Paris Schutz reports from Chinatown on June 25, 2020 as part of our series, COVID-19 Across Chicago. (WTTW News)

Chicago has 77 official community areas. Over the past three months, Paris Schutz and our news team have visited 42 of them, as well as suburbs, cities and towns in Illinois and four other states. Why we did it. And what we learned.

Restaurants and businesses in Chinatown prepare to reopen on Thursday, June 24, 2020, the eve of Chicago’s transition into phase four. (WTTW News)

It was the first neighborhood to feel the economic impact of COVID-19. Months later, on the eve of the city’s move into phase four, the enduring message is that Chinatown is still here, and it is open for business.

A protest outside of Elgin City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, over the fatal police shooting of Decynthia Clements in 2018. (WTTW News)

The west suburban city is preparing to ramp up its reopening as the state moves into phase four on Friday. At the same time, Elgin is facing unrest of its own over a police-involved shooting in 2018. 

(WTTW News)

Oak Park was the first town in Illinois to issue a stay-at-home order when a cluster of COVID-19 cases was found in mid-March, just days before the statewide shutdown. Months later, it has started to come to life again.

A cyclist rides along the lakefront trail on its official reopening day, Monday, June 22, 2020. (WTTW News)

Chicago’s lakefront trail officially reopened Monday after the city closed it down in March in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We visit the lakefront and see how the Edgewater community is gearing up for phase four.

(WTTW News)

Like many other commercial corridors across the city, Milwaukee Avenue suffered extensive damage just as businesses were about to start welcoming shoppers inside once again.

(WTTW News)

Low-income communities across the city are bracing for what could be a large number of evictions once a statewide moratorium is lifted. In one of those communities, a fight over housing has been brewing for years as a large tenant prepares to move in. 

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. (WTTW News)
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Illinois has spent close to $600 million so far on COVID-19 relief, much of it going to personal protective equipment.

Communities across Chicago have staged demonstrations in support of Black Lives Matter, and not all of those areas have been Black and Brown. We visit a predominantly White community that held a rally last week.

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All across Chicago, communities are rebuilding from the twin crises of COVID-19 and property damage. We speak with residents, business owners and officials in the historic heart of black Chicago culture.

Downtown Evanston (WTTW News)

As part of our ongoing series, we speak with local officials and activists about Evanston’s reopening and recent calls for police reform in the near north suburb.

The Southwest Side neighborhood has been hit hard by COVID-19 and saw some looting last week. As part of our series, we speak with business owners and community leaders about the path forward.

Retail businesses in South Chicago sustained property damage during recent incidents of looting. (WTTW News)
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On the Southeast Side, a community deals with the aftermath of property damage and looting against the backdrop of ongoing concerns over COVID-19 and environmental pollution.

After weeks of being closed, Navy Pier prepares on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 for its partial reopening. (WTTW News)

One of the state’s top tourist attractions has been closed to visitors throughout the coronavirus pandemic. That changes Wednesday, even as other popular Chicago destinations remain closed — including the lakefront.

We get a taste of what some restaurant industry players experienced Wednesday as Chicago moved info phase three of its reopening plan.

A scene from downtown Aurora on Monday, June 1, 2020. (WTTW News)

Businesses in downtown Aurora were just beginning to reopen under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan. Then they were hit by property damage and theft after peaceful protests on Sunday turned destructive.