The first appointments for Illinois residents ages 65 and older to get the COVID-19 vaccine at the United Center mass vaccination site can be made starting Thursday morning. Here’s what you need to know about making an appointment.

Robert Smith spent decades in prison on a wrongful murder conviction. Now, he’s suing the city and several Chicago Police Department detectives who worked under notorious Area 2 Commander Jon Burge, claiming they beat a false confession out of him.

The announcement comes as the White House looks to speed the production of the single-dose vaccine. Officials have said J&J faced unexpected production issues with its vaccine and produced only 3.9 million doses ahead of its receiving emergency use authorization on Saturday. 

Reports that millions of 17-year cicadas will emerge from underground in the Chicago area this spring aren’t true. They’re coming in 2024. 

Acknowledging the overwhelming amount of information — good and bad — circulating about the coronavirus pandemic, a team of women launched an effort last year to answer questions big and small, using language that’s relatable — and sometimes snarky. A year later, they’re still going strong.

Officials also announced the loosening of restrictions on alcohol sales and increased capacity for indoor fitness classes, performance venues, movie theaters and personal services. 

The Cathedral of Grace St. John AME Church hosted a coronavirus vaccination clinic for Black suburban residents as part of a larger effort to vaccinate communities disproportionately impacted by the virus. 

The next chair of the Illinois Democratic Party — the first in nearly a quarter century — will be either Ald. Michelle Harris (8th Ward) or U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Chicago). Whichever candidate emerges victorious will be charged with leading the party into a new era as its first Black and first female chair.

Tens of thousands more Chicago Public Schools students returned to their classrooms Monday, many for the first time in nearly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the district continues its school reopening plan.

Two thrillingly dramatic works — one by way of dance and another by way of radio theater — now serve as vivid evocations marking the one-year “anniversary” of the pandemic, and all the physical and psychological dislocations it has engendered. 

Residents of Chicago have been experiencing mail delays for months. Some of those delays are simply irritating, but others can be far more consequential. What’s going on at the U.S. Postal Service?

Starting Monday, the city of Chicago is jacking up fines for speeding violations near schools and parks — and that has the mayor at odds with some aldermen. Carol Marin and students from DePaul University’s Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence have the story. 

Trouble for a prominent Evanston hotel. United Airlines increases its Boeing 737 Max order. And a commercial truck company looks to Bolingbrook. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer has details.

Watch the March 1, 2021 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Forget Duke versus North Carolina. This annual contest raises the rivalry stakes, pitting species against species in this annual winner-takes-all online tournament that’s as educational as it is weird.