Voting legislation that’s a top priority for Democrats and civil rights leaders seemed headed for defeat as the Senate opened Tuesday, a devastating setback as two holdout Democratic senators refuse to support rule changes to overcome a Republican filibuster.

Forget about napkins and ketchup packets too. On Tuesday, Chicago's single-use foodware ordinance will go into effect, meaning disposable utensils will no longer be included with a take-out or delivery order unless specifically requested by the customer. 

That transformation will be both physical, encompassing major interior renovations to create immersive exhibits, but will also entail a transformation of mission with more educational programming for Chicago school students.

Incarcerated people in Illinois prisons are having difficulty getting access to basic necessities, like hygiene items or detergent. The Illinois Department of Corrections says this is due to a supply chain issue, but advocates point to disputes between IDOC and vendors.

It has become more common to see donation boxes across the city. Some are filled with books and others with canned goods. We head to Clearing to speak with a couple who has built a donation box to help those with pets. 

Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, arrived in the U.S. at Kennedy Airport in New York on a tourist visa about two weeks ago, officials said. He spent time in Dallas-area homeless shelters before the attack Saturday in the suburb of Colleyville.

According to CDC data, Illinois saw its highest-ever case rate for nursing home residents this month, surpassing even last winter’s surge. Cases among staff have also reached record levels. 

It’ll be easier to access birth control in Illinois, courtesy of a new law that allows pharmacists to dispense hormonal contraception without a doctor’s prescription.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday that she has fully recovered from her bout with COVID-19, and said it felt like “a bad cold.”

The radio antenna, positioned at Big Marsh Park on the Southeast Side, helps fill a Chicago-sized gap in a growing network of receivers that's tracking the movement of migratory birds and other animals.   

In a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday, defense attorney Richard Kling claimed that supervised release would be a “sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary” penalty for the former Chicago alderperson.

Kahalah Clay, chief legal counsel for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, confirmed that Jason Van Dyke — who was convicted in October 2018 in the killing of the 17-year-old — will be released from prison on Feb. 3. She said she did not know where Van Dyke was being held.

Each business was issued two citations, which will trigger a hearing before fines ranging between $100 and $10,000 can be imposed.

An average of more than 750,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported every day over the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data. That means Americans at work, school and elsewhere face a heightened risk of exposure that is unparalleled during the pandemic.