Under a new statewide compromise, public school and higher ed employees across Illinois won’t have to expend their sick time if they are forced to miss work due to COVID-19 — as long as they’re fully vaccinated.
In the first half of January, an estimated 8.8 million U.S. workers were reported to have stayed home either because they were sick with COVID-19 or were caring for someone who was sick. The news comes as some workers are running out of employer-provided sick days, or don’t have enough earned sick days to begin with.
The first free N95 masks have started to arrive at U.S. pharmacies, with more on the way in the coming days, as the Biden administration seeks to ramp up access to high-quality masks amid the spread of the highly-transmissible omicron variant.
The US Food and Drug Administration could decide in the coming days to take steps to curb the use of antibody treatments produced by Eli Lilly and Regeneron, the source said, pointing to the growing body of evidence that shows their monoclonal therapies don't effectively neutralize the virus’ omicron variant.
We’re about to enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. And with news that the omicron wave has passed its peak in Chicago, a light begins to appear at the end of the tunnel. But public health advocates are warning the city’s residents not to let their guards down just yet.
“Steady is not good news,” said members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. “We are stuck in a perilous moment.”
The Chicago International Puppet Festival returns for 10 days, and Thursday is opening night. Blair Thomas, the behind-the-scenes puppet master, pulled a lot of strings to keep this festival on the calendar.
President Joe Biden took action on a number of his key campaign promises, from rebuilding U.S. alliances globally to distributing vaccines across America and the world. But others remain works in progress or dependent on Congress to address. That’s particularly true of his promises to reform the nation’s immigration system.
Despite a day of piercing debate and speeches that often carried echoes of an earlier era when the Senate filibuster was deployed by opponents of civil rights legislation, Democrats could not persuade holdout senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia to change the Senate procedures on this one bill and allow a simple majority to advance it.
A couple of Indiana highway cameras caught lake effect snow in action Thursday morning, offering a picture-perfect snapshot of one of the region’s quirkier weather phenomena.
The state law, which applies in Chicago as well as the rest of the state, took effect Jan. 1.
Rhysheen Wilson, 27, was ordered held on $2 million during a bond hearing Thursday following his arrest on charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, aggravated discharge of a weapon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
The nation’s oldest civil rights organization’s birthday next month comes as it undergoes a restructuring to reflect a membership and leadership that is trending younger, to people in their mid-30s. As a result, it is adding endeavors like producing TV streaming content for CBS.
Surgeons in Alabama transplanted a pig’s kidneys into a brain-dead man — a step-by-step rehearsal for an operation they hope to try in living patients possibly later this year.
According to Chicago police, the incident began just after 5 a.m. Thursday in the 5600 block of North Sacramento Avenue.
This season of “To Dine For with Kate Sullivan” takes viewers on a journey with successful, and sometimes prominent guests sharing stories over their favorite foods.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday that she has fully recovered from her bout with COVID-19, and said it felt like “a bad cold.”
New research published Tuesday in JAMA Pediatrics that looked at children and adolescents from 11 countries found kids experienced both mental and physical health problems — anxiety, depression, lower physical activity, food insecurity and school disengagement — linked to school closures and social lockdowns.
The decision from the companies came Tuesday as the Biden administration intervened to broker tried to broker a settlement between the telecoms and airlines over a rollout of new 5G service.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) looked on as his attorney Adolfo Mondragon urged the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn decisions by the Illinois State Board of Elections as well as lower courts to toss out his complaint against his predecessor, disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis.
Despite his late push, Biden has been unable to persuade two holdout Democrats, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, to change Senate rules so the party can overpower a Republican filibuster that is blocking the voting bill.
Upcoming virtual town halls will give Chicagoans a chance to learn about and weigh in on plans to update the city’s climate action plan, from emission reduction targets to renewable energy goals.
Judge William Raines has been placed on “restricted duties or duties other than judicial duties” and must receive sensitivity training and gender bias counseling, according to an order from Chief Judge Timothy Evans.
More than 14,000 students and staff within Chicago Public Schools are currently either quarantining or in isolation due to COVID-19, but the district will soon be shortening the amount of time those people need to stay home from school.
Chicago's COVID-19 test positivity peaked at 19.6% on Jan. 1, Arwady said, and hit 12.6% on Tuesday, the lowest rate since Dec. 28, according to city data.
Hundreds of puppets, life-sized dinosaurs, art exhibits and a celebration of winter usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago this weekend.
The White House announced Wednesday that the masks will come from the government's Strategic National Stockpile, which has more than 750 million of the highly protective masks on hand.
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.
