Who will be the next speaker of the Illinois House? For the first time in decades, there’s no clear answer. Longtime Speaker Michael Madigan still wants the job — but at least 19 of his fellow Democrats say they won’t support him. We check in with some of the first to defect.

With the failure last month of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax amendment, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan floats an income tax hike while making his pitch to the Black Caucus.

Lyric Opera of Chicago has plans for a virtual concert Sunday unlike anything it has done before: a Spanish-language concert. We meet some of the artists involved with the premiere of “Pasión Latina.”

A jury on Wednesday convicted the leader of an Illinois anti-government militia group of several civil rights and hate crime charges in the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque.

Area businesses along commercial corridors like 63rd Street and Ashland Avenue experienced extensive damage in late May and early June. Business owners and community organizers talk about what’s next. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she was “deeply disappointed” that Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney allowed diners to eat inside his restaurant in defiance of a ban imposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to curb the spread of COVID-19.

A proposal backed by Mayor Lightfoot to give the Cubs a four-year break on a $250,000 city bill advanced Wednesday, along with a package designed to help businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

With suburban Cook County on track to exceed 2,000 opioid overdose deaths this year, officials announce a program to address the “silent epidemic” that will connect people with treatment.

“I urge people to postpone the normal ways that you’re used to celebrating. We are advising people to postpone travel during the holidays,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Wednesday.

Great Kiskadees don’t normally roam north of Texas, so the first-ever sighting in Illinois caused quite a commotion, attracting birders from across the state to Will County.

The airline industry has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, but with vaccines seemingly on the brink of approval, airlines are hopeful that 2021 could see the beginnings of a recovery for air travel.

Commercial flights with Boeing 737 Max jetliners resumed Wednesday for the first time since they were grounded worldwide nearly two years ago following two deadly accidents.

Britain’s medical regulator warned Wednesday that people with a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. The advice was issued on a “precautionary basis.”

Watch the Dec. 9, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health are expecting the first vaccine shipment to Chicago to include 23,000 doses. Weekly shipments of vaccine are expected to follow, said Dr. Allison Arwady.