WGN America is changing its name and focus. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer has details on that story and more business news.

After 85 days, limited indoor dining and drinking can resume in Chicago and suburban Cook County on Saturday, officials with the Illinois Department of Public Health announced. But the long-awaited news came with a warning.

The Southwest Side community is home to many essential workers and has been a hot spot for the coronavirus throughout the pandemic.

The number of distribution centers being built in the Chicago area is on the rise. Supporters say they can create jobs in places that have long faced disinvestment and unemployment. But critics say they aren’t always good jobs.

The Labor Department's report Thursday underscored that President Joe Biden has inherited an economy that faltered this winter as virus cases spiked, cold weather restricted dining and federal rescue aid expired.

When Illinois required businesses to shut down last March because of the coronavirus pandemic, many workers were left without an income. Now, researchers say they are seeing a dramatic increase in poverty.

What are basic income payments, and why do some advocates say they can help families in poverty reach their financial goals? We discuss the concept as part of WTTW’s new “Firsthand: Living in Poverty” initiative.

While monitoring online chatter about protests at state capitols in advance of next week’s presidential inauguration, the Seattle Times came across a chilling description for journalists: soft targets.

Inspectors found the River North eatery to be in full compliance with COVID-19 regulations after a probe on Thursday, said Isaac Reichman, a spokesman for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

Vanille Patisserie has a full menu of Inauguration Day cookies, cakes, pies and tarts, because why not? “We’re bringing a little joy and laughter,” said owner Sophie Evanoff. “We’re in the celebration business, so anything we can celebrate, we do.”

The moves follow the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump and politically tinged confrontations on some flights.

North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side has faced challenges of economic depression, unemployment and violence for many years, all before the pandemic exacerbated those issues last spring. 

Called the “American Rescue Plan,” the legislative proposal would meet Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration, while advancing his objective of reopening most schools by the spring. 

No one was injured in the fire, which was caused when the restaurant’s fireplace damper malfunctioned around 9 p.m. Wednesday, said Liz Lombardo Stark, a spokesperson for the Rush Street landmark.

The latest figures for jobless claims, issued Thursday by the Labor Department, remain at levels never seen until the virus struck. Before the pandemic, weekly applications typically numbered around 225,000. 

Chicago restaurants and bars have been prohibited from serving patrons indoors since Oct. 30, when a sustained and grave surge of coronavirus cases threatened to overwhelm the city and state’s hospitals and health care system.