A massive wildfire continued to burn in New Jersey on Wednesday, spanning over 8,500 acres and prompting the evacuation of 3,000 people, which snarled traffic and sent huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky. The Jones Road Wildfire started in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management area in Ocean County on Tuesday afternoon and exploded in size to 8,500 acres by 10:30 p.m., the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said. The blaze was fueled by strong 25 mph gusts that whipped through the area. As of Tuesday evening, the...

Man-made air pollution has decreased in recent years — but overall air pollution is worsening due in part to wildfires sweeping smog across the country, according to a new analysis. The American Lung Association notes “a distressing reversal” of progress in its 2025 State of the Air report, released Wednesday. “Years of successful cleanup of emissions from transportation, energy generation and industrial processes have contributed to falling ozone levels across much of the country since ... 2000,” according to the report, which analyzed air quality data collected in 2023 from...

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 23, according to the Tribune’s archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. 1848: The first boat passed through the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Laden with sugar and other goods from New Orleans, the vessel was headed to Albany, New York. Upon the canal’s completion in 1848, cargo could travel smoothly from the Gulf of Mexico, up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, join the Chicago River, head out into the Great Lakes and then...

A system of showers was expected to make its way through the Chicago area overnight into Wednesday, forecasters said. Scattered showers and thunderstorms could bring gusty winds and hail after 4 a.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. But despite the wet conditions, temperatures would remain in the low 70s. There could be a pause in the rain by the late morning, but precipitation could pick up again after 1 p.m., weather officials said. Thursday will be mostly sunny, with highs in the 80s. Scattered showers are possible Thursday night...

Embattled Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez is set to take charge of K-12 schools in Massachusetts, pending final approval by the state’s education secretary. The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted Tuesday to recommend Martinez to be hired as its next commissioner. Nine members supported Martinez’s hiring while two abstained because they backed another candidate. Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler will make the final call to bring Martinez to the East Coast.

Earth Day was marked not with celebration but with a sense of urgency and despair for Environmental Protection Agency union members in Chicago as the Trump administration continues to roll back environmental regulations and lay off hundreds of employees. On Tuesday, more than 50 Midwest EPA union members and environmental advocates, dressed in black, held tombstone-shaped signs as they chanted “We want clean air, we want clean water,” in downtown Chicago. Jennifer Walling, executive director for the Illinois Environmental Council, stood in front of the crowd and accused the White...

SPRINGFIELD — The state economic development department “committed mismanagement” by failing to investigate potential conflicts of interest for a deputy director who continued to be paid by his former company, which had a contract with the state agency, according to a report from Illinois’ top government watchdog. Daniel Thomas started as deputy director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s tourism office in 2023 after previously owning TimeZoneOne, a communications firm that was a vendor for DCEO, according to the Office of the Executive Inspector General.

The Naperville District 203 School Board Monday tabled a vote on the Innovative School Experience after board members could not agree on making the major changes to students’ day without additional community input. Some board members said they were not comfortable with endorsing the shifts to the school day unless they had a firm commitment from the community. While stressing they weren’t asking to abandon the concept or start over, the concensus was they should pause and allow time for more data to be collected. The Innovative School Experience proposed...

Officers responded to a call of a person shot shortly after 2:15 a.m. in the 6000 block of North Sheridan Road and found a man lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the inner thigh, Chicago police said.

The man was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston where he was pronounced dead.

No one was in custody, and detectives were investigating.

Despite April showers over Easter weekend, the weather didn’t stop families from showing up Saturday to the annual “South Park Easter Egg Hunt” in Park Ridge. Hosted by the South Park Merchants Association, the free event held at the city park of the same name was open to both residents and visitors — and it drew a crowd. Organizers estimate that hundreds participants, including children who raced across the park collecting brightly colored plastic eggs filled with candy and stickers. Parents took photos, caught up with one another and helped...