“Some people feel it’s a stigma, and I don’t want people to feel like it’s a stigma,” state Sen. Cristina Castro said. “There’s great treatment out there. We’re just trying to help lower the barrier to that treatment.”

Officials at Lurie Children’s Hospital said Thursday that they are still working with the FBI and other law enforcement but told reporters that a “known criminal threat actor” had accessed the hospital’s network.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, renters and homeowners have until 11:59 p.m. Friday to apply for the disaster assistance, which comes more than five months after rain and flooding wreaked havoc around Cook County.

It’s been seven days since Lurie Children’s Hospital first cited a “network outage that impacts internet and phone service.” The systems have been offline since Jan. 31, and there’s no telling when they’ll be back up and running.

The Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults and Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors programs provide state-funded Medicaid-like benefits to individuals aged 42 and over who would otherwise be eligible for the federal low-income health care program if not for their immigration status. 

Cook County Jail provides medications for opioid use disorder to incarcerated people. Where frustration comes from advocates — and local officials — is the limitations of the Illinois Department of Corrections’ medication programming in prisons.

One in six Black men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the advocacy organization ZERO Prostate Cancer. Research from the American Cancer Society shows Black men are more than twice as likely to die from the disease than their White counterparts.

The Illinois Department of Human Services is partnering with Google to launch a new centralized portal for children’s mental health care, state officials announced Monday.

Even though the overall U.S. population is aging, “we’re seeing a movement of cancer diagnosis into younger folks, despite the fact that there are more people that are in the older populations,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer for the American Cancer Society.

Have you heard of 211? It’s a free hotline connecting Chicago and suburban Cook County residents to everyday services — from housing resources to utility payment assistance.

A group of Illinois lawmakers have a proposal that would ban a handful of common additives in food made and sold in Illinois starting in 2027. California last year became the first state to ban the substances that are common in mass-produced and ultra-processed cereals, candies, salad dressings and sodas.

There are now a total of 47 reported illnesses, including 10 hospitalizations, in 22 states, including Illinois. 

One Rogers Park resident is making it her mission to help migrants by giving them knitted and crocheted winter hats. She reached out to local and online crafting groups asking if others wanted to do the same.

Most of us can avoid Chicago’s frigid temperatures just by staying home. But for those experiencing homelessness, the solution is not that simple. Local organizations work directly with those individuals, hoping to provide relief and find long-term solutions.

The city of Chicago has a new public health commissioner filling this high-profile role after the ousting of Dr. Allison Arwady in August. Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige is the first Black woman to lead the Chicago Department of Public Health on a permanent basis.

The board would be tasked with assessing high-cost drugs, like ones used to treat cancer, auto-immune disease and diabetes, as well as other drugs that might impact the state health care system.