Chicago’s birding community is already preparing for the return of Monty and Rose, the piping plovers that captured national attention two summers ago when they made the surprising choice to nest on Chicago's lakefront. But will their favored habitat be secure in 2021?

The new year usually brings with it hundreds of new laws in Illinois. But like everything else in recent history, the coronavirus pandemic has changed that up, too. On Jan. 1, 2021, only a trio of new laws will take effect.

How a one-of-a-kind shopping experience in Humboldt Park — and now online — is helping Chicagoans invest in local artists. 

Health care workers have been among the first Illinoisans to get the coronavirus vaccine. Has the immunization provided relief? We hear from two doctors.

With mounting desperation, President Donald Trump called on Republican lawmakers Monday to reverse his election loss to Joe Biden when Congress convenes for a joint session this week to confirm the Electoral College vote.

Erica Reddick, a longtime public defender and judge, is replacing Judge LeRoy Martin Jr., who has been assigned to serve as an appellate court justice.

Claims filed on behalf of two men shot by an Illinois teen during a night of protests over a police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, allege the city and Kenosha County were negligent in their response to the unrest.

The Dugout Bar in Wrigleyville will remain closed indefinitely after police officers responding to a call for help about a person being attacked in the 900 block of Addison Street found a large New Year’s Eve party, officials said.

President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud, according to a recording of the conversation. 

Meet a local author who argues that the idea of laziness is a lie — one that’s having a detrimental effect on Americans during the pandemic.

Recreational marijuana has been legal in Illinois for just over a year — and sales were better than expected. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer has details.

Watch the Jan. 4, 2021 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office handled a record 16,049 deaths in 2020, with coronavirus-related deaths accounting for more than half of those cases, according to officials.

More than 5,800 Chicago Public Schools employees were due back in their classrooms Monday to prepare for students’ return next week. But not all of them showed up.

2020 was a wacky weather year. Chicago was warmer and wetter than normal in 2020, according to a National Weather Service climate summary.