By the end of the month, Illinoisans could be dining alfresco at local restaurants – a change from the state’s original reopening plan that limited restaurants to pickup and delivery services during phase three.

Oprah Winfrey is giving grants to the cities she’s called home through her $12 million coronavirus relief fund. After speaking with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other leaders, Winfrey decided to give $5 million to Live Healthy Chicago.

More people died in traffic crashes in Illinois during the first quarter of this year compared to last year, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the National Safety Council.

A Cook County judge has rejected a push to overturn a temporary ban that has prevented children in foster care from having supervised visits with their parents and siblings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Northwest Side neighborhood has been transformed by development in recent years, yielding dozens of trendy businesses and new homes. But the influx of wealthier residents has led to significant displacement of longtime residents.

Barbershops, salons, offices and manufacturing could reopen in just 10 days if the state moves into the next phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan. What that phase looks like.

Chicago officials have ordered General Iron to cease operations while Monday’s explosion is investigated, but residents, who have been fighting for a shutdown of the facility, say the action doesn’t go far enough.

The city says what’s left of the Crawford Coal Plant needs to be demolished out of safety concerns. But this time, officials promise ample water will be on site to guard against a repeat of April’s botched implosion.

The village of Skokie is home to just one of seven state-certified municipal health departments in Illinois, and it has taken a proactive role in addressing the coronavirus. But how are retail businesses and restaurants faring?

Skokie, just 15 miles northwest of Chicago’s Loop, is home to the Illinois Holocaust Museum, the state’s only synagogue for the deaf and Old Orchard Mall — each of which have had to close during the pandemic.

Millions of shuttered businesses nationwide have turned to their insurers to help recoup their losses following state-mandated closures, which combined may exceed $300 billion a month. But insurers have widely rejected the claims.

As part of Illinois’ push to create an “army” of contact tracers to identify people at risk of developing COVID-19, the state is launching pilot programs in two counties that have seen a combined 7,430 cases of the virus.

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday he has been taking hydroxychloroquine and a zinc supplement daily “for about a week and a half now.” The drug not been shown to combat the new coronavirus.

Memorial Day is traditionally one of the busiest weekends in the Forest Preserves, but because of COVID-19, people are being encouraged to hold cookouts, picnics and other holiday activities at home this year.

General Iron ceased shredding operations at its Lincoln Park facility after an explosion Monday morning rocked the neighborhood, prompting residents and the local alderman to call for the facility to be permanently closed.

Chicago’s effort to beat back the coronavirus pandemic got a boost from two celebrities Monday, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city was making “good steady progress” toward the next phase of reopening.