Before the COVID-19 outbreak, gambling in Illinois was spreading like wildfire, with more places to make a bet than Nevada. But is the state upholding its promise to provide addiction services at the same pace it expands gambling?

Small businesses on the South and West sides that are struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic can apply for $5,000 grants from the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Tuesday.

In a part of the Chicago region that has seen disproportionately high numbers of COVID-19 cases, the near west suburb of Cicero has been hit especially hard.

The emergency rule passed earlier this month would have presumed essential workers who contract COVID-19 got it on the job – an assumption that would have been costly for businesses and their insurers.

The Chicago-based sandwich chain announced Saturday that it will return the money after having received “further clarification from the Treasury Department” about the loan.

As part of our series on the local impact of the coronavirus, a report from the Southwest Side, where a troubling situation has gotten worse as the pandemic has intensified.

Things were starting to look up in Hegewisch when the pandemic hit. The community spent years trying to recover from a massive loss of manufacturing, and has regularly dealt with pollution from nearby industry. 

In the Northwest Side neighborhood of Montclare, residents are quietly on edge, worried about the coronavirus and the prolonged economic shutdown it prompted, which has ravaged the hundreds of small businesses in the area.

Calls to reopen the state’s economy are fueling a nationwide protest. We talk with an organizer behind a local effort.

A new bill to replenish a multibillion-dollar fund aimed at helping small businesses keep workers on the payroll failed to materialize Monday. We get a status check on the Paycheck Protection Program.

Some big restaurant chains have obtained loans from the government under a small-business relief program, leading business groups to cry foul even though the loans are within the guidelines of the lending program.

Agriculture is one of Illinois’ main industries. But like many other sectors, it’s taking a beating because of the coronavirus.

The global health crisis has ravaged communities around the world — and locally. But in the city of Aurora, local officials have sounded an optimistic tone. We visited the far western suburb as part of our reporting series, COVID-19 Across Chicago.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has teamed up with his counterparts in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Kentucky on a coordinated effort to reopen local economies as they work to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting new challenges to communities across Chicago that are already struggling. We visit Albany Park as part of our reporting series.

Hilco Redevelopment Partners issues an apology and outlined corrective actions following a demolition that left the Little Village neighborhood covered by a plume of dust over the weekend.