Massive government relief passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic moved millions of Americans out of poverty last year, even as the official poverty rate increased slightly, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

In the wake of a new law banning nearly all abortions in Texas, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and members of Illinois’ congressional delegation vowed to protect women’s rights while calling for a federal reproductive health law. “Nobody should be forced to cross state lines to see a doctor,” Pritzker said.

COVID-19 deaths and cases in the U.S. have climbed back to where they were over the winter, wiping out months of progress and potentially bolstering President Joe Biden’s argument for his sweeping new vaccination requirements. 

The advisory now covers 48 states as well as Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands, said Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s top doctor. “This is an encouraging snapshot of the nation’s daily COVID data, but by no means can we let our guard down now,” she said.

The mandate is intended to push about two-thirds of American workers to get vaccinated, but some are claiming it's government overreach. 

Yes, but studies indicate they’re less likely than adults to be affected by symptoms that persist, recur or begin a month or more after infection.

The average person doesn’t need a COVID-19 booster yet, an international group of scientists — including two top U.S. regulators — wrote Monday in a scientific journal.

As a Texas law that bans nearly all abortions in that state goes into effect, we take a look at what reproductive health care means for Black women. 

The risk of catching or passing a virus that has infected more than 40 million people in the United States will depend on where the stadium is and whether the game is outdoors, among other factors. 

The documentary is an intimate portrait of a longtime public servant whose notoriety has risen dramatically — and with that, brought heaps of far-right scorn on the veteran of seven White House administrations.

CEO Mike Kelly’s announcement reverses the city’s longstanding argument that life rings along the waterfront would encourage people to enter the water and put themselves at risk of injury or death — and make the city liable.

Two decades after the twin towers’ collapse, people are still coming forward to report illnesses that might be related to the attacks. 

Oak Lawn is a southwest suburb bordering parts of Chicago. Along with surrounding suburbs, it has a strong Muslim community. And its fire and police departments sent members to support New York firefighters after the 9/11 attack. 

In his most forceful pandemic actions and words, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant.

After recent drownings in Lake Michigan, activists have been clamoring for the Chicago Park District to install life rings along the lakefront, but the agency’s safety plan reinforces messaging surrounding “not safe to swim” locations.

Ann Marie Frank is using social media to help feed homeless individuals in her community and beyond. We visit Des Plaines to see how she’s opened her kitchen to make thousands of lunches — with the help of family members and volunteers.