Thousands of workers around Chicago have been labeled “essential” to maintaining our health, educational and economic infrastructures. We want to hear from those essential workers about what they need to keep going.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday the toughest restrictions in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus could lift in regions across the state as soon as Jan. 15.

Once efforts to inoculate health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities from COVID-19 are complete, Illinois residents 65 and older as well as essential workers will be eligible for the vaccine, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday.

Many people in the state are clamoring for the coronavirus vaccine. But some of those who have the chance to get the shot aren’t taking it, including employees at various state government-run veterans homes.

A record number of transgender and gender-nonconforming people were killed in 2020. A local advocacy group is now working alongside lawmakers to create a fund that will give trans people who were killed a dignified burial.

With cold weather here to stay for the foreseeable future, some restaurant and bar owners fear outdoor dining and carryout will not be enough to keep their businesses alive.

Chicago health officials have distributed 95% of the vaccine sent to the city by federal officials, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, but has the capacity to handle more doses. The current pace is “frankly, unacceptable,” she said. “The federal government must step up.”

“People should be wary of anyone who offers the vaccine or promises priority access to the vaccine or a COVID-19 cure in exchange for money,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

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

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.

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.

A cross section of aldermen — including some of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s closest allies  — urged her on Sunday to rethink her plan to reopen the Chicago Public Schools for in-person learning, 24 hours before the first teachers must report to school buildings for work.

Noting over the weekend that the holidays may result in lower numbers related to the coronavirus, state health officials announced just under 4,500 new and probable cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.

The U.S. ramped up COVID-19 vaccinations in the past few days after a slower-than-expected start, bringing to 4 million the number of Americans who have received shots, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday announced an additional 8,009 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total in two weeks.

Overworked, underfunded state public health departments are scrambling to patch together plans for administering vaccines. Counties and hospitals have taken different approaches, leading to long lines, confusion, frustration and jammed phone lines.