Jehovah’s Witnesses suspended door-knocking in the early days of the pandemic’s onset in the United States, just as much of the rest of society went into lockdown too.

The new boosters are combination or “bivalent” shots that contain half the original vaccine that’s been used since December 2020 and half protection against today’s dominant omicron versions, BA.4 and BA.5.

The neighborhood is an industrial corridor. It has a long history that dates back decades with the arrival of steel mills that drove hundreds of immigrants to move to the area to work and build. We started by talking to a long-time resident who tells us more about the economic impact of the steel mills' shutdown.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, called the vaccines the “best possible match” against strains of the virus now in circulation. They’ve been formulated to provide immunity against the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which account for nearly all of the cases of COVID-19 in the U.S.

To meet the boom in pickleball's popularity, the Chicago Park District announaced a plan to build 50 new pickleball courts by 2025, including three regional centers capable of hosting tournaments.

The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. The hope is that the modified boosters will blunt yet another winter surge.

A food pantry in Pilsen has been operating out of a former church for the last two years. The founder is hoping to buy the building but says she is running into obstacles with the Chicago Archdiocese.

As billions of dollars in new federal funding becomes available to address the problem of lead pipes contaminating drinking water, some places are in a better position than others to quickly apply for funds and start digging.

Chicago’s North Center neighborhood is a community where many city dwellers raise a family with lots of schools, parks, and public space. Many residents and community leaders have worked for years to create a community feel and, to address infrastructure needs to improve transportation safety.

The survey found that 11% of young adults reported using marijuana on a daily basis in 2021 and 43% had used it in the past year. About 8% of young adults reported using substances such as LSD, PCP and psychedelic mushrooms in the past year, up from just 3% in 2011.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, who has been the public face of Chicago’s response throughout the continuing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the outbreak of monkeypox, said she would work from home while isolating.

In its latest weekly assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. health agency said there were 5.3 million new cases and more than 14,000 deaths reported last week. WHO said the number of new infections declined in every world region except the Western Pacific.

The trial for a class action lawsuit against Sterigenics is underway. That's the Willowbrook company accused of releasing cancer-causing waste in DuPage County. Long before the Sterigenics case, residents in the suburb of West Chicago struggled with health issues stemming from the mismanagement of toxic waste in that community.

Illinois will soon be part of a cluster of states in an extreme heat belt. That’s according to a recent study that finds a quarter of land in the U.S. is at risk of the most extreme levels of heat exposure, that's temperatures exceeding a 125°F heat index.

Vaccinations for babies, toddlers and preschoolers opened in the U.S. in June after months of delay. Only about 6% of youngsters ages 6 months through 4 years had gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-August, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A new study suggests ant colonies work like a collective brain to make decisions. How racial discrimination could negatively impact brain structure. A surgical implant that could provide pain relief without drugs. And how a quirk of evolution gave humans our voice.