the best,” he said, of his odds of leaving alive. Dunn, 25, of Whiting and formerly Hammond, is on trial for murder in 21-year-old Perry’s Nov. 12, 2021 shooting death. Prosecutors alleged this week it was a drug deal gone bad, while Dunn’s defense lawyer said it was self-defense as he was ambushed by Perry when Dunn went to sell him marijuana. Dunn testified that Perry contacted him over Facebook earli ..read more

Nearly 15 musical acts including five debuting performers are booked for Naperville Jaycees’ Last Fling on Labor Day weekend. The nonprofit’s largest fundraiser features four days of live music, food and family fun on Labor Day weekend along Jackson Avenue in Naperville. “The Naperville Jaycees are an organization that raises funds to donate to nonprofits in Naperville and surrounding communities. We are a nonprofit raising money for nonprofits,” said Karen Coleman, public relations chair for Last Fling. Aug. 30’s headliner, which performs at 8 p.m. on the Jackson Avenue Stage, is among the ne ..read more

A resident of the Liberty Township subdivision where Dakota Levi Stevens lived before his death is organizing a candlelight vigil in his memory. The vigil will begin at 8 p.m. Monday at the park at the front of Eagle Ridge subdivision with speakers who knew Dakota, a pizza snack in honor of his favorite food, and a candlelight walk through the neighborhood, said organizer Monica Jimenez. Dakota, 10, died two days after what police have called a “medical emergency” on April 25 at the foster home in the 200 block of Falcon Way where family and his former foster father believe he had been for les ..read more

Chicago aldermen and residents criticized Fire Department brass and officials from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration for not attending a Thursday meeting on a lack of diversity in the ranks of the Chicago Fire Department. A joint meeting of the City Council’s Police and Fire Committee and Workforce Development Committee addressed the long-running problem, which has prompted lawsuits over the years and calls for changes in the way the department tests prospective members and awards promotions. But citing active union contract negotiations, key leaders declined to appear to hear the concern ..read more

The hospital photo of Enrique Alvarez taken in October says a lot about what this young man has been through in his 20 years. The eight-inch scar snaking down the front of his chest from multiple heart surgeries is four years old yet plenty visible. Yet it’s not as raw as the port wound to the left that’s the result of chemotherapy he underwent after being diagnosed with cancer a year ago. You may recall the story I wrote about this young man, who struggled with a serious cardio condition through 2020, then was diagnosed with testicular cancer days after his graduation from West Aurora High Sc ..read more

We are deep into an age of parity for the Triple Crown series. Fifteen horses have won the 15 runnings of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes since Justify won all three races in 2018. Every spring brings hope for a new star, even when the headlines around thoroughbred racing’s most glamorous events seem to focus more on horse deaths, trainer controversies and economic woes. Saturday’s 150th running of the Kentucky Derby will feature several contenders with the talent to be memorable. It won’t feature trainer Bob Baffert, still the sport’s biggest name and still banned from ..read more

Rivian’s decision to launch production of its second-generation electric vehicles in Normal, rather than Georgia, will bring $1.5 billion in capital investment and hundreds of jobs to its central Illinois factory, the automaker and Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday. Backed by $827 million in state incentives, Rivian plans to expand its 4 million-square-foot auto plant and create more than 550 assembly jobs over five years to build the midsize R2 SUV, which is expected to begin rolling off the production line in 2026. The majority of the incentives will come from state tax credits paid out ..read more

PHOENIX — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has relegated a Civil War-era ban on most abortions to the past by signing a repeal bill Thursday. Hobbs says the repeal, signed Thursday, is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. But the repeal may not take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, in June or July. Abortion rights advocates hope a court will step in to prevent that outcome. The effort to repeal the long-dormant law, which bans all abortions except those done to save a patient’s life, won final legislative approval Wednes ..read more